How to Afford a Website If Your Business is Just Starting Out

So despite the knowledge that your business is better off if you have a website, many business owners are still reluctant to jump in on the Internet. If you're selling products, a website is a way for you to show your catalog to potential customers. Don't forget to include your pricing, this is very essential. (See Why Businesses Need to Post Their Pricing Online) If you have services, you have to show your list, your office or store hours, and your method of service. The main purpose of your website is to bring your business to people in areas who otherwise wouldn't be able to see what your product, service, or store look like. If they can get to know you through their website, then you're likely to earn sales. This is the power of the Internet.

Facebook or MySpace Page

Now, say you're just starting out and can't afford a website. Fortunately, it's not so difficult to bring your business online. Sometimes, it's not the beginning that creates the hurdle, but the maintenance. For example, you built a Facebook page for your business. But are you willing to keep up with posting everyday in order to attract your customers? If you have a website, you don't need to update everyday. Facebook or MySpace is a cheap way to create a semi-storefront, but it is very limited in selling capabilities.

Blogging

The same idea works for blogging. If you cannot afford a website, you may opt to sign up for Blogger or Wordpress. But blog platforms do not support capabilities such as shopping carts. If you have a website, you can easily direct your customers to the checkout, along with the capability to accept credit cards online. Blogs don't have as much freedom to let you create a design that suits your business theme. And you still have to update your posts as often as you can.

Yola

Some companies online offer a subdomain for your business. This is perfect if you have a little technical skill such as HTML and graphics manipulation. An example is Yola. Yola will give you a subdomain www.yourbusiness.yolasite.com with a free sitebuilder that includes free templates and storefront capabilities. Building a website with Yola takes a lot of hours so be prepared. This is probably one of the cheapest ways to bring your business online. The website is under your control. When it's time to move on, you have the option to purchase a domain of your own www.yourbusiness.com. By doing this, you're giving your business a more professional look. You can also start hiring a web designer that will fulfill the merchant capabilities that your business needs.

When it comes to building a website to bring your business online, we at Get Online Texas can give you all the information you need. Look forward to great merchant capabilities that web hosting services can give you in our next article!