Websites Replaced The Yellow Pages

Are you still wondering if you really need a website? I mean, you have done fine until now…so, why get a website?

One key reason is that your competition is no longer local or even regional, it is now global and it exists on the world wide web (www). Once upon a time, when we needed to find a business providing a certain product or services, we pulled out our printed copy of the Yellow Pages and found businesses. While online Yellow Pages still exist, website results displayed in a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) now display that information. With much more useful and timely information. Websites have served as an online channel for business for a good length of time. People search in Google or Yahoo or Bing for something and a list of sites come up and folks click on the link and it takes them to a website. Folks look at the business information displayed, products, services, contact information, etc... Many a site offers eCommerce to where you can buy products, services, book appointments, etc.. Remember, today’s Consumer is a much smarter and highly informed one. They prefer doing their own research and come armed with questions and challenges. The more information you can provide for them to be found online, the better informed they feel and the more trust you gain. Websites serve as an excellent tool for increasing foot traffic in a retail establishment if you have one.

Even if you don’t have a brick and mortar retail establishment and are purely an online store (like eBay or Etsy or another niche selling website), your own websites help increase traffic to the online store.

From a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) perspective, yes, it helps to have a website.

It helps to have a website that is in the name of your business or related to your offerings. One of my other ventures is McAllen Architecture & Portrait Photography called ArtByPino.com. That is the name of the business so that I don't have to tell folks what my website is. That is my domain name. Similarly, I have rgvsam.com, a DEMO only website. If you visit rgvsam.com, you will notice that it is a one-page site also known as a 'landing page.' Other than providing basic information and contact information, there is not much on that site. It does include links to where folks can find out more about RGVSAM. Specifically, it takes them to Facebook which is a viral platform. Meaning, folks that like the content on the RGVSAM Facebook page are likely to be seen by their friends and friends of friends. So, you have to decide if your business needs a full-blown website or would you be better served by a one-page, landing page style website. You could set up a Facebook Page and use the Shop feature to create a catalog and sell there. Again, you get the advantage of folks seeing their friends buy & review and follow the trend. Or, you could set up an eBay or an Etsy shop (eBay is more expensive than Etsy due to higher fees) and post that link on your landing page as I have done with pinoshahantiques.com.

The advantage of setting up shop on a 3rd party platform like Facebook or eBay or Etsy is that you don't have the costs associated with having to get a website developed and maintained.

You also get the advantage of not having to generate your traffic because folks visiting those platforms are likely to find your content. With your own website that includes eCommerce, you now have to pay a web developer for SEO enhancements so that your site is ranked higher in search engines. A couple of years ago, the FUD Gurus - fear, uncertainty, and doubt - had folks worried that you were building your online presence on someone else's platform and that policy changes by the provider would wreak havoc for you. Yes, there have been policy changes but, the havoc has not materialized. Another FUD caution was that you were not capturing any Customer data to use for remarketing and email campaigns. Good point. With a one-page site, you can still have an option for asking folks to subscribe to your newsletter where you can announce specials and keep them informed.

So, when does a full-blown website make sense?

If your business generates the revenue to support it. Ideally, you should connect your front-end ordering system to your back-end fulfillment and accounting systems. You need to connect the ordering system to your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. Or, you may be able to connect your ordering system to a 3rd party interface or platform to directly send orders for shipping out to Customers. So, for example, you take orders for printing books on demand and your publisher provides an interface capability to your front-end ordering system so that as soon as the Customer orders the book and makes a payment, the order is electronically sent to the publisher who prints the book and ships it out while your accounting system connected at the back-end registers the income. Another example would be in situations where you allow customization of products being ordered and are using a platform that does that. But, for most medium to small businesses, a combination of a one-page site along with a 3rd party eCommerce option would suffice. Remember, you can still connect your email address campaign manager to build your mailing list by displaying a simple form to collect email addresses on your one-page landing site.

One feature to consider having on your website - whether it is a one-page site or a full-blown site - is a Blog, an online journal that is public where you share your thoughts as a subject matter expert.

Sites that have fresh content are ranked higher in search engines and a blog is a simple and effective way to do it. Once set up, you will be able to add and modify content to your heart's desire. Ideally, post 1-2 blog posts a week.

Even if I don't develop your website but, you need an objective evaluation of proposals received from vendors, I can help. Or, if you have an existing website but, are not ranking high on search results, I can help evaluate and provide a strategy to address the issues. For most businesses, a higher portion of their web traffic comes from mobile devices so, be sure to have a responsive web design; meaning that the website automatically adjusts its display depending on the device it is being viewed on. This way, you are not creating multiple copies of the website for each device but, use a single copy of the website that is optimized for all screen sizes.

As a McAllen Website Designer, eCommerce and, IT Consultant, I can help you with all your technology needs. If I don’t have the answer, I will point you to someone that does.

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Do I Really Need A Website?