Take a couple of minutes and Google
"internet web usage" or some such search string. I did recently,
and was astounded at the results.
You'll find a number of websites that
provide current statistics of internet usage in North America and
around the world.
You'll also find that in North America,
more than 70% of people use the internet to find information, and to
find goods and services to buy.
Not being the author of the
information, I can't attest to the accuracy. But if a number of sites
arrive at the same conclusion, that more than 70% of people use the
net to find things, even if that statistic is off by 10 or 15
percentage points, it's still a huge number.
Which brings me to the reason for this
article.
Do you have a website?
If so many people use the internet to
find things, and you don't have a web presence, will they find you?
Obviously not.
I do know that website development can
cost hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on what it is you
want a website to do.
But for the business (home based, small
business, just starting) that's desperately seeking customers, to not
have a website of their own seems downright foolish.
Options for a small business to have a
website vary.
You can attempt to build your own
website, but without some grounding in site development, that's a
challenge, and the results are often disappointing. Besides, I expect
you'd rather spend your time building your business than learning how
to build a website.
The other option is to have someone do
it for you.
I know of folks that will build a
custom site for a few hundred dollars, and another supplier that will
build you an entry site for just over one hundred dollars.
At the very least, get an entry
website.
It will have two or three pages of
information about your business and provide a method whereby a client
can contact you via email without exposing your email address to the
hordes of spam bots trying to sell you everything from insurance to
gambling on line.
An entry level website means that you
have taken that huge step from not ever being found on the internet
when 70% of people go looking for what you sell, to being there to be
found.
If you are in business, it makes sense.
You just have to be there. Get a website. Get in the game.
Bill Wade has parlayed a passion for
computers, the internet, and digital photography into diverse
activities including his own web site that discusses web site
building, creating digital slide shows, and crafting Ebooks. He can
be contacted via that site: www.solid-gold-websites.com. |
