Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my small local business need a website?

There are many "real" benefits to having a good quality, small business website, here are a few.

Probably the most powerful reason for having a website is potential clients "expect" you to have one!

Even back in 2009 over 85% of British Columbians were Internet Users that is probably closer to 90% this year.
A website has become an essential for almost every small business, without one you are effectively invisible to a very large piece of your market.

1) Attract new clients with useful, informative content material and a correctly designed and optimised website, that will achieve good search engine results for key phrases relating to your business and location. This will ensure that potential new clients can find you.

2) Win clients away from your competitors - Most of your competitors don't have websites and your well designed, engaging small business website will make you a more credible option and will also list you well above these competitors when they finally do get a website.

3) A quality website = a quality business - This is the perception of your potential clients. A business that presents a quality website demonstrates its commitment to providing a quality service. If someone just rolls into town and they look up 3 different businesses and yours is the only one with a website, the others will look poorer for it.

4) Make yourself visible to new technology - These days your potential clients are just as likely to search for businessservices using their Smartphone, i-Phone, Blackberry or other mobile device as they are to use a PC or laptop. It is essential that you have a website which is accessible and readable using these devices.

5) Build trust and credibility - Your potential guests 'love' to see references, it is one of the most powerful persuaders which can work in your favour. Of course you can give references over the phone, but it would be tedious to reel off a dozen good references for every potential client that called! You can list a good selection of references (testimonials) on your website, and these will be available for potential clients to review at their leisure.

6) Stand out from the crowd - A small business website gives you the chance to create and project your business identity to your potential clients. Use it to highlight your Unique Selling Point(s) and give your visitors something to connect with on an emotional level. "We value your business." "Your in safe hands." "Local family run business you can trust." "Look! We can provide exactly what you need." etc. People want to know details about your business.
One of the main reasons that consumers use the Internet is to learn about products and services.
Background information about your company and your products, testimonials from other customers, information about your staff and management, and some helpful and pleasing graphical information (pics) will help to promote your business. Online consumers are typically looking for enough information on which to base a decision.
Your website can help to educate people and help generate trust.

7) Encourage more repeat business from existing clients - provide
special offers or deals for existing clients (and new clients of course) to encourage them to use your services again. They may already be satisfied with your services but they are still looking for a good deal; encourage them to come back to you more often.

8) Out-perform some of your larger competitors - Especially effective in the Food Business, a focused, well optimised "small" business website will often perform better than many larger business websites that aren't really local and because of their Global focus their pages are often bloated with unnecessary code, and overly complicated in terms of visitor usability. An efficient website with good navigation and accessible local content, will allow you to compete more effectively with many of your larger competitors.

9) Anticipate your potential clients' needs - You would be surprised how often potential clients are lost because they can't find a telephone number or contact email, or any number of other basic, essential pieces of information such as; what's on your lunch menu, what size widgets you make, do you accept Visa, Mastercard, business location and how to find you, opening /closing times, prices etc.
Provide the essential information your potential clients need and they will take you seriously.

10) Ease of communication - An effective small business website will provide a number of methods for clients and potential clients, to communicate with you, and vice versa.
Good communication builds trust and loyalty, saves time, and avoids misunderstandings.
The essential methods are: Email, Website Enquiry Form, Google, Bing Road Maps (provides aerial views of your location, zoom, directions, travel times and distances).

All of my business is "Word Of Mouth" and I have a large customer base that keeps me busy, why do I need a website?

Well, times are a changing and "Word Of Mouth" isn't what it use to be.
 
Today and especially tomorrow when people get a recommendation about a business they generally check out their website and if they can't easily find that recommended business' website they move on to the competition that does have a website.

It doesn't mean you won't get another kick at the can, but it equals a negative experience and in turn, it's a hit on your brand.

For the $299. it takes to put up a site with internetMoneySavers.com, it's more than worth-while to have a clean, effective website that has the information about your products and service, testimonials from other customers, information about your staff and management, and some helpful and pleasing images that help to promote your business.
Here’s a video explaining the effects of the web and connected devices on word of mouth conversations about brands.

How can you design and build a professional website with 1 year hosting for only $299. Is this a scam, some kind of a sucker thing?

No, it's not a scam, it's technology. 

Using a modern website design program I am able to built websites that adhere to the World Wide Web Consortium Standards W3C.org 

Web standards is a general term for the formal standards and other technical specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web.
In recent years, the term has been associated with a set of standardized best practices for building web sites, and a philosophy of web design and development that includes those methods
The W3C mission is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guide-lines that ensure the long-term growth of the Web.

The following principles guide W3C's work. Web for All The social value of the Web is that it enables human communication, commerce, and opportunities to share knowledge.
One of W3C's primary goals is to make these benefits available to all people, whatever their hardware, software, network infrastructure, native language, culture, geographical location, or physical or mental ability.

Web on Everything The number of different devices that can access the Web has grown immensely. Mobile phones, smart phones, autos,  personal digital assistants, interactive television systems, voice response systems, kiosks and even certain domestic appliances can all access the Web.

Learn more about W3C's Mission HTML (the Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) are two of the core technologies for building Web pages. HTML provides the structure of the page, CSS the (visual and aural) layout, for a variety of devices. Along with graphics and scripting, HTML and CSS are the basis of building Web pages and Web Applications.
What is HTML? HTML is the language for describing the structure of Web pages. HTML gives authors the means to: • Publish online documents with headings, text, tables, lists, photos, etc. • Retrieve online information via hypertext links, at the click of a button. • Design forms for conducting transactions with remote services, for use in searching for information, making reservations, ordering products, etc. • Include spread-sheets, video clips, sound clips, and other applications directly in their documents. With HTML, authors describe the structure of pages using markup. The elements of the language label pieces of content such as “paragraph,” “list,” “image,” and so on.
What is CSS? CSS is the language for describing the presentation of Web pages, including colors, layout, and fonts. It allows to adapt the presentation to different types of devices, such as large screens, small screens, or printers. CSS is independent of HTML and can be used with any XML-based markup language.
The separation of HTML from CSS makes it easier to maintain sites, share style sheets across pages, and tailor pages to different environments. This is referred to as the separation of structure (or: content) from presentation.

Sooo, my website design software allows me to quickly design websites that render amazingly well in all in the various devices connecting to the internet.