Entrepreneurs: Wake Up!

If you don’t have a online presence, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to introduce consumers to your products and services! Why? Because a Web site is your 24-7-365 salesperson that will always represent your business correctly. Whether your goal is to collect leads, provide information, or to sell before, during, and after “normal” business hours, a website is a “must-have.”


So, if you don’t currently have a Web site, I have to ask: Why not?


Is it the cost?
If cost is the primary reason for your hesitation, you’re in luck. There are a variety of solutions on the web that make having a Web site affordable for everyone. For example, Google offers free Web sites and a very simple online site builder that allows users to build a simple Web site in no time at all. Therefore, it’s a decent option for a starter Web site. However, there are a couple of catches: (1) The templates are frill-less. (2) Customization capabilities are limited. (3) You will not have a fully customized domain. That’s to say, if your company is called “Funny Biz,” your Web address would not simply be “FunnyBiz.com.” Instead, it would be: http://FunnyBiz.googlepages.com. Still, that’s a small price to pay (or not pay!) if you need an online presence and have absolutely no budget for a Web site.

If you have $20 / month that you can spare for a Web site, you can build a Web site with a customized domain, which is ideal because the domain can be used to help brand your business. GoDaddy is a highly popular domain purchase and hosting service but there are a number of companies on the web who provide the same services; many of them, like GoDaddy offer site building services and templates to help you build your own Web site. Best of all, you don’t need to know HTML or any other programming language. (Other web domain and hosting options.)

An additional option is to tap into the many template-for-sale services on the web. A popular site with a huge variety of templates at various price ranges is Template Monster. Often times, these services provide website templates that have more pizzazz than those provided through GoDaddy, Google, and similar services. However, you will pay for that unique look. Expect to pay $60 to $150 for the right to use the template of your choice. FYI: You will still need to hire someone with web design experience to customize the template for you or you can customize the template yourself but you must have the correct design software to do so. And of course, there’s a fully customized Web site design. Expect pricing for custom Web site design by seasoned professionals to cost $500 and up; the complexity of the site and the number of pages will ultimately dictate a majority of your costs. Flash and e-commerce sites cost more than static sites. Sorry folks. That’s just the way it is.


Can’t decide what to say or how to say it?
That’s an easy solve too. You’ve got two options.

Option A: Make a list of the important information that you would want a potential customer to know about your business. From that, start writing those things out in detail. Then, hire a proofreader or editor to improve the text. That’s the way to go if you have lots of time but very little cash.

Option B: Hire a professional copywriter. If you hire a copywriter, all you’ll have to do is make a list of the information you want conveyed and be ready to answer questions. A trained copywriter will be specialized and knowledgeable about how to convey your message in the perfect words. Any good copywriter will be able to cater his or her writing style to one that fits your target audience, the brand personality you’ve established for your business, and the type of writing (sales versus informational / educational) that’s needed based on your purpose for the Web site.


Does the idea of designing a Web site seem too daunting?
It shouldn’t be. If you use a site builder through a hosting company, the programs are intuitive. You just have to be patient while for the first hour or so until you figure things out. If, on the other hand, you plan on hiring a web designer, the so-called hard part for you really isn’t that hard at all. The primary tasks you’ll need to complete before contacting a web designer are to:

• Determine the purpose of your Web site
  
  
• Decide on the type of content to be included on the site as well as whether you’ll be providing the content or if you’re going to hire a copywriter
  
  
• Make a list of the special capabilities (if any) you want the Web site to have. Ex: A contact form, flash introduction, photo gallery, shopping cart for e-commerce, a database to collect or store information, etc.
  
  
• Locate examples Web sites and provide your designer with links to those sites. Or, if you’re designing your own Web site, keep the links handy for quick reference.

As long as you can describe those things in detail, that’s all the designer will need to get started on your Web site. If the designer has more questions, he or she will ask.


Don’t have the time to “organize” or “oversee” the project?
Make the time. We live in the electronic age where consumers hop on the Internet superhighway for almost everything they’re looking for. It’d be a shame for them to go looking for what you sell and not find you, now wouldn’t it?