The Top Ten Reasons You Need a REAL Website

The Top 10 Reasons You Need a REAL Website
by Tinu Abayomi-Paul

By now, most entrepreneurs know that they need a website of some sort. Many don't realize that they need a REAL website, one with its own domain name. You need a real website ....

1. ...because it's professional.

Upgrading from a free sub-site at geocities to a full fledged site gives your company a professional appearance. Whenever I go to a website about a product and don't see a domain name, I think to myself, if they can't even afford to have their own site, how can they afford to have a quality product?
Your total start-up cost for your website can be below $100, and the monthly hosting fee for a professional site can be as low as $25. Some sites, like Host4Profit, even give you the chance to have your site hosted for free. See http://www.host4profit.com/cgi-bin/home.cgi?13217 for details.

2. ...because you can get indexed by major search engines.

Where do you go when you're looking for a service, product or information online? Google? Yahoo? A bookmark? To end up in any of these three place yourself, the first thing you need to do is get a domain name and build a basic site. The search engines can give you lots of referrals who are looking for you specifically, if you set it up correctly.

3. ...because you can install programs and run scripts that will save you time.

Many small business owners I know don't have their own sites because they don't know how, or think it is too expensive. All these issues can be overcome by outsourcing, or a few minutes of your time. There is software that you can have installed that will build your site for you. And it's free. All you'll have to do then is type in the content and you'll be ready to go.
The software I have in mind is called PHP-Nuke. There are other content management systems out there that are free but this is my favorite. Go to http://www.phpnuke.org for details.

4. ...because it can reach non-local customers

This point doesn't necessarily help every entrepreneur at first. For example, if you run a mom-and-pop store, being able to reach non-local customers might seem like it's unnecessary to you. But consider this... if you sell or have access to a product that is hard to find outside your area, you could end up taking orders from home-sick college kids, from traveling people, from folks who'd like their groceries ready when they come back from vacation- the possibilities are out there. Not always obvious at first, but certainly no reason not to have a website.

5. ...because it can eliminate "nuisance" calls

Of course, our customers are Never a real nuisance- they're the ones who put food on our table and we love them to death. However, if you're constantly getting calls from people asking for directions, wanting to know when a promotion started or stopped, needing your fax number or other such repeated common questions, posting this information to a simple, small website can solve all of this for you.
And if you pay for an 800 number or a service to take these kinds of calls for you, it may save you some money too.

6. ...because you can control its design

At a free web site host, you normally have limitations as to what kind of look to have- if you own the site yourself, the options are only limited by your imagination. If you have an idea that is beyond your capabilities, you can always pay someone to bring the idea into fruition for you.

7. ...because you can give away or sell parts of your website that you aren't using.

Let's say your hosting account gives you unlimited free auto-responders (robot-like emails that work similiar to fax on demand). You either don't know what they are for, or don't need them. You could re-sell those auto-responders to other site owners.
You can also think about registering a domain name for your area, and giving neighboring businesses sub-domains as a Christmas promotion.

For example, if your business is located in a strip mall called Lotsa Shops, you could register mylotsashops.com and give the other stores in the mall static information pages like pizzaplace.mylotsashops.com - as sub-domain there aren't all the benefits of a full web site, but enough to be appealing as a free listing. And you could put a one line ad about your site at the bottom of each page.

8. ...because you can accept advertisers

Generally, if you have a strong product, you probably don't need links leading out of your site. Your customers are probably going to leave your site eventually anyway, so you might as well sell advertising, at least at first to cover your hosting costs.
There's also the possibility of starting an electronic newsletter, with information that your local area would be interested in. You could charge local merchants, or anyone who feels your audience is valuable, to place ads, once your circulation rises above 1000.

9. ...because you can use it to expand your product line

Even if you don't need your website for any other reason, another possibiility is selling information about your field. No matter how long you've been in business or studied your area of expertise, you know something about it that no one else knows, or you have a unique perspective that no one else has. If there is enough interest, you could create a manual and sell it online to hundreds or thousands of other merchants who could use a heads up. Or you could give it away free to promote interest in your site.

10. ...because in the end, it can save a lot more money than it costs to have.

If you're a home-based business owner or a small business owner whose product or service has regional, national, or international appeal, then you should really have a website. It can save you hundreds of dollars in marketing and advertising in the long one and bring you customers you may not otherwise reach.