How useful is a professional web site for business promotion? Thread poster: Balasubramaniam L.
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Balasubramaniam L. 
India
Local time: 06:55
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
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SITE LOCALIZER
This question has often puzzled me, for many established translators in this forum do not have a web site listed on their profile page. But then, many do have a web site. How useful is a web site for promoting business? Do you have one? If so, how much time do you spent in keeping it up to date? Or do you consider that time better spent elsewhere in more productive business promotion activities?
| | | | Jianjun Zhang
United Kingdom
Local time: 02:25
English to Chinese
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| Useful but not a necessity | Feb 20, 2006 |
Balasubramaniam wrote:
This question has often puzzled me, for many established translators in this forum do not have a web site listed on their profile page. But then, many do have a web site. How useful is a web site for promoting business? Do you have one? If so, how much time do you spent in keeping it up to date? Or do you consider that time better spent elsewhere in more productive business promotion activities?
In my opinion, a professional website is a good complementary promotional tool for a translator. Certainly, many translators do not have a website and they still have enough jobs to do. However, adding a good professional website will never hurt. It simply builds up your professional presence on the web. A good website is more than a profile page. It makes people understand your services. It connects you to your clients in a more intimate way.
It could also be a showcase of your understanding of web-building, which is very important for web localization jobs, if the website is totally designed and coded on your own.
Since your website enhances your exposure to wider Internet audience, it could also attract direct clients. Obviously, for various reasons, not everybody likes to deal with direct clients. But if you want to expand your translation career, you can't avoid starting contact with end clients directly. 
[Edited at 2006-02-20 03:11]
| | | | Francina
United States
Local time: 21:25
Dutch to English
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| Mrudula Tambe
India
Local time: 06:55
English to Marathi
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In memoriam | I'll say the website reflects your characterist | Feb 20, 2006 |
Our web-site reflects our characteristic overall which may help our client to decide whether to give us a job or to look other options as well. Because I think proz profile is rather monotonous in colour, theme, interests and presentation as an artist.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 03:25
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Some answers to your questions | Feb 21, 2006 |
Balasubramaniam wrote:
How useful is a web site for promoting business?
It is as useful as a business card, and slightly less useful as an entry in a business directory or the yellow pages.
Do you have one? If so, how much time do you spent in keeping it up to date?
Very little. You can design it to be updated every week, or you can design it to stay the same for ever (or until your rates or contact details change).
Or do you consider that time better spent elsewhere in more productive business promotion activities?
I tell you what... write yourself a brochure of your business. Then put that brochure on the web. Done.
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 06:55
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Your feedback would be immensely valuable... | Feb 21, 2006 |
Dear Samuel,
Actually I have recently put up a website. I took advantage of the free web space offered to members by this site and rigged up a quick one with the smattering of HTML I know and the sample templates available with FrontPage.
Could you find a few moments to check it out and tell me how I can improve it further. Your feedback would be immensely valuable.
You can access it from my profile page.
Best regards,
Bala
... See more Dear Samuel,
Actually I have recently put up a website. I took advantage of the free web space offered to members by this site and rigged up a quick one with the smattering of HTML I know and the sample templates available with FrontPage.
Could you find a few moments to check it out and tell me how I can improve it further. Your feedback would be immensely valuable.
You can access it from my profile page.
Best regards,
Bala
PS: I checked your website. Quite a profesional job it is.
[Edited at 2006-02-21 10:16] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 06:55
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Very sensible advice | Feb 21, 2006 |
Dear Jianjun,
You have given very sensible advice. A website is a definite plus to a translator.
I visited your website and was much impressed by its neatness, simplicity and effectiveness. Have you got many clients via your website?
May I request you to spent two minutes to look over my website and tell me what you think? I will value your feedback very much.
You can access it via my profile.
Best regards,
Bala
[Edit... See more Dear Jianjun,
You have given very sensible advice. A website is a definite plus to a translator.
I visited your website and was much impressed by its neatness, simplicity and effectiveness. Have you got many clients via your website?
May I request you to spent two minutes to look over my website and tell me what you think? I will value your feedback very much.
You can access it via my profile.
Best regards,
Bala
[Edited at 2006-02-21 09:47] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 03:25
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
| Comments on Bala's web site | Feb 22, 2006 |
Balasubramaniam wrote:
Could you find a few moments to check it out and tell me how I can improve it further. Your feedback would be immensely valuable.
A nice neat and clean layout. But "Welcome to my Web Site!" belongs on a personal homepage and not on a professional web site. How about some slogan or catchphrase instead?
You have marked your bottom navigation links to be non-breaking, which results in a horizontal scroll bar on my browser. Is there any reason why you can't have those links on two lines?
The fact that your lefthand navigation links are images might mean that they fail to show up instantly on a slow connection. You can have text links there and still have a very neat and tidy web site.
Personally I would make "Contact info" the last menu item and not the second one.
Otherwise a very neat web site. Congrats.
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| I like your site too ! | Feb 22, 2006 |
Congratulations, Bala, nice job.
The design is clear, simple, airy and professional. The text are in a conversational tone that is pleasant to read as well as informative, demonstrates competence while remaining non-boasting.
BUt i agree, the "welcome to my website" bit has to go.... Try to find a "tag" line to replace it, that should work nicely.
Cheers,
Patricia
| | | | Balasubramaniam L.
India
Local time: 06:55
Member (2006)
English to Hindi
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Thank you so much | Feb 23, 2006 |
Thank you Samuel for your very practical advice. I will try to implement them straight away.
Thank you Patricia for your appreciation of the web site. I checked out your web site too. It is quite impressive. I liked the small special effects on the menu bar. The write ups are crisp and professional.
I will replace the "Welcome to My Web Site" eye sore as soon as I can think up a good tag line. But I agree with both you and Samuel, it has no place in a professional web s... See more Thank you Samuel for your very practical advice. I will try to implement them straight away.
Thank you Patricia for your appreciation of the web site. I checked out your web site too. It is quite impressive. I liked the small special effects on the menu bar. The write ups are crisp and professional.
I will replace the "Welcome to My Web Site" eye sore as soon as I can think up a good tag line. But I agree with both you and Samuel, it has no place in a professional web site. ▲ Collapse
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