Does Your Business Need A Website?

Do you need a website?

To be or not to be online….

Remember when you were looking for a hairdresser in the neighborhood? What was the first thing you did? Yes, you searched online! You found a few hairdressers, then you compared them and made a choice, probably based on reviews.

That’s how it works these days and that’s exactly why you and your business should be online! Not having a website means missed opportunities, because no one uses a phone book anymore.

Where Do You Start

Then the next question is: Where do you start? The answer to that question is found in the purpose of your site. Do you want to share your portfolio or knowledge, your business information, or do you want to sell products?

So, before starting a website there are some questions you need to answer first because these determine how your site should be built and what your intention is.

The most important questions that need to be answered are:

·        What is your goal for the website?

·       What does your company do? Sell or provide services, products, information etc.

·        Who are your clients? Adults, females, seniors etc.

·        What pages do you need on your website? Homepage, contact page etc.

·        What features are needed on your site? Portfolio, maps, search etc.

·        What is your budget for the website?

·        Will you manage your own site and content?

How Much Does It Cost?

Other questions are related to the financial aspect: how much will it cost to get a website? This depends on a few factors. You can go the DIY way and create/manage your own site, or, you can outsource the whole project.

Websites are comparable to cars, you can get a Ford Escort or a BMW, and it’s up to you which one to choose.

Overall you have the following options (prices vary by designers):

·        A minimal website for about $100-200, with little or no aftercare support.

·        Brochure or static websites without a blog may range from $300-800.

·        For an eCommerce site to sell products, you’re looking at $1000-5000.

·        Or you can go all out and spend thousands if you need something fancy and have the money to spend on a custom-designed website.

So your choice will depend on what kind of business you have and how big your budget is. If you are a hairdresser or a coach, a static website might be good enough for you. But if you want to sell kids clothes you will need an eCommerce site.

How Do You Build A Website?

There are many tools available that each serves a purpose. There are website builders requiring no technical skills, like Wix and Squarespace, and at the other end are custom built websites created by designers with coding skills.

The alternative to both is WordPress. It’s a free online software that requires some knowledge to customize pre-built templates, but without knowing code. WordPress is flexible, affordable and can be updated anytime with access to a computer (or smartphone) and the Internet. It also makes your site search engine friendly so it can show up in internet searches.

What Do You Need To Start Your Website?

The minimum requirements to start a website are:

• A web host – to rent space online for your website (monthly or annual fee).
• A domain name – address on the internet.

Be it to share your knowledge to educate others, or to make your products and services available online, having a website can really make a difference. You can do it yourself, or have someone build your site. I hope this article gave you some insights and a good idea if a website makes sense for you and your business. Do you have a website? What else would you like to know about websites? Let us know in the comments.