Should you even bother to have a website?
Well, rather than giving you a simple yes or no answer, let’s figure out who you are and what some of the things you should consider when making this decision.
If you are small business owner
I can never understand why some business owners are hesitating to set up their own websites, unless it is for financial or privacy reasons.
The advantages of having a website far outweighs the disadvantages. For most small business owners, a simple static website would suffice (ie. about, services, products, contact us). I don’t know how many times in my own business that I get asked “Do you have a website where I can check out your work?” So if you are in the service business (or even in product business), a website is essential.
The other thing that you can do with a website is generate leads for your business. You may consider writing a free report and give that away in exchange for visitor’s contact information – and once you have their contact information you may then follow up and try to close the sale.
In fact, if you want customer/prospect engagement with your company or website, you may even consider setting up a blog or a forum on your website.
Unlike a static website (informational pages, which feeds one way), a blog or a forum can create interaction between your website and your customers/prospects, and consequently can build customer loyalty and trust.
The disadvantages of an interactive website is that you (or someone else in your company) will need to participate and moderate the activities on the site which may take up time.
If you are an individual
Well, whether or not to set up your own personal website (or blog) is pretty much up to you then, isn’t it? It is possible that you set up your own website based on a hobby or special interest, and create a business out of it. Many times that is the incentive and reason for starting a website.
It is also not uncommon that bloggers make an extra income (and quite a few make a full-time living blogging) in their spare time.
Final remarks
Internet technology has taken great strides over the past decade in terms of ease of usability and cost. Nowadays you can get your own .com domain (aka your own web address) for just $10/year, and have it hosted for just $50/year.
Inside your web host account you simple use the one-click install to set up your own blog/forum/CMS (Content Management System) and you can literally have a full-blow funcational website ready to go in under 5 minutes. Of course customizing it to the way you want it to look may take additional time and web design skill.
Bottom line, cost of setting up a website is not what it used to be 10 years ago. Contact us if you are interested in setting up your own website.
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