The Purpose of a Website

Have you ever wondered:

  • What is the purpose of a website?
  • Why do so many businesses go to all that hassle to have one?
  • How can a website benefit my business?

The answers to these questions could be extremely important to your business. The rest of this post explores the myriad of reasons we have observed as to why our clients set-up websites.

  • Educate your existing and potential clients – your website is your extensive brochure of what you do, allowing for all to see your services and products at any time of the day, no matter what country you are in. The education provided here is to assist you in making the sale, remember making the sale is only the start of a business relationship.
  • Generate Leads – every second, or every minute of every day someone out there is searching for your products and services! Whether they are looking for further education or even better in a position to make a purchase, if you want to increase sales then your website should be positioned in front of all the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN etc). When negotiating for the build of your site ensure that it will be CSS Style and XHTML validated at the very minimum, this will ensure you have the basic foundation to be picked up by the main search engines.
  • A shop front for your business – in some cases a website may be the only way your client can visually get a feel for your business! Whether you are operating across states or internationally, your clients will look at your website, and first impressions do count, so what impression do you want to provide to your clients? Trustworthy, personalised, new and dynamic, contemporary, an efficient automated business, or a personalised people business.
  • Customer support – so the sale is done what then? Why not use your website as an extension to your customer service / after sales care. Providing your clients with online manuals, guidance, useful hints and tips how to maximise the full potential of your products and services, you can even offer additional products to them.
  • Direct Sales – Want to create an easy way for your customers to purchase your products at any location around the world 24/7? Want to cut your overheads? An online shopping cart is a great way to provide all your clients access to all your products at the click of a few buttons, not only creating convenience for the client but also long term savings in your overheads.
  • Differentiate you from your competitor – ever wanted to buy a white good or a car and did your research on the web to see the difference? You can guarantee that your potential clients will do the same. Your website is your opportunity to stand out from the crowd, and say exactly what you do differently.

Whether you’re looking to build a new website or are indeed looking to revamp an existing one, ensure you consider the above points, and identify how these fit in with your company’s short and medium strategy. Just by going through the above points will not only save you time and money but can also lead to an increase in sales and profits.

Another important point is to ensure you work with a web development team whom is committed to getting to know you and your business, and whom are more concerned with a long term relationship rather than just a quick sale.

Article by Ray Giridharan


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