North Raleigh Times

If you are starting a small business out-of-pocket and only have $700 to invest in a new web site, this article does not apply to you. One way or another, you need to get a web site designed for your business. It comes right after business cards in importance. Maybe before. But if you have a budget to work with, your web site is the last place you want to start pinching pennies. Yet, you would be surprised how many small businesses cut corners with the most important part of their marketing program…the web site. They end up farming it out to a friend, business associate, or part time web designer starting up a portfolio… in other words the “brother-in-law”.

As I see it there are a couple of reasons for this phenomenon. The first is because of the relative newness of the web, the small business owner can fail to realize the critical role that a web site plays in the marketing/branding of their business.  The second is that they are not sure exactly what they want their web program to accomplish, so they see the first web site as a trial balloon that they want to invest as little money in as possible. They then proceed to erect a substandard virtual storefront for their business, projecting an inferior image of their business to the world. The saddest part of this is that many times the business owner is one of the last to realize that their web site is a boat anchor. They are just too close to the situation. Symptoms of an inferior web site are as follows:

1. No one ever mentions seeing it
2. An unwillingness of employees and business associates to send potential clients to it
3. No leads are generated from it
4. An absence of it being a value added in creating credibility in the sales cycle
5. A bad feeling in the business owner’s gut that something is wrong

I have been amazed at the money that I see businesses spend in advertising through other mediums such as newspaper, TV, radio, yellow pages, etc and yet the most cost effective and efficient component of their marketing program gets a back seat. This article is a wake up call to those businesses and organizations. The web is now the center of the marketing universe, and a medium that can supercharge all of your marketing efforts. No web site, no credibility. Bad web site, bad credibility. As a business owner who already has a web site, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Am I proud of my company web site?
2. Do my employees send people to it?
3. Is it on par with the rest of the marketing program?
4. Am I afraid to get an honest opinion from anyone about it?
5. Can anyone find it on Google?

If the answer to any one of these is yes, there may be a problem. Make a commitment to spend the money to develop a web site with a level of quality that is on par with the rest of your marketing program.

Whether you are having your first web site built or having an existing one rebuilt for your business or organization, quality is important. Here are some suggestions for getting a quality web site built and selecting the right company to do it:

1. If you are not sure what needs to be in your web site, keep it simple. Most small business web sites do not need to be real large. Usually 5 –10 pages is all that is required to give the business a good branding face. If you intend to add more later, have it built with expandability in mind. Remember it is quality, not quantity that counts the most in branding and marketing your business.
2. Choose a stable web company that has been around and has a good reputation. Check their work and have others check it as well. Look at what local business organizations the web company is associated with. Get referrals for web design companies from other companies whose web sites you like.
3. Avoid web programs that give you the site for free on the front end and then charge high monthly fees to host and maintain the program. With most of the programs, the sites are mass-produced and lack the quality of graphics and layout that a good custom designed site will have. Usually, you are locked into a contract. At the end of the contract, you cannot take your web design to another company, because the vendor owns the web site code and graphics.
4. Make sure that the company you work with has programs to host, promote and maintain your web site.  Select a company that is in the business for the long haul and will make a long-term commitment to support your web program.
5. Do not pay the whole cost for the web site up front. Most companies require 50% or less up front. Make sure that you do not have to pay the balance until design is complete.
6. Ask the companies you are considering how they handle the web design process. Do they have a process to develop a demo of the site look for your approval before building the site? You should expect there to be a design process that you as a client can participate in before actual site production begins to establish a site map and web site look. The web design company should be willing to look at your overall marketing program and develop a site that will fit in it to enable you to reach the goals of your business.
7. Look to see if the company you are evaluating has worked with other companies in your industry. Knowledge of your industry with the company you select is a plus.

I hope that these suggestions help you in having a quality web program developed for your business or organization. Remember that the web site is your store front to the world.