As the owner of a small business in the internet age, you have a decision to make. It seems like everyone and their brother is online, and you’re being pressured to be online, too. Many marketing firms and web design companies are looking to use you to increase their bottom line.
Honest firms will give you honest advice. You may not need to have your own web site.
Just because a web design company that specializes in selling its services thinks you should have a web site with full interactive pages and a shopping cart doesn’t mean that it’s the best return on your investment for your business. You need the facts to make an informed decision.
If you’re reading this article, you’re wondering if you need a web site. You may think of any page on the internet as a “web site”. It’s a bit more complicated than that. Your online presence can be as simple as listings on local search pages or as complex as a web site with multiple sub-domains, a shopping cart, image gallery, Flash, and more.
Your Presence Should Suit Your Business…And Your Goals
What are you hoping to accomplish by having an online presence? Do you want to attract new customers? Serve existing customers better? Serve your own employees? Make a million dollars selling your products? There has to be a reason. You have to have measurable goals and an intention in order to decide what you need. A web design company needs your direction. The first piece of homework for you is to sit down and write out your goals.
There is an old joke, “what if architects were treated like web designers”, that is a shining example of what not to do. Just as you would look for an appropriate house for your family and an appropriate building for your work, you need to have an idea of what an appropriate web presence is for your small business.
- Is your business a one-man show or a medium-sized incorporated body?
- What is your industry or area of focus?
- What is driving you to consider having a web site?
- What is your target demographic?
- Do you plan to sell your products online?
- What is the maximum budget you can plan for?
Whatever your reason for deciding on a web presence, it involves your bottom line. You certainly want to recoup your investment in time and money. The bigger the site, the more money it will cost you, both in original development and in maintenance. Planning and goals are essential for good ROI.
Choosing a Package That Is Right for You
So what is it that you truly need? Here are some of your options.
Local Search Listings
Getting a simple listing on major local search engines such as Google Maps or the Yellow Pages is often free or low cost and doesn’t require that you have a dedicated site or domain. They simply list your business’ address and phone number when people search for local results. You might also want to provide incentives such as coupons or pay for more prominent listings so your business appears before your competition.
This option is ideal for small local businesses such as independently owned gas stations and corner stores. You would pay only for the work done to get you listed and keep you current on all the main sites, saving you a lot of time.
Simple Page (No Domain)
It’s a snap to get a simple page going on a free site like Blogger, MySpace, or Facebook. You don’t get your own domain name, although you could purchase one separately and have it redirected to your page. Some free sites allow you to customize the layout extensively, although if you feel the need to do this, you may do better with a full hosting package. Design and maintenance of the page could be done as needed with minimal budget.
There are literally millions of these small pages on the internet. This option is not for those looking for extensive SEO (search engine optimization), nor is it for those looking to sell product. If you just need a URL to direct clients to and a simple page with a picture or two, some contact information, and possibly examples of your work, this option may work for you.
Full Web Site (Static Content)
A full web site contains multiple pages and has at least one domain name. Hosting packages range all over the board in capability and price. Most include registering your domain name, have set limits on bandwidth, and are on shared servers. A simple hosting package for a small business that only needs a few simple pages in their site can cost as little as $5-10 a month after the initial design cost, as long as you keep your bandwidth in check.
Owning your own site allows you to have full control over what it looks like. SEO, branding, and marketing become possible.
This option is ideal for a small business that is not looking to sell much product online and that won’t require a lot of updates, such as a restaurant or boutique.
Web Site (Dynamic Content)
If your site will sell products on its own or get any of its content from a database, your hosting package will have to include this option. Blogging platforms such as Word Press and Drupal, image galleries such as Coppermine, and any site that uses its own shopping cart will need a database to store information. As blogging has become so prevalent, most hosting providers have a database option available for a low additional monthly cost.
Once you add a database to your site, someone has to design pages for you to interact with that database. Trying to directly update it without administrative pages is about as much fun as eating glass. While the initial cost for these extra pages is more, it can make updating the site a breeze in the future, decreasing maintenance costs. You wouldn’t need to have a contractor add a product to a product page; you would add it yourself using the provided interface.
Other Considerations
Aside from the variety of hosting options, if you choose to have a web site, you must also decide how much technical expertise is going to be required to create and maintain it. Some questions to consider are:
- Will you use a template (pre-existing design) or do you want full customization?
- Does the site need to be optimized for performance?
- Does it need to be 100% standards-based, CSS-compliant, and cross-browser?
- Does it need to be SEO friendly?
- Will it have Flash content?
- Will it need customized server-side code?
- Will it need updated by someone with technical knowledge?
The single most important decision you have to make is who you will trust to help you make informed choices about what is necessary to accomplish your goals at a price that won’t break the bank. Someone who won’t sell you products or services that you don’t need, but who will be honest about what you do need. Are you ready?