In order to succeed in today's world, you must have an internet presence. More and more people log on to the internet everyday; there are billions of users world-wide, and a few hundred million of those live in the U.S. It is increasingly true that if you do not have a website you do not exist.
A website is a powerful first impression, and it is critical that this impression is positive. It is always available, and this alone makes having a website important to any business, organization or individual.
Unlike conventional print media, websites are not limited by physical factors such as cost of printing, size and weight. Plus they are interactive, easily updated and always available. This allows for unprecedented creativity but also means that there is no single answer to the question "what can I do with a website?" The real question is "What do you want to do with your website?"
The web has been put to many creative uses, from selling t-shirts to fighting propaganda wars. In the broadest sense, a website is simply a gateway to your business, organization or thoughts. It provides instantaneous communication to anyone with an internet connection.
What you do with your website will be as unique as you are. A church may use it as an evangelistic tool; a politician may use it to gain support for his platform; a small business may use it to collaborate on projects or sell products. The world is quite literally at your fingertips.
The following are just a few ways to use a website. These are by no means all of the possibilities. Who knows? Maybe you will come up with the next new and creative way to harness the power of the internet!
Small businesses
Organizations and Churches
Individuals
Many businesses desire to sell goods or services through their website. During the dot-com bubble, thousands of startups sank millions of dollars into online marketing. Then the bubble burst, and many of those companies went bankrupt. The point is that there is no easy way to do business. Selling something online is just like selling something in a store, it takes a lot of hard work.
There are many pros to selling online: a worldwide or nationwide customer base, simplicity of tracking orders and the relatively low cost of creating an online "store front." Your store is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and your customers never have to wait in line.
However, you should also consider the cons of an online business. While the cost of an online store is much less than a traditional brick-and-mortar store, there are still many costs involved. You must have a merchant account and a payment gateway in order to process credit cards, and you must spend time creating and maintaining your online inventory. Of course, you must also consider shipping costs, since many items priced competitively lose their competitive edge if shipping charges are too high. Finally, you must be willing to advertise your online store perhaps more ardently then you would a brick-and-mortar store since online stores do not benefit from walk-by customers.
In the end, the benefits of a well-crafted website are enormous if you are willing to do what it takes. Every website is unique. Each one offers great opportunity for creativity and enrichment, but they also require hard work and a commitment to excellence.
Contact Info
phone: 314-973-7294
email: bbooth (at) lucidgreen (dot) net