Hi there content Gurus,
I have a little conumdrum buzing around in my head. Actually its like an annoying voice that wont go away! I run a business that builds, hosts and manages websites. I am wondering if I’m trying to do too much with my site? Would I be better off creating a second site/brand for my hosting?
Thoughts?
Ps: apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
Well, yes and no as to this being the right place. Your situation could, conceivably fall under the category of content strategy and market segmentation.
If anyone knew what the words content or strategy meant. Or segmentation.
As a copywriter, I shudder at the top page. And, sorry to say, copywriting is not creative writing. Your copywriter should be able to first advise against the “everything to everybody” approach. And then any decent copywriter should have already segmented your audience.
What does stand mentioning is only you care about joomla, so joomlafied websites mean nothing for a majority of prospects. If that weren’t so, they’d hit the “install Joomla” button on their admin panel.
And, in this day and age, if you’re talking about those who haven’t seen an admin panel yet – you’re generally talking about the Amish.
So in answer to your query, yes you’re trying to do too much. You are also going about it in the wrong way, which calls into question your ability to execute segment specific sites.
You want to develop a unique selling proposition for each segment. Since your original has none, you may be on the wrong side of a steep learning curve. Also think about two segments for starters. You could easy go into dozens of viable niche segments. Such as:
– Online catalogs: Industrial/B2B
– Online catalogs: Retail/Consumer
– Corporate Site: Manufacturing
– Corporate Site: Financial Services
– Corporate Site: Healthcare
– Direct Response Sales: Information Marketing
– Direct Response Sales: Micro Sites
It does boggle the mind how many web shops purport to write targeted copy for clients and then go right off an do the exact opposite for their own site. Doesn’t inspire confidence if you ask me.
I would say if the goals of each venture are very dislocated from each other (in the sense that the only way they relate are that you provide them) I would have them as two separate websites (it can be beneficial if you run them independently in your business rather than relating components), however if your hosting is directly linked to your building and management section - in that the hosting is part of the package rather than a separate entity, then I would simply break the site into segments (EG: In the global navigation having… Design / Maintenance / Hosting - as links) and then having each one billed as a core component of a single service. 
I totally understand what your saying the site you looked at is well out of date and I am currently building a new one hence the queries. Also I am based in Australia and most of my business is focused at small entry level business owners who, for the most part, have no clues when it comes to the web. They may have heard the word Joomla somewhere but they don’t know what it means or what it does. Heck most wouldn’t know what CMS stands for let alone what it does.
Their are two main I get work at the moment is by providing a white label development service to designers who have clients needing to expand their sites. I generally include hosting and management (site patches & google analytics) with the package’s I create.
have no clues when it comes to the web. They may have heard the word Joomla somewhere but they don’t know what it means or what it does. Heck most wouldn’t know what CMS stands for let alone what it does.
Then you understand my point. You are saying Joomlafied as if the client is a Joomla guru and knows exactly what you mean. Using CMS is one thing. Using a brand name like Joomla something more. Then you take it beyond the pale by using Joomla as a verb.
I’m not dropping insider industry buzzwords without explanation on the top page – you are.
You are projecting onto me the point you need to understand about your own situation. I know what the customer is like, I’ve run training sessions for users (victims really) of CMS vendors who couldn’t get past their own technology.
I’ve run user testing. So you will have to excuse me for being amused when those looking for deeper user insights try to lecture me on my own points about potential customers. I know the user doesn’t understand what Joomla is or a CMS. The old design doesn’t.
I sincerely hope you are taking our mutual points to heart with the redesign – I have no way of knowing because that wasn’t shown (Nor were specifics hinted at in the original post).
Should your user require similar telepathy for this mysterious new design not shown, this is going to be a harder process than I figured on.
I’m not trying to lecture anyone here. I simply asked for some advice as to whether I should split into two sites. One focused on hosting and one focused on design/development.
Unfortunately I cant show an example of my new site on here as its currently in the wireframing/prototyping stage and their is nothing online. I’m thinking deeply about the services I offer and the work I am currently doing and this thought process has lead me to ask the above questions.
I am here to learn so why berate me for it?
Hosting and web designing can be combined and marketed if they both of them are in the nascent stage and if you feel the work load can be managed as a single entity. On the other hand, if both of them are assuming monstrous propositions, it is always better to divide and rule.
A good benchmark to have in this decision is to think about your readers. Are you geared towards businesses alone? Then there is no sense splitting your site. If you have packages for individuals, businesses and small businesses, then you should. This way each subset of your site will have focused content aimed at a specific market you’re targeting.
You should know what people want on your site. If you feel you should make another one (or as the voice says), you should make another one for branding. Alternately, you can just make a blog subdomain. In doing this, you can “ride” by the current rankings of your main site and gave your blog additional exposure and then you can link the high ranking pages to your main page where you business really is.