‘If you’re not on the web, you don’t exist’ is the often-daunting sentiment virtually all business owners hear at some part of their journey. And for many who are in the micro business or service-provision realm and not on an online retail quest, amplifying your online business presence via a website and social media channels is yet another to do on a long list. “Over the past few years, in both our professional and personal capacities, our team has noticed a gaping hole in terms of good looking, well-functioning web pages for companies that range from long standing plumbing businesses to local hairdressers, Mom and Pop shops and new enterprises that inevitably put day-to-day operations ahead of their online development,” says Duncan Colville, development director at The Digital Media Collective (TDMC).
Colville explains that barriers to entry for small business owners include overwhelm due to outdated websites, perceived budget constraints and sheer paralysis regarding new digital undertakings, with the result that invariably businesses fall further down Google rankings and more out of would-be consumer’s line of vision. The solution? A one-stop-solve developed by the TDMC development team that is both cost-effective and can be implemented in just seven days.
Simple, smart, succinct
TDMC’s Web in a Week delivers a fully functioning, streamlined, five-page template-based Wordpress website that is Google-aligned (with both Google Analytics 4 and Google My Biz integration) and is customised according to a business’s specific brand identity. “Each website features rich, responsive design and is optimised to function across any devices, each also contains an integrated lead capture tool and is optimised with basic SEO to get any business in Google’s line of search,” explains Colville who explains that his team of developers is able to leverage their deep experience of current methodologies and best practices to create each superior yet reasonably priced site.
Expert-led solves
TDMC is one of the country’s leading digital media specialist agencies, with a footprint in numerous sectors, ranging from finance to FMCG, and while they have multi-million Rand accounts in their stable, at the heart of their business lies an innate desire for local businesses to thrive. “Our Web in a Week offering highlights our belief that any business can and should have access to effective online real estate, it’s also a fantastic challenge for our digital development team to use their skills sets to create high-functioning yet affordable solutions for businesses,” Colville says.
Affordable and achievable
A ‘Website in a Week’ sounds like a marketing gimmick but Colville is confident in his teams’ abilities to deliver. “The offering relies on the client providing us with the necessary content and branding elements and once these are signed off, we are ready to go,” he says. The cost for the basic five-page package is R10,000 all-in and there are options for additional integration and services support with Meta Performance Advertising, as well as Google Advertising and Shopify elements. TDMC doesn’t host said websites, opting to advise clients on recommended hosting platforms instead and offering a 30-day after-sales support structure for clients: “Our offering means we’ve created a created a value destination for your business but you will still need to do the legwork to keep the site up to date as your services morph and if you get to a point where you want to expand then we will happily lean in again,” says Colville.
As an award-winning digital media agency with over 120 clients, why enter this seemingly lesser silo? Colville elaborates: “We see website development and its supporting social media components as essential services and wanted to develop a product that could empower businesses and service providers to operate more efficiently and ultimately win more work for themselves; improved online presence is better for business and that’s part of building better local communities – something that’s fundamentally important to us at TDMC.”
Website in a Week enquiries can be directed to az.oc.cmdt@ofni.
