Creating a Website for your company; Part 1: Why?

Last week I needed to find a company that sells cash registers, now confusingly referred to as POS (Point of Sale) devices.  Amazingly, the POS company that was located closest to me did not have a website.  I am surprised to find how often businesses and community organizations are not represented on the web, even at the least with those free web pages provided by telephone service companies. 

Does your business have a website?  I hope so!  But if not, you are in good company.  Recent research by Watershed and Nielsen reports that less than 44% of small businesses have a web site.   It may be difficult for you to see the reason for creating a website, especially if you aren’t particularly computer savvy.  If, in fact, it takes a whole support staff to get you on your computer every day, it’s hard to imagine why you would consider spending your money on a billboard in cyberspace.

 But, believe it or not, most of the rest of the world is using their computer to search for almost everything they buy.  Considering that 63% of consumers turn to the Internet first when searching for local companies, you may be missing out on a lot of business.  The Internet is a versatile search tool, providing users with the ability to search for and find products at the click of a mouse…even easier than ‘letting your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages’ as consumers did in the 1970’s and 80’s.

Early website design was prohibitively expensive, costing a business or organization thousands of dollars for a site that looked like a page from a tool catalog.  Today’s web designers can work for companies anywhere in the world, providing custom-designed sites for hundreds, not thousands of dollars.  Websites can do as little as show shoppers where to find a product or can do as much as allow them to purchase the product on-line and have it delivered to their door.  What you do with your company website is up to you.  What is important is that you take advantage of this valuable, cost-effective marketing tool that will, at the least, help your customers find you.  Who knows?  A website may be just the boost your business needs to make you an equal player in today’s technology- driven market.

Sue A. Evans

Note:  

Don’t miss Part 2 next month:   Website Planning for a Site that Sizzles.