Why?

A web page is just as important as a phone number…
Take a second and think about how you find a product or service that you need. Where do you go to find that decorative light bulb for your chandelier? If you have an urgent need for a plumber, an electrician, or a doctor, how do you find a good one (a phone book, a relative, your neighbor, the Internet maybe…)? People are turning to the Internet more and more for the simple reason that they can find everything they need in a short amount of time. In most cases the Internet is better than a phone book because they can not only find out whether a business has or does what they're looking for, but hours of operation, whether a product is in inventory or not, even cost. How impossible would it be for a local electric supply store to list its entire inventory on its phone pages ad?

Now, you might be thinking that you never go to the Internet to look for these types of things. Believe me, other people do, and they do it more than you might think. Think particularly about people who have just relocated to a new area. Sooner or later they're going to need to find a barber, a dentist, or a mechanic. What about someone who has to find a particular camera battery? Maybe he'll look in a phone book for a camera store, or maybe he'll search the Internet and find one that lists their products, maybe even sells the products online.

Make no mistake, the Internet is here to stay and if you're in business, you need to have a site. If you don't, you are already missing out on potential customers and you don't even know it. Some of you might be thinking that your business wouldn't really benefit from having a web site because of the type of business it is. Ask yourself this: Does McDonalds make sales over the Internet? No they don't, but they do have a site that lists out the locations of their restaurants. The truth is it doesn't matter what line of business you're in or where you're located. Every business needs at least a presence on the Internet, if for no other reason than allowing people to search for decorative light bulbs and find your company's name and address.

So the question now becomes not whether or not you need a site, but how much is it worth, and therefore how much should you be willing to pay for one. This is a much more difficult question, but it can be broken down relatively easily. The first thing any good web designer will ask is who the audience for the site will be. Hint: there will be more than one audience. Maybe it's for potential new customers, and current customers. Maybe it's for employees as well, and even potential investors. This topic is covered more in the article "What? (What to put on your site)."

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