What Content is included in EC PRO?
A few years ago, building a website took a lot of work by computer geeks like your nephew. The truth is, just about anyone can make their own website with readily available tools today. A website is nice, but a website that is a core part of a marketing program that will build your company, systematically and smartly -- they're not so easy to come by. EC PRO knows the home performance business, and our professional writers, web designers, and web producers create top notch content that will help your customer know what your business is, and feel confident that they can trust you to do the job, All sites come out of the gate with carefully crafted content, organized well and nearly ready to roll on the first day. We'll give you a great start to build on.
Will I be able to easily make changes to my site?
Of course! The content on your site -- the words, pictures, graphics, and other information you share is all within your control. You'll choose a design template when you first get the site rolling, but most areas of the page, even the header, footer and sidebars can be changed just as easily as writing an email message. We have done a lot of work to help make the stuff you need to change easily accessible, while doing other important things automatically, behind the scenes.
The more a website looks "alive" the more likely it is that new visitors will know that you're a professional, not just at your specialty, but also at running a business. If you take a little time -- even just 20 minutes a week, you can write some news, post some photos of a recent job, or put up that nice testimonial your recent customer provided. Our overarching goal is to make this so easy that you don't have to worry about the techie stuff.
If I have my own domain name/url, can I keep it?
Yep. Most of our customers do. If you don't have a domain name yet with an existing web site, though, we have some advice about choosing a good one first -- the domain name isn't everything, but it can be a very important part of helping you build and promote a brand.
I have my own site; can I roll over to the EC platform?
In most cases, this is a straightforward process. If you have a large existing site with hundreds of pages, it may take some effort, but a typical site isn't that hard. If you are getting traffic to your website from search engines, or other sites that link to yours on the web (for example, your local Better Business Bureau), you'll want to make sure that those links still work after your site is up and running with EC PRO. We have written up some ideas about how to make the transition smooth, and we can help make sure your site retains all of the important links and "Google Goodness" it has earned over the years.
Do I have design choices?
We provide an extensive choice of design templates that are oriented towards the Building Performance businesses we serve. Many simple website builder sites will offer you a dazzling array of choices ... but which one is best for you? We focus on quality and flexibility over pure quantity. Your site should be unique and stand out. Our designs are not just nice looking -- they are designed to make your website do what you want: give people confidence that you're careful and thoughtful, help people understand what you do, feel confident that you are trustworthy and skilled, and that they should hire you for their job ... right now!
If you choose, we offer custom design options -- they don't cost a mint because we have built a platform that makes it possible and easy to significantly change the look and feel of a site on our end, and our design team is stellar.
Can I make specific requests for future features?
Energy Circle PRO is a flexible platform, and we're continually adding new features. In many cases, we have found that with a little help, our platform is flexible enough to allow you to get a feature you want without waiting a long time. So ask, by all means, and we'll see if we can figure out a solution. Our plan for future enhancements is guided by our customers' requests. We're not a custom website design and development company, so we may not be able to offer every feature every customer wants. But we take great pains to develop software that follows the most current web software standards.
Will you help me with search engine optimization?
Nothing beats free traffic, and great listings on search engines are a big part of what we have built the EC PRO platform to do. We have gone to great lengths to make EC PRO web sites easily found and understood by search engines. But no website alone can say it does "SEO", because true SEO is a lot more than having the right words in the right place on a page. What worked a few years ago can now get you in trouble. Today's world requires your active participation. Our approach is to provide a large and easy to understand library of help videos or "screencasts" that show you how to make the most out of your site in simple, small bites. We cover the important basics. So, with EC PRO the ball is all teed up, we give you the right club, we teach you how to make the best possible swing and it's up to you to send the ball. And if you hook or slice, we'll help you get back on the fairway.
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