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1.  

   No Subject Given

   

   Chris, Dec 31st, 2002 @ 6:28am

   
   

   I fight this battle every day - and lose way more often than I win. Even worse than no site are the millions of firms that hacked something together in Frontpage 1.0 back in 1998 and its still up, complete with spinning logos and flashing text. I advise those companies that if they aren't going to invest in somethng that actually supports their business objectives they should take down the ugly site as it can only hurt their business, and never help it.
   

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2.  

   small business websites

   

   Clouser, Dec 31st, 2002 @ 6:56am

   
   

   I agree.
   
   Does anyone know of good services that can set up websites for small businesses on the cheap?

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3.  

   Re: small business websites

   

   Chris, Dec 31st, 2002 @ 8:39am

   
   

   All websites, especially small ones, need to load quick, have an intelligent user interface, and be designed such that they inspire enough confidence in the user to go ahead and plug in their credit card number to buy something. Doing all that isn't cheap. The guys cranking out websites for $500 are using the spaghetti code templates that came with Frontpage. Those sites tend to fail on all points mentioned above, not to mention they don't even load properly in browsers not built by Microsoft.
   In some ways, large well known companies can afford to have crappy web sites because they have enough brand equity built up that the web site doesn't over-ride preconceived notions. But if your Selma's Jewlrey dot com you have exact one chance to convince me to buy from your web site. If your site sucks the consumer is on to the next option in Google, and the lifetime value of that customer is gone forever.

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4.  

   Some sites are informational

   

   Michael Vilain, Dec 31st, 2002 @ 11:21am

   
   

   I use my site as my on-line brochure for what I do (manual therapy). I spend almost nothing on printed materials except when I'm doing on-site demos and health fairs. I purposely designed (and coded by hand) my site to be informational, complete with a contact page and a search function to find other practitioners in the California area.
   
   Can't imagine how much such a site might cost if I paid someone for it. I helped another practitioner put her site together. All she had to do was design the content.
   
   It works to some degree. Many of my first-time clients have either seen my site which they got from my print ad or got my name from a web search.

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5.  

   Re: Some sites are informational

   

   Michael M, Jan 1st, 2003 @ 4:40am

   
   

   A few years ago, I was telling people that online 'brochure' sites were useless and a waste of money. Now I'm not so sure.
   
   More and more, I find myself looking up local businesses on the web before visiting them. I don't want to order online or interact - I really just want to know what they sell, their hours, directions to get there, and a phone number.
   
   As you said, it can also be an easy extension of a print ad or business card.

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6.  

   Re: small business websites

   

   Ken Nicholson, Jan 2nd, 2003 @ 12:07pm

   
   

   Sure - we do. From super-simple brochure sites thru complete database apps on the web.
   
   We are small (3 guys), flexible, and easy to work with. If you're interested, give me a call:
   
   815.455.3383
   
   Have a good day!

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