Why do you need a website?

The first place that any of your potential customers or clients will look for you is on the Internet.  So obviously your website needs to be a digital representation of everything that’s great about your small business. Not having a website isn’t a choice.  So where do you begin?  It is all down to you, and how much you want to commit to building your own website. The choice is yours; do you build it yourself, or do you employ the services of web designers?  There are pros and cons to both.

Your website is a fundamental part of your business

Build your own website

• You have control.  Everything on the website is how you want it.  From small things such as where the logo should fit, to more important and more complex operations such as how you might sell online.
• It can be cheaper.  If you’ve explored how much that your website will cost, you realise that there’s a huge amount of choice.  To get a fully functional dynamic website, the cost is sometimes prohibitive. Therefore, if you build it yourself the cost will be much lower.  Take into account the amount of hours that you need to put into it.  If your business has nothing to do with digital technology, and you have no skills and experience, it might be better to get one built for you. 
• You learn about the Internet and social media yourself, and you can exploit that new knowledge. We’ve used terms such as smoke and mirrors and hot air a few times during a discussion of digital marketing.  One way to overcome this problem is to learn more about the Internet and social media by yourself.  That way It is less likely that you will be exploited, and you’ll have a less stressful time developing your online presence.  Learning is an important part of your small business, and It is likely that you’ll need to know the basics when discussing digital marketing with others.
• It takes more time, when you could be working on your business. The point is that your time is valuable, and if it is better spent doing other things, then you may have to buy-in digital talents.