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105 Ways To Make Money From Home

Do You Really Need A Web Site?
By: ALLEN TAYLOR

Just visit any forum or bulletin board on the Net, or read any magazine article about web sites and you are sure to find a remark or two about how every business needs a web site. Some folks say you can't effectively market a business without a web site in the 21st century. But can you?

I think you can. There are still many traditional methods of marketing that are effective in getting results. No business owner should rely on one method alone. But you shouldn't discount web sites either.

A good web site can bring in additional business, but a bad one can drive business away. That's why you have to be careful about entering this new arena. If you do it wrong, it could work against you.

First, you need to understand a few basics. There are different types of web sites. Which one will work for you?

A brochure web site is a simple design that can be very effective for many businesses. Consisting of one single page broken into a few sections, this web site has the basics: Your location, who you are and what you do, maybe some photos (if necessary), a bio or history of the business, and an order form. You are by no means limited to this short menu. You can include whatever is essential to your business; the point is, you don't need a whopping 150-page web site with flash and music files when a simple design will do.

Another simple web site design is the sales letter. These are very effective if all you want to do is sell a book or CD, or a package of products. It's a one-page web site that reads like a letter. There are no sections. It's just one long scroll down page. But it may consist of audio files, or a video file, some sidebars and boxes, a headline and several subheads and, of course, the order form. The idea, of course, is to sell your product. Think of the sales page web site as like those direct mail sales letters that you get in the mail two or three times a week.

A little bit more complex than the two above designs is the booklet-size web site. These are usually five page web sites that consist of a home page, a history, information on products and services, an about us page, and a contact us page. They are similar to a brochure web site but actually have five different pages rather than five sections of one page. It's a minor distinction but the brochure web site is simpler to design and therefore costs less.

Then you have a traditional web site. The traditional web site can consist of anything from five to ten pages to three hundred or more. It is information extensive and provides visitors with a full experience of your company.

Most businesses don't need three hundred page web sites. The number of pages you do need depends on your business, your purpose for creating a web site, your intended audience and the end goal. If you are a service business then maybe you just need a few pages to explain your service. If you have an extensive line of product then you might need more. If you are an information-only web site that makes its revenue off of advertising and affiliate links then maybe your web site will consist of thousands of pages.

Whatever the size of your web site, however, you must put careful thought into its design. Just throwing up a web site and hoping visitors will come is not a good strategy. You should learn search engine optimization but don't get so wrapped up in it that you forget about your customers. It's the people who visit your site, not Google, that will end up doing business with you.

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