Need a website ? No ? your business to small for a website ?

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Author: Andy Greenhalgh

Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.

I am a freelance website designer from Lancashire in the UK.
I come into contact with quite a lot of small business owners on a daily basis who always say to me 'But I do not need a website because I only run a small business, what use is a website to me'. From chatting to them for a while I can see where the negative objections come from. They are usually people with very little computer experience especially when it comes down to using the internet or they have been in business for a long time and don't see the point of a website. Those who do use the Internet tend to say they are not a big organisation like Google or Ebay so why waste money on a website when they make a good living anyway.
I suppose if you are locked in that frame of mind you will never see the potential of having your business on the Internet.
So you will never convince those who choose to stay loyal to their trusty old advertising methods that they have used for many years, but a seed was planted, as I like to put it.
It amazes me when I get a phone call from someone I spoke to a few weeks ago who all of a sudden sees the internet as the best invention ever and wants a website designing immediately because their friend or family member told them so when they where chatting around the barbeque at the weekend!
A website is not intended to replace conventional advertising methods but as an addition to your marketing campaign. A website is your online brochure that's available 24/7 - 365 days a year showing your products and services to your potential customers at their leisure without the need to visit you or you visit them. With our world becoming more impersonal because of technology like mobile phone texting and online chat rooms we have to adapt our way of business and a website is the most cost effective method of promotion. Compare a standard directory advertisements yearly cost, say £1000 for 12 months advertising that's £83 a month, now compare this with a website that can be viewed potentially by anyone in the world from just £9 a month, and look what a website can say that a little directory box can't.
So even if you run a small business or you're a one man band a website is not something only big companies use because anyone can afford to look as professional as the larger companies do but "us" small businesses have an advantage and that's personal services which we pride ourselves on.
Here is a real fact I have proven by questioning friends and family, I asked them if they were looking for a local business lets say as an example a roofing contractor, where would they look? And 9 out of10 of them said they would search the Internet first. I also asked when searching the Internet what would you type in as your keyword or key phrase? They said if they knew of a local company through word of mouth they would simply type in the business name 'Joe bloggs roofing' , if they had a website they would be the first people they call, but if they do not find them they will try to search for another or use a general phrase like 'roofing services in Blackburn'.
So if that's my findings then if your business is not on the Internet then think of the business you are losing.
No matter how small or well established a business you have to be on the Internet as technology is not just changing the way we work but is also changing the way we run our business.

I am a freelance website designer specialising in eccomerce and content management wesbites.
I have 3 years experience in website design combined with over 25 years computer programming as a hobby.
What started as a hobby soon became a business as I enjoy the challenges that website designing brings. I also dedicate a lot of my free time to others who are new to website design by offering my CMS scripts and modules for free to download from my website.