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ONCE, only large companies with IT departments had websites. But now every business has or is planning a website.
Almost every commercial vehicle displays a web address in their contact details. Many TV and newspaper commercials end with a message "see the details on our website: www... " Even news and current affairs programs end with the message "for details of tonight's program check our website: www..."
Why? Most households now have internet access, especially if there are school children in the family.
How do you start?
We advise small businesses to start small but start NOW! You can do it in stages — Stage A immediately, then Stages B and C when you have your product information ready.
- Home page with information on your business:
- Where are you?
- What are your products and services?
- Where do you sell? (Newcastle, Hunter and Lake Macquarie, or Australia wide.)
- How do customers contact you?
- Catalogue detailing your products and services — some photos help.
- Shopping cart and ecommerce to sell products online.
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Domain names are now very cheap ($19/year to $48/2 years). Hosting is now very cheap ($52/year). So you don't save much by using your ISP's free webspace and it doesn't look very businesslike anyway. If you sell beans, then you want an email address like beans@beanco.com.au – not bean99@yahoo.com.
Think "Search Engine Friendly" before you start a website.
Be careful you don't put a lot of effort into a website that only ranks at number 3000 in a search of Google.
There are D.I.Y. web design packages that produce websites that look good but are not search engine friendly.
If you want a professional looking website that works, then use a professional web designer.
There are even D.I.Y. shopping cart / ecommerce packages that look good. But they are not search engine friendly. e.g. If you are selling beans, this won't be found in Google:
http://202.60.89.96/~billsmith/index.php?main_page=product_info &cPath=3&products_id=26&zenid=a796db3dad907ffed054b7158f98ca07
If you're selling beans, you want Google to list: www.beanco.com/beans.php?p=butter-beans
We can help you with all the above: domain name, hosting, web design, search engines, catalogue, ecommerce.
Just call 02 4959 7741 or email design@platywebs.com.au
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