Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Deciding whether to build your own Small Business Website

By Jenny Bond


Getting a small business website built for you needn't break the bank and should pay for itself through the new sales generated. You might be thinking about building your own website but uncertain where to begin. Ask yourself these questions. To begin with, do you have spare time available to spend building a website? secondly, what do you wish to gain from your new website?

It is not an impossible task to build your own basic website for your business. I by no means intend to suggest that web design isn't an exceptionally in depth topic or that it doesn't require a lot of study and skill but at a basic level and with a bit of applied learning you can achieve some pretty good results.

To be good at creating your own website you should be the kind of person who can pick things up fairly rapidly and also be good at understanding new systems, these are often skills found in people that own and run their own business. You should acquire a few essential skills before you begin, including CSS, HTML and basic web design and layout.

So, back to our first question. Do you have the time to learn these skills?

You may feel that you would be glad to put the hours in to learn the fundamentals because you are feeling fed up with working for others and would like to start up on your own. Look online, where you will find a lot of resources available to help you, purchase an up to date 'Build Your Own Website' book, take a look at some tutorial sites. There is plenty available, much of which will point you in the right direction.

Perhaps however your circumstances are different. Maybe you are already struggling to manage your regular workload. Building your own business website in this situation is not going to do you, your business or your personal life any favours and if you aren't able to concentrate on what you are trying to achieve then the finished product isn't going to do your business justice.

Now we explore our second question. What do you hope your new website will accomplish for you? You need to have a think about where your niche within the market sits. Have a browse over some of your direct competitors websites.

If you run a small business as a gardener or electrician for instance, a basic website with your contact details enabling potential clients to find you and give you a call may fully meet your needs. Building this type of basic website would be totally manageable.

Your type of business may come under what is thought to be a more professional category such as accounting, law or finance. In which case a basic looking site may not give your clients the right first impression of your business. Carry out a Google search for some search terms that you want to have a website ranking for. What level of quality site do your direct competitors have? You may decide that your competitors sites are of a high standard and the best move for your business is to employ a professional to design and build your site.

So, to summarise; If you feel sure about your ability to create a website of a high enough quality and feel you have plenty of time to commit to the job in hand, then do it!. If you are not sure, then you should hire a professional. One last thing you will need to take into consideration is that once you have your site, it will not be of benefit to your business if people cannot locate it on Google. You need your website to be at the top of the search ranking in order for it to benefit your business.

You are missing out on potential sales and clients if you have no web presence to promote your small business. Creating a website for you business may not be too difficult to do by yourself but you first need to work out whether you have the time to learn how to do it and whether or not the results will bring you any more sales.

Web Design Bristol agency Willow Tree Design has created many successful, high ranking websites for small and medium sized businesses. We can give you help and advice on setting up your new business site and offer SEO services to help you make your new website successful. Web Designers Bristol.




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