My business is very small. Do I really need a website to promote it?

This is a frequently asked question in this day and age of information technology and online businesses. Especially so with many a web design firm offering their services to business ventures all over the world. And it is very important that you ask this question, because the answer to it, is, without a shadow of a doubt, YES!

Even from the late nineties, when the internet was just budding, hadn’t become mainstream, and e-commerce was just a faint possibility, futurists agreed that considerable business would be conducted online in the coming years. Even the most pessimistic observers of trends knew that, in the not too distant future, most transactions would be online. They even predicted that many offline transactions would be the result of marketing efforts over the internet. This has proven to be so true today.

Now the question that arises, is whether it is prudent to go through all the trouble of designing a website yourself, or to approach a web design firm to make you one, even if you think your product can not be sold online.

You should not dismiss any product as one that can not be sold online, let alone your own. These days, almost anything can be sold over the internet. From used books to diapers to pianos to jet aeroplanes, anything and everything is being sold over the internet. If you have a product, someone will figure out how to sell it on the internet. There is always a clientele willing to buy online. And if you don’t have a provision to sell online, it is an opportunity lost. You will be losing a sizeable customer base. There are more than twenty million shoppers online, and the number is only growing day by day, especially in the developing countries.

Be warned, though. Do not put all your efforts into selling your product online if it isn’t easy to do so. The point being made, is that you MUST have an online presence. This is to ensure that potential customers, business partners or investors can conveniently find our more about your products or business. However, if your small business sells a product that can be sold easily online, you should concentrate more on selling it, and not just marketing it, online.

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to online marketing. Be it a one-man show or a multinational corporate venture, without a website, it is losing huge chunks of business to their competitors who do.

One more important thing to remember, is that it is not enough to just have a website. It must look professional, be easy and intuitive to use and navigate, and above all, be able to portray your product and business as one that is professional and credible. If your website is shoddy and amateurish, it reflects badly on your business. Your opportunity to make a good first impression is lost forever.

The best asset of the internet is its ability to bring a level playing field. When it comes to online transactions, marketing and first impressions, it is easier for small companies and businesses to compete with the corporate giants online. A well designed website will portray your business as a competent, professional, credible operation that can be relied on. The opposite is true also. Many a big company has lost out on so much business because of badly designed websites that were unprofessional and were hard to navigate. They tend to lose credibility and look like they are run from a shack. You can see why it is especially important for a small business to have a well designed website.

All said and done, however, it is wise not to have a website at all rather than have one which looks like it was designed by a fifth grader on his personal computer. A website is your showroom to the world. First impressions, like they say, are the most important. A website can make or break your business. Take the effort to design it thoughtfully. A reputed web design firm is a good starting point for someone who is not familiar with web designing. This is the era of the internet, and marketing without an online presence is almost as good as no marketing at all.