Getting My business online.
Getting my business online – It can be daunting, getting your business online. There are so many options available to us in our interconnected world. The cost can also vary greatly, from costing you nothing to costing thousands of pounds. Anything from DIY site-building platforms, promising anyone can build a business website, to the large design agencies. What do you do?
Below are 5 questions you need to answer/wrestle with before you can decide on a course of action.
1. What is your budget for ‘Getting my business online’?
Your budget plays an obvious part in your decision. When you look at all the options available, they go from a free DIY site-building platform to an agency charging thousands of pounds. So before you look at your budget, you need to decide on the reason you want to go online in the first place; what is your goal? Your goal will determine the size and complexity of your site, in turn affecting the investment needed.
2. What is your goal?
Why do you want to get your business online? Is it simply to have a presence, a place to send people who ask, “do you have a site?”. Do you want to provide informative content, like a blog post, about your interest or hobby? Do you want to sell products and services online?
The answer to these questions will give you a good idea as to the type of site you need and the budget required. Informative sites don’t need a lot of functionality; visitors to these sites are interested in the content. A site offering digital content or a shop selling physical products which need way more functionality. Customers visiting these sites will need to interact with the product/service provider.
3. Do you have an outbound or inbound sales strategy?
In other words; are you going out, physically selling your products or services business to business, or are you relying on people finding your products or services online? These are two very different strategies that can overlap at times. Relying on your website to generate business requires an inbound strategy. This, in turn, means you need a website that gives you way more than a “presence, online”.
4. What functionality do I need on my site?
The more functionality your site needs, the more complex it becomes. Once you start adding something as ‘relatively simple’ as a contact form, you start adding complexity. A ‘simple’ contact form needs to be secured against spambots; it also needs to comply with GDPR and data protection laws. An online shop needs a storefront; products; checkout capability; payment functionality and a substantial amount of setup.
5. How do I get found online?
Welcome to the wonderful world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or ‘getting found online’. This can add significant complexity and investment in getting your business online. This is a multi-million-pound industry on its own and can require considerable investment. Again this is dependent on the geographical area you want to reach. It is considerably easier to rank number one in your local village compared to ranking number one nationally. This is due to the increase in competitors as you scale geographically.
Conclusion
In conclusion, getting your business online depends on your budget, and determining the level of investment depends on your goal. Once you have nailed down the reason for getting your business online, you will then be able to work out the functionality need on the site. A sales strategy will help you determine the level of SEO you will need to invest in. ‘Hey presto!’ your business is online.
Are you thinking of ‘getting my business online’
Let us know your answers, to these 5 questions, in the comments below?
