If you own a business, you almost certainly need a website. Even if
you aren’t selling products online, the web is where people go to search
for businesses – it’s the new Yellow Pages and fingers are
still doing the walking. So it was surprising that our national survey
of small-business owners revealed that 41 per cent of them don’t have a
website.
Your website is an investment, but how much should you spend on
getting one? For a new small business, it’s a difficult decision. It
will depend on your resources and how much value you place on your
website. Our poll of 400 small businesses across the UK suggested that
one-in-five self-employed professionals spent more than £1,000 on
getting their website up and running. But what are the options?
Hire a professional designer
If you have a good turnover/profit, and a good portion of that can be
attributed to your website, hiring a professional web designer could be
a smart move. Generally, a designer will give you something better than
what you thought you wanted. The only problem is the price tag. Good
designers don’t often come cheap and can spend days perfecting your
website. If you’re a small business owner and can’t afford a
professional designer, you can minimise the risk of spending too much
money by creating your own site.
Become a budding designer
Some of the most popular platforms for web developers at the moment
are WordPress, Joomla! and Drupal (there are lots of others). They’re
great for business-owners who know, or want to learn, a bit about web
design and, best of all, they’re free (although you still need a web
address and hosting). Be prepared to devote a large chunk of time to
getting a bespoke website though.
If you’ve bought your own domain name, know which web host is right
for you and can set up an FTP, WordPress is worth looking at. If you
didn’t understand half of the last sentence – and not many people would –
there are other ways.
DIY web design for the rest of us
Despite 36 per cent of respondents saying they don’t think they have
the time or skills to create a website, it’s not as hard as it sounds.
Easy-to-use web design software makes getting a website live online
simple – and quick. You don’t need to know any programming language –
they often have templates made by designers so if you can use a mouse
and keyboard, you have all the skills you need to create a
professional-looking website.
Being in charge of your own website makes updating quick, easy, and
free. You don’t have to communicate changes with anyone, wait around for
them to get it done, and then pay them for it. You’ll find that most of
these types of programs sort you out with a domain name and hosting,
and usually cost less than £100. It’s great value, however you look at
it.
What to do?
For the cash-strapped start-up, using a DIY website program provides
excellent value for money and won’t eat up much of your time either.
It’s a safe way to get online without a huge initial outlay. If you feel
the need, you can always get a professional to redesign it for you when
you have the money.
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