There are lots of reasons why you should at least consider having a website. I have listed, what I feel are the top 10 reasons, in order to help spark ideas for you to discover your reasons. A website will provide a cost-effective way of communicating, and widen your horizons to a global community. Even if you're not planning to sell directly online, a Web site can help you gain new customers, serve existing customers better, and streamline costs and operations. In fact, most business-to-business web sites are established for a dual purpose - to sell products and services, either directly or indirectly, and to provide information.
Here are 10 important reasons for having a Web site:
1. To generate awareness: The most important reason is probably that a website of your own
will promote your organization 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to the whole world. Nothing else offers this flexibility. Web sites can display large amounts of information, available anytime to anyone with Internet access.
2. Build reputation, credibility and trust with potential clients: Web sites offer an ideal forum to showcase your previous work and accomplishments to potential clients.
3. Capture a whole new audience: Many Internet savvy people prefer to search for a company on the Internet rather than search their local Yellow Pages. To many, a business that is not on the Internet, for all intents and purposes, simply doesn't exist.
4. To improve your competitive advantage: The Internet can be considered a global shopping mall. More and more people are going online to shop for information, services and products. On a computer screen, all companies play by the same rules. No matter what your size, a Web site offers your business the same advantages as your biggest competitors. One of the reasons that small business go online is that a well designed website for even a one man operation can have the same presence as a multi-national corporation.
5. Create the ultimate sales brochure: A Web site can play the role of an abundant, high-quality, interactive, full-color brochure listing all the goods and services you offer. It can be easily updated, keeping your product listings and prices always accurate.