Evolution of a Web Site, Part One

I have been thinking for weeks about what to blog about - I hate just regurgitate content off of someone else's blog or articles. I really want to bring something new and fresh. And while this may be common knowledge for many people, I am hoping to do two things: One, present information for small business owners or entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting a website for the first time. Two, to actually get all of my thoughts and information on paper (electronically anyway) about what I think is the natural evolution of a company's website, from the basic (We need a website!) to the complex (We need to determine where customers are dropping out of the queue and test different pages to improve our internet marketing ROI.)

So, without further ado, I will start with part one of my yet unknown number of entries on the subject.

PART ONE: Do we need a website?

Whether you are starting a new company, or have been in business for a while, there comes a point where you start to wonder if you should have a website for your business. What are the benefits? (I will get into that later.) What will it cost us? (Answer: depends) Will it make a difference in our business? (Absolutely, if done right.)

It's a lot easier to start with your internet strategy in mind (for example, if you can name your company based on what .com urls are still available, you can get offline customers people to your website easier) but it's still very possible to use your current business name in your new website.

So let's use as an example a person who is starting a dog grooming service in the city of Phoenix, Arizona. They first are going to purchase all of the supplies that they need to actually groom dogs of course. Once they are ready to start grooming, how do they start getting clients? The first thing that most people think of is putting in a Yellow Pages ad. Then they find out if they sign up now, their yellow pages ad will come out in next year's edition, 9 months from now. What now? How will people find me when looking for a dog groomer?

So after printing business cards and giving them to all their friends that have dogs, begging for referrals, and meeting everyone they can at the dog parks, they finally decide to get a web site because everyone keeps asking them "What is your website address?" Now almost always in this case, they decide they need a website for one reason: because everyone keeps asking them where it is. This is the beginning of the website evolution.

Stage One: The Internet Caveman

Most business owners at this point want one thing - a cheap website. They know nothing about registering a domain name, choosing a hosting provider and what services are available, HTML, what pages their site should contain, or even how to write compelling website copy. (Don't even mention search engine optimization, CSS, pay-per-click or usability planning!)

This is why I call them an internet caveman - like a caveman needing fire, they have no idea how to start it, or really even what to do with it when they finally get it. They just know that they need it. So, like any good business person, they look for the cheapest (preferably free!) way to get themselves a website. Call their sister who has the 13 year old computer whiz, or their friend who got FrontPage when they bought their computer, and see if they can build them a website. Sometimes it works, but more often than not months and months go by and absolutely nothing has happened. Frustrated, they decide to try something else, and look into those $30 websites one of their friends told them about.

Good place for me to stop, cause I could rant about templated websites forever...will work on Part Two as soon as I can.