How Important is Your Website?
December 15, 2008
It astounds me when I come across a business that doesn’t have a web site. If you’re in business, and you want more customers, it’s absolutely essential that you have one. There are many different kinds of web sites, like e-commerce sites, blogs, etc., but if nothing else, every business should have an informational web site.
An informational site is a modern day version of a brochure–only you don’t have to print it, mail it, or hand it out. Now, having said this, I will offer the following caveat:
“It’s better to have no web site at all if it looks unprofessional.”
When I shop online or look online for information, I use the 5 second rule. If I get to a web site that looks like it was designed by your brother-in-law, I’m gone. On to the next site. I can spot it in 5 seconds.
Now, does this mean you have to hire a professional web designer to do your site? If you can afford it, I would highly recommend it. And, you can expect to pay handsomely for it. Well designed web sites can often cost between $5,000 and $10,000. On the other hand, if you’re on a tight budget, there are ways to do it for much less money and still have it appear like it was professionally developed.
Try to anticipate what your customer might want to know. Make sure you can tell them how to get in touch with you, how to find you, etc. And whatever you do, make sure you keep your site up to date. If the first thing they see in July is your Christmas special, you can be assured your customer is going to wonder if you’re still in business. Finally, make generous use of white space, and use professional looking photographs. I highly recommend stock photography. I’ve found an amazing web site where you can purchase stock photos at unbelievably low prices: www.iStockPhoto.com .
How can you do all this this on a shoestring? Well, thanks to the widespread use of blogs, there are some wonderful tools available to you that allow you to not only put up a great looking web site, but you can keep them up to date without the help of anyone–all without knowing anything about HTML, web site development, or any of those other things that scare you. And best of all, most of these tools are free or available at a very minimal cost.
Now, I’m not saying this is easy, but if you’re willing to learn a little about blogging software, you can do it yourself. On the other hand, if you don’t have the time or inclination to delve into the world of blogging software, you can likely find someone to customize one of these sites for you in the $500 - $1,000 range.
Finally, you may be wondering what you have to pay to have it hosted somewhere. One of the best values I’ve found is www.hostmonster.com. I use them for quite a few of my web sites, and their support is VERY good. And believe it or not, you can get everything you need for an informational web site, including email addresses, for $6.95 per month. Add to that the cost of a domain name for about $10 to $40 per year, and you have everything you need. If you’re interested in getting an account with them, you can sign up by clicking on the graphic below:
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