Does Your Business Need A Website ?
 
Have you asked yourself the question: Does my business need a website?
 
Every business these days needs a website, so the short answer is yes, but before you start hiring programmers and graphic designers, decide what objective you would like your website to accomplish.
 
If the primary purpose of the website is to communicate company contact information and tell the world what your business does rather than actually sell products, you don't need lots of fancy bells and whistles.
 
Keep the feel of your website appropriate to the type of business you have. Bright primary colors, lots of graphics and a font that looks like writing in crayon may work for a site that sells children's products but wouldn't convey the image of a professional.
 
Think about your customer and what they would like to know as well as what you want to tell them.
 
Place a "contact us" link on every page. Don't make your visitors hunt for it.
 
When you do get an email respond to it as soon as possible. 24 hours doesn't seem unreasonable but the longer you wait to respond the higher the probability your visitor has found what they wanted on a competitor's site.
 
When designing the website, ease of navigation should be a high priority. Confused customers will leave a site in frustration and that means you may have lost a sale. Keep the navigation as consistent as possible across all your pages. Always have a clearly marked link that gets back to your home page.
 
Fancy graphics and flash may look pretty but if they take too long to load it irritates visitors. Keep graphics appropriate and don't overuse them. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.
 
Write the content of your website for human readers not search engine spiders. Keep the paragraphs short. The length of the webpage should be about 350 words. If you have more to say on the subject, continue on a separate page. Check the grammar and spelling. Errors say you're sloppy and careless and that's probably not the image you want to portray to potential customers.
 
Use headings and subheadings to break up your written content.
 
Many people will prefer to skim the page to find what they're looking for rather than read every word. Make it easy for them by using the headings.
 
Vary the look of the page by using bullet points, check marks, changing fonts and indenting content, but don't get carried away. Too many variations and the page starts to look cluttered.
 
Use white space around the content and graphics. Don't let your text bump up right next to a graphic, that makes the text hard to read.
 
If your site is a storefront where you sell products, make sure your shopping cart software, credit card processing and gateway processor are all coordinated to work with each other. Most do, but not every piece of software will communicate with every other piece of software. Select the software based on ease of customer use as much as ease of use for you.
 
Always keep your customer in mind in website design.
 
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Your Business Needs A Website
 
You may have asked yourself at one time or another, "Does my business really need a website?" In order to fully answer that question, it's important to understand what can be accomplished with an internet website.
 
Increased Sales Opportunities

You don't have to be a genius to discern that the internet has become an enormous commercial vehicle over the last ten to twelve years. A website can be an extension of your sales force, or in the case of sites like Amazon - your only sales force. With a website your business is always open and providing continuous sales opportunities to a global market. You'll fully realize what this means the first time you get an order at 3:00 a.m. from across the country.
 
Make Your Presence Known
 
But even if you do not plan to sell goods online, a website is an indispensable marketing tool in today's world. Think about it, many people can't recall the last time they used a local telephone book. I know I can't. Why not? Because, simply put, the phone book has nearly been replaced with search engines and directories like Google and Yahoo!
 
So, if you own an auto body shop in Toledo, but don't have a website, what's the likelihood of a potential customer finding your phone number, address, hours of operation, or list of services when typing "Toledo auto body" in Google? That's right! ZERO. But they will find a competitor in Toledo.
 
The internet is the new Yellow Pages.
 
A website can be a very cost-effective form of advertising when compared to other ad formats, including the once trusty phone book. If you don't have a website, you're sure to be losing business to other companies that do.
 
Not Just Anything Will Do
 
That being said, just having "a website" is not enough. To be taken seriously, you need to have a professional-looking, usable website.
 
It's almost better to have no website than to have one that is poorly designed or looks amateurish when compared to other companies' sites. Just as with anything else, first impressions go a long way.

So if you keep putting off having a website, you're ignoring a cost-effective marketing vehicle that's become essential in today's society.

 
Why Your Business Needs a Website

Even with the steady growth of the World Wide Web, many businesses do not have an online presence and some think that they do not need to have a presence at all.
 
"My business is doing fine as it is." That's great!
 
But, it's almost impossible to answer 'no' to the question, "Can my business be doing even better?"
 
One of the easiest ways to help your business gain more exposure and potential customers is to have a professionally developed website.
 
There are many advantages to having a professionally designed website.
 
Consider some of the points below:
   1. Make a great first impression of your business to first-time visitors to your site.
   2. Reach a wider, global market.
   3. Increases credibility.
   4. Use as a promotional tool.
   5. Increase sales.
   6. Generate new leads.
   7. Improve customer service.
   8. Use your site as an informational tool for your customers, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
   9. Unlike printed material, your website can be changed very easily, anytime.
   10. Reduce operating costs.
 
In order to compete in a local to a global market, you have to be available to it.
 
Having a professionally designed website gives your business an edge, saves time, reduces operating costs and improves your image. 

You can increase your sales by being able to complete transactions online, anytime.
 
Whether you are a large corporation, or an individual who simply wants to have a personal space on the internet, your site can serve as an informational tool you can refer your customers or interested parties to.
 
 
You Need A Website?
Having a presence on the web is a necessity for any business today. For a small business it is even more important.
A website takes away the age old advantage of huge impressive offices or showrooms.
It also reduces your costs and allows you to compete with much bigger companies.
  
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Does Your Business Need A Website ? Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books. One of her favorite website design companies is RJ Graphix designed Find more finance and business tips Visit Dee's party site Party Ideas Kids. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dee_Power
Your Business Needs A Website. The author is the owner of Tambora Design & Production a Tampa FL web design firm. Tambora Design & Production also provides search engine optimization, multimedia services, and free web design quotes. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ely_Miranda
Why Your Business Needs a Website. Sherry Holub received her degree in design from UCLA in 1995. She is now the Lead Designer and Creative Director at Southern California Studio, JV Media Design. http://www.jvmediadesign.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sherry_Holub