Do I even need a website?

If you run the local chip shop, drive a taxi, or run the sandwich shop at the corner, then you don't need a website.
Your customers just walk in off the street when they are hungry. They don't look for you on the internet.
If, however, you depend on more than just the passing trade on your street, you need to advertise.
The internet is the fastest growing communication tool in the world.
Not everyone will pick up the telephone book and turn 60 pages for a product or service.
Instead of making ten phone calls to see if a firm has what they want, they can simply open a search engine like Yahoo, or Google and instantly see websites with pictures, prices, and information about what they are looking for.

What's the point of a website?

Think of a website as an advert, a business card, a flyer and a brochure that is available at any time to the public, even when you're too busy to answer the phone.
People who never knew you existed could read about what you provide, where you are located, and how to get in touch, while you're busy dealing with another customer, out for lunch or asleep.
It won't replace all other forms of advertising, promotion and sales, but it is a powerful tool to be used with them.
In some businesses, the website now accounts for 90% of the sales while only 10% comes from walk-in customers.

But isn't it enough to be listed in an online directory?

The short answer is no. Thinking an online directory listing is enough, is like thinking you don't need a sign on the front of the shop, just because you're in the phone book.
On your own website, people can read about your business, see photographs, and get more information than they would in a small directory listing.
By all means, get yourself a listing in the phone directory, but be careful about paying for any other online directory that has sprung up from who-knows-where.
A lot of smart folks made money setting up online directories and charging people for listings.
Only a few of them are well done, the others are a TOTAL WASTE of YOUR MONEY. And remember, even some of the good ones are not well known.
As an exercise, imagine yourself as one of your own customers looking for your service, and see how easily you could find the details, and check how much info they can get. Some of these directories hardly show in searches themselves, and if they do, there's not guarantee that they are user friendly.

Isn't a website expensive?

There are still people out there who will ask you for €1,500 to €2,000 to design a simple website, and up to €400 a year to host it. A basic website shouldn't be anywhere near that expensive.
If you're paying €2,000 for a site, you'd better be getting interactive features, custom edited video, and other stuff that is useful for your customers, not just because your webdesigner wants to show off (and charge you for it).
If you're just looking to let the world know you exist, what you're offering, and how to contact you, then a website should be cheaper than placing a medium size colour ad in your local newspaper.
Once your site is set up, the costs of maintaining it are very low compared to advertising on paper, radio or billboards.
It's also worth checking out if you are eligible for a grant towards the cost of setting up a website. e.g. through a County Enterprise Development Board.

How can I tell a good website from a bad one?

All good websites follow the same rules, but there are many types of bad website

Good Websites

The customer is able to find the site
The site opens quickly without any fuss
The customer can read what's on the site
The content of the site quickly tells the customer what they want to know
The customer can find their way around the site easily

Bad Websites

Site might look well, but won't show up in Google or Yahoo search.
Webdesigner set up big flashy intro that takes 10 seconds to load even with broadband.
Only customers with large screens or perfect eyesight can read what's on your site
The site is full of marketing jargon like 'integrated customer solutions' and 'client service interfacing'
The site layout is more like a maze than a straightforward tour of your business

Good websites don't happen by accident

The webdesigner acts like a business parter, getting to know about the business and the customers.
Then the website has to be coded correctly for search engines like Google, and built to suit your customers, so that they find it useful and interesting, instead of clicking out of your site and going to your competitor's website.

What should I ask a webdesigner before hiring him/her?

Picking a webdesigner can be a tricky business. There are lots of people looking for that businesses, some are good, some are not, some are downright cowboys. How do you tell the competent ones from the chancers? Here are a few brief pointers.

1. Show me some of your previous work (and some proof that he/she actually did the sites)
2. How much will the website cost, how long will it take?
3. Is this site from a template, or are you making it from scratch?
4. How much will the annual hosting and domain cost (some of these chancers ask for over 150 per year, which is about twice what it should cost just to keep the site up)
5. Open Google, and get it to list all the pages of some of your previous customers websites (some of the fly-by-night types aren't webdesigners, they bought some templates, and are reselling them, with a few adjustments, like your business name and text, but some of these cowboys have NO IDEA how to submit a site to Google. If your website isn't listed in the Google Search Index, then Google will not find your site.
6. Will I be able to update the site myself?
7. Who are you hosting with?
8. What keywords would you use for my business, and how popular are they in Irish internet searches?
9. Can you tell me, roughly how many people search the internet for my product/service in Ireland per month? (they should be able to give a decent estimate, and explain where they got their figures from)
10. What type of after-sales service do you provide?
11. Where do you get the images you use on your websites (they should not use copyright images. The website OWNER gets in trouble, not the designer).

What pages should I have on my website?

The first thing is to remember, the number of pages your website has is not as important as making sure you have included all the information you need to give your customers, and that this information is easy for them to find. Also bear in mind, that a website is not a book. You can add more pages later if you need to.

Most people will wait until they have about 3-5 pages ready before they put anything up on their website, others might launch their website with only have one page, containing a summary of what you do, where you can be found, and how to contact you. And later, as they expand on that, those things can get separate pages to include more detail.

Generally speaking, you should at least have HOME, SERVICES/ PRODUCTS and CONTACT pages, and depending on your business, an ABOUT page and an FAQ page.

Depending on how much you need to put on each of these pages, they might link again to further pages, but the rule is that the customer shouldn't have to click more than three times to get to the information they want.

Let's look quickly at the function of each page, starting with the Home page.

HOME PAGE / INDEX :

The most important page is the "Home Page" or "Index Page". It's usually the first page people will find, and the one you should put on your business cards and other advertising.

Your home page is a bit like your shop front on the internet. It should catch the viewer's attention quickly and present something of interest to them.

Don't try to put everything on the front page. It usually ends up making it look too cluttered and not so easy for the eye to scan it. Once you have enough to grab the attention and interest them in reading further, direct them to the links so they can navigate the other pages on the site. (much like the entrance to a department store, it doesn't list every item on the shelves, but it has some ads and directs you to DIY, Groceries, Clothing sections)

ABOUT PAGE

This depends on your business. It's not normally a place to write your life history, or even a long tract on the history of your business, unless the people you expect to read it are potential investors. If you're selling tyres for cars, people generally don't care much about the details of your business. If you are providing a professional service or products for an expensive project (e.g. materials or heating systems for houses) people might want to check out your credentials.

So, if you are a teacher, or driving instructor, they might want to read about your qualifications, how many years you have been in business etc.

If you provide heating systems or architectural systems they might also want to know about previous projects you have built and maybe even some testimonials from satisfied customers. These might have separate pages of their own linking from the about page, but there should be a short reference to them in the about page.

FAQ (Frequently asked Questions)

This depends on your business of course. Not every business would need this, but they can be useful, to explain what exactly you do, and maybe to explain some jargon associated with the product or service (E.G. the difference between a hydraulic or cable brake system)

With some products or services, there can be a lot of questions customers will want the answers to before they commit to buying (or even picking up the phone). If a lot of the same questions come up again and again, then it's better to have the answers there ready and waiting. That way, they won't need to e-mail you (taking up their time and yours) or head off to another website offering the same service.

I would also recommend saying "if you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me" and put a link to your contact details, or simply repeat them.

CONTACT PAGE

Obviously you want a way for the customers to contact you, so that phone number, email address, shop address, (and maybe a map)

When starting off, when you don't have much content on the home page, you can fill out the space with all your contact details and how happy you'd be to take that call.

You might even have your phone number as part of your banner or logo at the top of the page, depending on the size and style of your banner/logo, and whether there's more than one office and more than one number or e-mail to call.

Later, you might just want to have an main e-mail and phone number on the front page, and have all the rest (map, directions, a couple of paragaphs about opening times, etc) on a separate page.

It's also a good idea to have a link from Contacts to an FAQ page as people might be able to save time if the answer to their question is already on the website.

Other pages:

Other pages could include News or Blog, Special Offers, and maybe Links to other resources. Those are all fairly self explanatory, and again it depends on the nature of your business whether or not you need to use them, and also how often you, or your webdesigner will be updating the site. There's little point having a section called News or Special Offers, if the news is 9 months old, or the special offer expired last year.