Starting A Business Website

So you need a website for your business and you want to know how to start your business website.

The first thing you need to know is what you want from your website. Do you expect the website to bring you business or is it just going to be a place to send your customers to show them more about your services?

If you want the website to do the work for you, you will need the advanced course in building websites. You will need to learn how to maximize the text on pages to make sure the site is search engine friendly, you may need to learn some programming and markup languages and you will have to invest in advertising.

On the other hand, if you just need a website to direct customers to, so they can get more details, photos and information about your company and products then you really don't need to know more than what to write.

With powerful site builders like pageBuzz you can build amazing pages, upload photos and run programs to interact with your customers. It is as easy as typing an email and clicking save.

You could do months of research exploring what a webserver is, how hosting works, search engine optimization and learn FTP, SSH and SSL. Or, you can pay $20 a month to a company that does all that for you and provides a working website to get you started.

At one time something like typing a letter was a chore. With a spelling mistake requiring you to start over again from scratch. Then came whiteout and mistakes could be erased, now with PC's letters are common and simple. Technology always meets demand and todays site builders let business owners build websites that were once complicated and cumbersom with no experience and with ease.

If you are looking at hosting your business website with a company that boasts massive GB's of bandwidth, MB's of diskspace and you don't know what those are or how they equate to your business then you are in the wrong place. You need something simple that you understand and that you can use to manage the pages and update the website You always have the option of hiring a website designer and paying to have the website built. However, the designer does not know squat about your business and when you need updates you will be digging deep into your pockets. You would never have control and as a business owner you know that is the path to certain failure.

Even if your do it yourself website is not as neat or flashy as the "professionally " designed website it will be more informative. It will represent your views and vision and not that of an employee. It will be something that is an extension of your business and personality and a direct point of contact with your customers.

If you think of a website as some entity that is built for you and helps your business you are way off base. People build home pages, myspace pages, facebook pages, blogs and now even micro blogs like twitter. They don't have a tolerance for websites that are not informative and active. People expect a website to fill in the blanks that a phone book ad or newspaper ads wont. They are not going to your website for fun, they wont to use your service and they need details, prices and a way to get in touch with you.

If you are still back in 1999 and don't know much about the net then it is time to get your business online because your customers are already there. They are looking for services and if your's is not on the net it wont be one up for consideration.

More than 80% of people looking for local services use the Internet. The fact that most small newspapers and small radio stations are closing is proof that the Internet has taken over their markets. If you are still trying to advertise in those markets it would explain the lack of new business.

And how can they compete when you can get a website for $20 a month and reach millions of people.

Now all you have to do is convince yourself that it is a good idea and that you can manage it yourself.