The Stirring Spoon.com

Hey everyone.  Dialogue Web Design has officially launched a new customer website: http://www.thestirringspoon.com.  The Stirring Spoon, based in Johnston, RI, offers all-natural, gourmet cooking sauces for those of us who want a delicious meal but don’t have the time to make everything ourselves.  Visit the site today to not only learn about the company, but also: 1) order jars of sauce online, and 2) check out the “Recipe Forum” – a place to learn new recipes, post your toughts, and submit your own.

From a technical standpoint, The Stirring Spoon website demonstrates two great features.  First is the ecommerce.  Through a simple paypal integration, Linda (The Stirring Spoon’s owner) can easily receive payments by credit card.  With our affordable website design ecommerce is finally affordable for small businesses.  The second feature is the blog integration (as seen in the Recipe Forum).  Blogs are a powerful and versatile web tool that gives you the customer full control over set content on your site.  Update and reorganize how you’d like, whenever you’d like.  In this case it’s the perfect way for Linda to post new recipes, and receive comments from her customers about them.  These features, coupled with a simple design and organization makes this a powerful website.

Check out www.thestirringspoon.com, and contact me today find out how we can get YOU the website you need.

There are thousands of web designers across the country. How do you choose who to do business with?  

Rhode Island is a unique place in how devoted its residents are to doing business locally.  Conversations with clients reveal why this can be such a good idea.  One customer of mine told me about a company based in California that supposedly carried out “search engine optimization” (SEO) on their behalf for months.  When we discussed how I could save them $25 every month on SEO (while also hosting and maintaining the website I would build them) they logged into their account with this company to cancel it.  It was only then that they found out the company had done nothing for them.  The keywords and information they had sent in had never been implemented. 

Now, of course I’m not implying that non- Rhode Island companies won’t do a good job.  But I like that I can offer customers the peace of mind that I’m based in Providence. If they need any help with their website I’m just a phone call away, and if they want to meet in person, I’m happy to oblige.

The reason I named this company Dialogue Web Design is that the relationship between a company and their customers should be an open dialogue.  That philosophy guides how I treat my customers, and how I help my customers treat theirs.

As I network around RI, sometimes I’m asked the question: “do I need a website?” This is generally followed by “Oh, well I assume you’ll say yes.” I mean, why wouldn’t I? I’m trying to sell websites right?

But the truth is not EVERY business needs a website. If you’re an accountant, for example, and have had the same clients for 20 years. You want to retire soon, and you have as much work as you can handle. Then you don’t need a website. But if you want new customers, more customers, better relationships with customers, better relationships with business partners and suppliers, and a powerful marketing tool, then yes – you need a website. And it needs to be a good one.

I do think most small business owners have some understanding that a website could be beneficial, but don’t know how to approach it. There are so many website designers out there, not to mention hundreds of Do-It-Yourself services.

So where to start? Well, not every business needs a site for the same reasons or in the same ways. The essential question is this: “what is my business trying to accomplish, and how can a website help me do that?” You might not know the answer to either of those questions right now. What I would recommend above all else is this: find a web designer who can discuss your business with you and help you find the answers. A website designer that just takes your information and throws it on a page won’t help your business grow half as much as one who designs it with your purpose in mind.