I'm surprised at the number of businesses that do not have a Web site. Your presence on the Web is essential. You may think that you don’t have the time to build one and paying someone will be cost prohibitive. Your FaceBook page or other social media is not enough. You don't have control over either. You should have control over your Web site.
Before you pass on the idea of having a Web site, consider the following:
1. Many of your clients will never find you without a Web site. The Web has taken the place of the Yellow Pages and other forms of advertising.
2. Many clients will check you out on the Web before they call you. Their basic questions will be answered, saving you valuable time.
3. Also, a business with a Web site appears to be more credible than one without.
4. It doesn’t have to be exactly what you want immediately. It can be a work in progress.
5. You may begin with a simple brochure type format with only one page.
Ask around to find someone that is affordable, yet has the ability to capture the style in which you want to present yourself. Your Web site is a major component of the brand you build for your company.
Your site should include:
1. Contact information— a phone number, e-mail address and if you have a physical location, include that address.
2. A brief description of products or services is also a basic. It would be good include a photo with the description.
As you learn more and decide to improve your site, it may include:
1. A place for customers to order products, to reserve time, or to make appointments.
3. Eventually the site may grow from simple brochure format to one with music, video streaming or animation.
The important thing is to get started. A presence on the Web is essential to the survival of your business.
3 comments:
Mildred, thanks so much for this post. Business owners shouldn't even be asking the question, does my business need a website. That is just like asking, does my business need email. Yet, I run into many business owners who don't have one. My suggestion for getting a website up fast is to use Wordpress dot org. It is widely used now by many businesses large and small for example CNN and USA Today It is not hard to use and a person will have better control for updating. A problem that I see with getting a web developer to create a simple site using HTML is that it is often not easy to update. If the business loses contact with the developer they may have trouble getting someone to update the site. Search engines will still have a hard time indexing a site so that it shows up in Google searches when the site rarely changes. When a business owner uses a web developer to create a site they should ask to be set up with a self hosted word press dot org site. Additionally, a person who is a marketer or even a graphic designer can set up a wordpress site. I use a graphic designer to set up sites. Her name is Nan Ross at www.corporatecosmo.com. Ok, now everybody get you sites up!
I, too, am surprised at the number of businesses that don't have a website, especially when today you have do-it-yourself web options that can cost as little as $100/year!
I would also agree that it's important to get started and have your own web presence, and I'll take it a step further to say that now is the perfect time to explore a self-hosted WordPress blog, which can (and does) function as a website for many people, in addition to offering the functionality to build it out as a blog later on.
If I were going from "no web presence" to "a website" on today's web, I'd opt for a WordPress website. If you have the time, it's a platform that can be learned fairly quickly, and if you opt to pay someone to create one for you, you have the added benefit of being able to make your own edits in the future, thus saving money in the long-run, if that's a concern.
Great post! :)
Thanks. Those are valid points.
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