- Why do I need a website?
- Who uses the Internet?
- Why should I invest in a professionally developed website?
- What makes a good website?
- What is site maintenance?
Why do I need a website?
With the growing number of consumers that use the Internet, a website is an essential marketing tool to communicate with your clients. It’s a cost-effective way to generate awareness, leads and sales locally, regionally or worldwide 24/7, 365 days a year. Consider the fact that online sales in the U.S. alone is in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year. When it comes to high-performance websites, you can’t beat the return on investment.
Who uses the Internet?
The Internet is no longer a novelty for the exclusive use of IT-savvy types. It’s mainstream, and more and more people — young and old — are using it to get information or make purchases. There are more than 1,7 billion Internet users worldwide (source: www.internetworldstats.com). The U.S. has 228 million Internet users, equating to 71.4% of the country’s population. Canada has 33.5 million Internet users, which represents 74.9% of its population.
Why should I invest in a professionally developed website when there are so many inexpensive templates I can use?
Your website isn’t about you, it is you. Most marketing and branding experts agree: a website today is significantly more important than a business card. Handing someone a flimsy, perforated, home-made business card will instill little or no confidence in you, your product or your service. A sub-standard website makes the same impression. If you don't invest in your business, why should anyone else? Promoting a professional presence with a functional website that fulfills visitors' expectations will reflect well on you and your bottom line.
What makes a good website?
- Fast loading pages...take too long and the visitor will use the ‘back button’ to go elsewhere
- Easy navigation to provide users a productive, intuitive and positive experience
- Optimized, content-rich and up-to-date web copywriting with appropriate keywords, titles etc. to attract visitors and hold on to them
- Scan-friendly pages...most visitors won’t actually read your web copy, they’ll just quickly look it over
- Aesthetically pleasing graphics...don’t go overboard with flashy visuals or you risk distracting the user from his or her main objective: to get relevant information
What is website maintenance?
Website maintenance is the act of keeping your website up-to-date and relevant. Fresh content, such as new articles, can help keep your visitors and search engine spiders coming back. Many web developers offer Content Management Systems (CMS), which enable you to make changes to your website with general ease.
