How Important is a Website For a Small Business?

Why does a small business need a website? Today, most businesses need an online presence as much as they need a phone or mailbox. Clients simply expect you to have one. For some small businesses, a website is the primary selling tool, and for others it is little more than a directory listing with contact information. From simple to complex, websites have become a requirement for doing business.

Most people begin their search for a product online using a search engine like Google, Yahoo, MSN, or Dogpile (which searches several search engines at once). Having a website that is designed to be an effective Internet marketing tool, can be very valuable for small businesses. Without the right web site, people may not be able to find your business.

Should you hire a graphic designer or do it yourself?

Yourself:

Pros: You'll save money by doing it yourself, and you'll have complete control over the look and feel of the site. If you have a working knowledge of basic web design there are free tools that will allow you to create a website on your own.

Cons: If you don't know much about computers and/or web design it could take a while to learn enough to get your site up and running. Also, you will have to spend even more time dedicated to making any updates and changes in the future.

A Graphic Designer:

Pros: You will get a clean well designed web page in a short amount of time if you hire a web designer. Also, the designer can take care of any changes and updates in the future. Plus, it will give you more time to devote to actually running your business.

Cons: You may not always have as much control over the outcome of your site, and very busy designers may take a while to get your site completed.

One way to begin considering your options is to decide if your needs are simple or complex:

• If your business is not web-based and you merely want a place on the web, there are many off-the-shelf, even free, products and services that may be all you need.
• If you are going to be selling products online and need to set up an e-commerce site, there are many more complex products and services.
• If your site is going to be the entire basis of your online business, then developing it may involve a great deal of time and resources to create and launch. No matter what your needs, it is a good idea to have a logo that can be recognized on your web site and all your printed materials.

Selecting a domain name:

A domain name, sometimes called an URL, is the "web address" string of letters that will serve as a means for people to find your website. Often the cost of getting a domain name or web hosting service is your responsibility, separate from your design fee. You can register your desired address easily through services called "domain registrars." Costs for registering a domain name can be just a few dollars per year if you use a service like GoDaddy.com, or much more if you purchase the name from someone who already controls it. Coming up with a web address that has not be registered can be a challenge. Many of the obvious and short words and letter combinations have already been registered. However, with a little creativity, you can still come up with an address that will be appropriate for your business.

Choosing a web hosting service:

Often, the same company you use for Internet access will provide a website hosting plan as part of the service. A website can utilize design templates that are available from your web hosting service or you can request that your web designer stay away from common templates, but that will often cost you more money.

Hopefully, this has pointed you in the right direction - small businesses really need to have a website, whether it's simple of complicated.

Sheryl A. Skutelsky is owner of SAS Graphic Design - specializing in small business branding.

For more information on small business branding visit SAS Graphic Design at: http://www.sasgraphicdesign.com

Creating a Successful Online Business - Keeping Your Visitors

One of the most important key things in having a successful business online is the look of your website. Your visitors don't want to look at an uninviting website. This will make them think that you are highly unprofessional and will begin to look for someone that comes on as a very professional company right from the start.

You need to find a way to get yourself a professional, yet extremely eye-catching website. Most business owners have little, to no experience in graphic and web design. But this does not mean that graphic and web design is not important to your business. Graphic and web design is one of the most important aspects to your business. It takes a lot of time and dedication to become a professional web designer, which is why there is web design company's out there.

Design company's are there to make your life easier. You, as a business owner, do not have the time to sit down for a few years and learn to be even decent at web design. This is why you as a business owner needs to find the right design company to design your next website.

Remember, it is not only your product that will get you customers in the online business. If you don't have a professional, eye-catching website and a new visitor comes to your website, they are likely to leave your website in search of someone that comes off as more professional. A lot of business owners may have opposite thoughts, and think that only their product or service is the only thing that matters. But before the client even thinks about trying a businesses product or service, you need to attract them. This is one of the main reason that some businesses never get off the ground, and eventually fade away.

Hopefully you learned some new information from this article, and will take my suggestions into consideration. If you do, I highly recommend contacting a web design company. You can see their packages very clearly on their home page, also be sure to check out their portfolio.

Kyle Gile

Building a Website That Has a Real Impact For Your Business

The World Wide Web levels the field for your industry.

When a potential visitor logs on to the internet and opens your internet site into a browser window, they know less than nothing about your company. It's vital to recognize that your internet site is a mirrored image of your business. A potential client across the ocean ( or even down the street, potentially ) doesn't know you from your competitors. If your internet site is poorly built, this reflects heavily on your company.

Does this mean I have to take out a 2nd mortgage to build my website?

I know what you are thinking,'my cousin's pal's brother can build me a website.' it is true, almost anyone can build you a website, but, as the old principle goes, you get what you pay for. It takes years of hard work and dedication to learn the subtleties of building professional web pages. Our recommendation is to leave this vital job to the professionals ( i.e. Us ). This doesn't suggest a kick-ass internet site has to put you in the poor house.

Here are a couple of things to consider:

* you don't have to put your complete business on the web. Try to include only the best features of your business on your website. All you need somebody to do is make that first phonephone call or walk into your store to make the sale.

* Use pre-existing brands and artwork. A pricey part of web design is branding your company. If you already have a look and emblems that work for you, try to stay with them.

* Do some of the work yourself. You can write the text and take the photos.

* Save your cash if you are not going to pump your website. Search engines are our friends. Do not build a website if you are not going to spend the money to market it.

5 Steps to a Great Website!

So what makes a great website? The very first thing you want to consider when building your internet site is that there are billions of internet sites out there. Your internet site has to stand out from the rest to capture your audiences' attention. This implies professionalism, and...

1. Provide credible, original content in as many forms as possible . Content is King. Original content is the most vital characteristic of a great Web site. Please don't forget to update your internet site regularly.

2. Ensure your website is simple to navigate. Be well-organized. Folks have to find what they are looking for easily. If a visitor has to search for info, they will leave your site.

3. Be Responsive. Your website should download quickly . If people have to wait too long, they will leave your internet site. To ensure fast download times, optimize, optimize, optimize.

4. Be straightforward to read. Choose colours that make sense. Bright colours appeal to the human eye, but do not go mad. Also, white text on a dark background reads best , however , white backgrounds are standard. Don't get too fancy ; sometimes less is more.

5. Be interactive. Good interactivity engages the user and makes your internet site memorable.
Obviously, there's more to building a great web site then what we've listed. But these tips will get you on the right path quickly and easily.

The most vital tip we can give you is to take a look at your potential web designer's portfolio. Anybody can say,'Yeah, yeah - I build great websites.' But if you don't like his or her work, probabilities are, you will not like your internet site, either.

To contact us about implementing the steps above and building a website that increases your bottom line visit us at Orlando Web Site Design. You can also visit our web marketing specialists SEO Consultants Orlando Search Marketing.