website

THE REAL PURPOSE OF A WEBSITE

A study from market researchers Ipsos MediaCT released this week found that fewer than half of Indiana’s small businesses (companies with fewer than 250 employees) have a website. The state’s percentage was 47 percent, surprisingly ahead of the national average of 42 percent.

If that alone doesn’t sound like a big deal to you, consider that coverage of the study also noted that 97 percent of consumers will search for local businesses online.  A business that doesn’t have an online presence essentially doesn’t exist anymore.

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WHICH SITE CITES THE SIGHTS?

In a recent blog entry, I mentioned a pet peeve regarding the non-word “alot.” And I mentioned that I have many pet peeves. One that many businesses make involves a homophone that carries three different spellings and three entirely different meanings.

The biggest misuses of it these days show up when companies establish a presence on the Internet. Those presences are what are known as “websites,” and yes, that’s one word, no hyphen, and no space, thank you. People who should know better (and don’t) will often use “web cites” or “web sights.” Those are bad, bad things, and if I were emperor, they would carry lengthy prison sentences and perhaps just a smidge of torture. (I’ll ignore the fact that some readers are thinking that a lecture from me on the subject would qualify as both.)

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CONNECTIONS MATTER MORE THAN COOLNESS

“The main thing we want is for this new website to have a cool design.” No, you don’t. “Yes, we do!” Maybe you do, but that’s the wrong place to start. “What do you mean?”

Why do you have the website? “Excuse me?” Why are you investing money in having and redesigning a website? “Oh. Well, we want to get business.” I see, and a cool design is what will get business? “Won’t it?” I don’t know, I’m asking you. After all, you know your customers and prospects better than I do. So they normally do business with people because of cool websites? Since your current website isn’t so cool, why are your current customers doing business with you?”

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