World Wide What?
Business Matters Report
Written by Paul Holmes, April, 2002
Doomsayers continue to tell us "The World Wide Web is dead." In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. The World Wide Web is not dead. Rather, it has grown up. Now that the blissful ignorance of the Internet's youth is a distant memory, it's time to get down to serious business.
Internet Presence
Every business, regardless of what it sells and to whom it sells, needs a minimum Internet presence to be taken very seriously in the year 2002.
First, you need a website. Do you need to spend $20,000 on it? Absolutely not! But plan to spend at least a few hundred dollars.
Domain Name
Having your own domain name (like www.joesplumbing.com - or, if your market is mostly in Canada, www.joesplumbing.ca) is fairly crucial, and much more affordable than it used to be.
People do not take you as seriously when your website address is http://members.someisp.net/~joesplumbing/index.htm, compared with www.joesplumbing.com - besides the fact that the longer website address is more likely to be mistyped (which slash is that, and what the heck is a ~).
The other advantage is that you will have an e-mail address that sticks with you whether you change your Internet Service Provider or not. Once again, info@joesplumbing.com is taken far more seriously than joesplumbing@someisp.net.
Website Content
Your website should include some basic information: contact information, hours of operation, payment methods, and at least the very basic information about your products or services.
This information will often fit quite neatly on one or two pages.
Website Design
Be sure your website uses the same logo and colour scheme as your other promotional material. You want your website design to be consistent with your overall corporate image.
Avoid animated clip art – spinning globes, waving flags, flashing icons, etc. Besides being poor design elements, these often detract attention from the information you want website visitors to see.
Also, unless your business is web design, or you have far too much spare time on your hands, hire a professional to design your site. A basic site like the one described shouldn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars to pull together. Personally, I wouldn’t try to drill my own cavities, rebuild the engine on my car, or build my own mini-pulp mill to supply my paper needs. Similarly, your area of expertise is doing what your business does, not designing web pages.
The Role of the Website
Finally, include your e-mail address and website on all promotional material – business cards, letterhead, pamphlets, newspaper ads, yellow pages, etc. The point of your website, at least initially, should be to compliment your marketing plan as a tool for existing and potential customers – it should not be the poor forgotten cousin hoping desperately to be found by a weary cyber-surfer!
Now your basic Internet Presence is established. Just remember to check your e-mail regularly!
The options to expand are limitless – and beyond the scope of this article. But stay tuned!
Paul Holmes is CEO of TransitionalMedia Inc., a Victoria-based company that offers web design, graphic design, web application development, and web hosting services.
Business Matters is a Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce publication.
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