If you’re like me you learn far more by getting your hands on a real life example. It’s one thing to read how Twitter can help you or that e-commerce success could be yours; it’s another to get the details of a true experience. Here are two posts I came across recently that through sharing their own experience or interviewing bring great insight into success online.

+ A “Non Big Brand” Twitter Case Study from Sugarrae
Get an outline of how a website providing Blackberry news and info started up with Twitter, gained initial traction, then flatlined and then reach a whole new level. This post has a great outline of what led to their recent burst and success using Twitter to strengthen their community and interaction with their website. Pay attention to the 9 great items on why their “Second coming” increased the success.

+ A Small Business Marketing Success Story: K9cuisine.com from Matt McGee
Matt wrote this article for Search Engine Land and put together a great interview with a niche e-commerce website that serves the premium pet food market. Company and website owner Anthony Holloway outlines their start, their success and the choices they made to get where they are.

Of interest to me was the information on how they leverage customer reviews of the products to increase the content and offering on the site. K9cuisine.com has created a simple but fantastic method to follow up with customers and get their 2 cents after the purchase. Every small business e-commerce website can learn one thing or more from this post.

I get the question in many meetings to compare why thousands of dollars spent with Five Technology is better than using one of the template web design options or a packaged web solution.  Of course you get what you pay for, but here is a little question I fire back.  Would you go through a drive-thru to order a website from McWebsite’s?

Yes I get a laugh, but then I also break down what I’m talking about.

Guidance, Experience & Communication
With Five or another custom web design firm, you get experienced web professionals asking questions, making recommendations and helping you understand why things should or can be done a specific way.  A McWebsite just takes the order and cares nothing for the specifics of your business, the target market, the future needs and so many other important areas to explore.  They are after the 1 Billion served. I know for a fact my clients learn how to better leverage their website, not just feel good that they have one.

A Menu Or A Solution
As the web continues to get more crowded, your competitors get a bit more savvy and consumers/clients are harder to get to, you need to stand out.  Getting a #4 value meal is going to do little to distinguish your business, provide features users need and scalability your site will grow upon.  One size does not fit all.  When you work with a web design firm you get a solution that is built around opportunities, goals and needs.  It’s built for you, for your website’s users, not to be sold 100 times over.

Gut Rot
Ever had that feeling?  A McWebsite can do this to you as you look back and realize the time lost, the leads lost, search engine position given to your competitors.  You may not have spent much upfront, but you have lost plenty of money in the mean time.

So if you are considering the quick and easy way to feed your need for a new website, consider the health of your business and make the right choice.  Say no to McWebsites.