You've been asked time and time again if your business has a web site. However you feel that your business is too small and your product cannot be sold on the Internet. So should you still have a web site built?
Well the answer is yes, if you have a business you should have a web site. It is also wise not to dismiss your product as one that cannot be sold over the Internet. Nowadays you will find that there is very little that cannot be sold over the Internet. The rule of thumb goes like this "If you can imagine it, some one will work out how to sell it online".
There is no need to invest all your time and effort, into selling your products online, although if the product lends itself to easy sales online you should be considering it. The point is that you should at least have a presence on the Internet so that customers, potential employees, business partners and investors can quickly and easily find out more about your business and the products and services you have to offer.
With that said, it is not enough to have just a web site. You need to have a professional-looking web site if you want to be taken seriously. Since many customers search online before purchasing anything, your web site may be the first chance you have at making a good impression on a potential customer. If your web site looks not the least bit professional more than likely your chance of making a good first impression will be lost.
One of the greatest things about the Internet is it is more or less a level playing field, where any business can compete with "the big boys" so to speak. As stated above you only get one opportunity to make a lasting first impression. With a well designed web site, your little business can project it's self to the world, the image and professionalism of a much larger company. The opposite may also occur for those who are "the big boys" with badly designed web site, one which is hard to navigate and badly designed, portrays to the world that you lack professionalism and credibility.
No matter how big or small your company is when it comes to a web site "size doesn't matter". I doesn't matter if you are a one man operation or a large corporation, if you don't have a web site you are losing business to those that do.
However there is an exception to the rule. It is actually better to have no web site at all than to have one that makes your business look bad. Just like your personal appearance is professional and your office or shop is clean and welcoming, your web site should be presented to the public in that same professional manner.
So with this in mind my next point is of some what important. So you have read this and you think it is time to have a web site developed, but how do you choose a web designer. When there is such price differences, well the most general way to look at it is "cheapest is not always the best". Make sure you sit down and see what they are offering, and check their portfolio out, and any additional costs you might be up for in the near future.
Overall, a web site is a must have for business today, and it should be taken very seriously.
