FOR EITHER A BUSINESS or freelance operator a website can serve much the same purpose as a catalogue or portfolio, telling people much more about what you offer than, say, an ephemeral and expensive ad in the papers or on air. Given your web address, anyone on the internet can take a look at what you do in as much detail as you choose to show them.
Not only is it cheaper than running off a pile of brochures or catalogues that will mostly get thrown in the bin, but it saves on trees and the content can be changed at any time. This makes a website ideal for posting your latest news and prices rather than having to mail them regularly to clients.
The design cost of websites obviously depends on how much you want to say but as a rough guide a site on the scale and pattern of that on the left could set you back only a few hundred pounds. Domain names and web space start from around £50.
Supplementary pages (enlargements of pictures etc.) can be useful for keeping your design compact and uncluttered. Once a format is established they are quick to do and add little to the overall cost of your site. Picture enlargements can pop up in new frames like those on the right, or have a page to themselves like the one below.
SO IF YOU'RE THINKING of investing in a website how great, you may be wondering, will be the return? Well, since the great dot.com meltdown of 2000 people have grown more realistic about their potential, which is that they are a very handy and economic way of showing people what you can do but are not necessarily goldmines just because you have a bright idea.
Think of your website mainly as a portfolio, brochure, booklet (or even book) that can show the world what you have to offer. If you currently spend a fortune on expensive packages of material touting for work (or guiltily feel you should but can't quite face it) then maybe a website is what you need. It's also quite useful to be able to send people to your website for details instead of having to repeat them endlessly to potential clients.
As part of the service your site will have keywords that people can pick up on, and we'll make sure that the main search engines are told of your existence (though Google seems to pick up new sites automatically). People will be able to find you easily enough on the net if they ask the right questions, but don't expect email orders from complete strangers to come flooding in unless the service you offer is extremely specialised.
If you deal in antique watches, motorbikes or sewing machines, for instance, then you can expect quite a few fellow enthusiasts scattered around the world to get in touch; but if you're an accountant, say, well you're going to have stiff local competition using all kinds of media to cultivate interest. Websites are also ideal for advertising holiday homes online because many people now search for holidays just by Googling their requirements and the desired location. But for many trades and services they are best seen as a backup to normal advertising and a way of providing instant and comprehensive information to enquirers.
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