Internet Musings

The web can be a fickle thing. One can see exactly how fickle it is with the consideration of small business websites.

Some small biz websites do extremely well for the company that they represent. They make potential consumers more aware of the products and services offered by the company. Some websites allow the small business to grow from a local player to a world player.

And then there are other small biz websites. Maybe badly executed, or perhaps not even necessary to the functioning of the business. Sometimes these websites arise not as much from the need to grow into the internet economy, as to have one as it's the IN thing to do.

I honestly think that before any small business starts a website they honestly need to consider their goals for having such a site, and if it's worth the monetary and time commitments.

Lately I've been dealing with a small biz website that I feel not only fails in the execution, but also is almost entirely unnecessary for the company that it is supposed to represent. Why was it started? I believe that the owners started the website in the misguided belief that a website will attract customers on its own.

What didn't seem to be taken into consideration was exactly HOW it was going to attract customers. The business cannot sell goods over the internet because of the nature of the products, so no e-commerce is possible, and the services offered are for a local area. Even the nature of the services are of no use to the website as a customer is probably more inclined to look for the service in the phone book rather than wade through search engine results to find a local service provider.

Despite those challenges, however, the website that I was working with could have attracted customers another way. But those other options were constrained to the point of impossibility by the hosting and outside management of the website.

For a website that exists mainly to drive traffic into a physical store, you need to give the customers something that will draw them to your website in the first place. And then you need to keep them coming back. The best, and easiest way to accomplish this is to, give them timely and relevant information. A dynamic, content driven, website will bring customers in and back again. By combining relevant articles that answer questions that a customer may be looking for answers for with web special coupons you not only provide a valuable service as far as answering questions, but you also give the customer the incentive to visit your store instead of your competitors'.

But it was the execution of the website that forced the inability to give the website the content that it required without going to an external source. Rigid constraints by the website management service allowed only limited customization options of the site, and no clear or convenient manner to add relevant content. In fact, the limitations were so severe that only certain (pre-named) pages could be added to the website. Nothing could be added that didn't fit into this rigid structure. Even the links page was populated with logos and links for vendors, and there was no way to add other links that the company deemed relevant to it. Any other links had to be located on other pages. In fact there was only one redeeming feature of the website management, but I sorely doubt that the one feature could make it worth the exorbitant price that was charged.

Had the owners charted out the goals and looked realistically at the possibilities for their website before entering into the management they could have saved themselves a lot of time and money in a website that appears to have provided no return on investment.

I am telling this not as any sort of business guru, nor someone who has worked in small business websites for years, as I am neither. I am presenting this as a cautionary tale. I am trying to prevent just one person out there from making the same mistakes.

If you're a small business owner and are looking into starting a web site ask yourself some simple questions:

• What is the purpose of my business having a website? Am I trying to sell goods through the site? Am I trying to drive traffic to my store or service location?
  
• Is my product or service one that customers would turn to the internet for answers for in the first place? If not is there another method by which a website can be useful to my business?
• What do I really require in a website? Do I just need a simple page where customers can find my address and phone number and minimal information? Do I need a content driven site? Do I need an e-store?
• Do I have the technical skills, or am I willing to pay an employee, to run a website? Or do I need a third-party service?
  

Ultimately, the decision on whether or not to have a web site is up to you. But by being realistic about it, and having clear goals for it in mind you can hopefully avoid the frustration of being saddled with a website that does nothing more than eat money and time.

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