Do You Really Need a Website?

If you're like most business owners, you either have a website or think that you need one. After all, the Internet has become part of everyday life! It's .COM this and .COM that everywhere you turn.

In actual fact, not everyone needs or (more specifically) should have a website. There is a difference! In this article we will concentrate on why that's true.

How to Know if You "Should" Have a Website

Answer the following questions TRUTHFULLY:

Q1: Are you interested in owning a website that is more than a glorified business card or brochure?

Q2: Are you willing to invest the time and energy to get the website built? (This refers mainly to working with your webmaster to provide the content, photos, logos, etc. -- not necessarily writing code or building it all by yourself.)

Q3: Are you willing to continue using and expanding the website for many years to come?

BONUS: Do you feel compelled to have a website simply because everyone else has one?

If you did not answer with an enthusiastic "Yes!" to Q1, Q2, and Q3... You should not become a website owner yet. Let me shed a little light on why it is in your best interest to pass on the whole online business thing.

The greatest misconception people have about their website is that it is an advertisement. Websites developed as digital brochures are a waste of your time and certainly your money. They rarely attract enough visitors and, those that do manage to find you will probably leave quickly.

Instead, your website should be a destination. It should HELP people, it should interact with people, it should address the visitor's problem and give him a solution. So rather than your website being ABOUT you, it needs to BE you or a key aspect of you.

Bottom line, no one can effectively build or maintain a digital version of "you" without your involvement.

But What About the Bonus Question?

If you answered "Yes" to the bonus question, this reveals the core reason why your website will fail regardless of how you answered the first three questions.

Yes, that's correct. FAIL.

Surprised?

The reason is quite simple. If the only reason you think you should have a website is because everyone else has one, all the initial interest and willingness to invest the time and energy into building and maintaining one will go down in flames -- without a basic purpose established.

Purpose is what breathes life into your website! It is the guiding light you need to succeed:

• Purpose provides the roadmap in the building process.
• Purpose creates the focus which visitors intuitively respond to.
• Purpose maintains your interest level so that you will keep your site fresh with new content.
• Purpose establishes the yardstick by which you measure success.

If you have children, surely you have observed how a child who takes another child's toy away loses interest in it soon after. He only wanted it because the other child had it. I have observed the same exact phenomenon in grown adults when it comes to websites.

With today's sofisticated technology, your website has the potential to generate qualified leads, reduce or eliminate unnecessary phone calls, make sales transactions, automate your promotions, survey visitors about new products, launch PR campaigns, and on and on.

These are some of its technical capabilities - but what is the purpose of your website?

It's not always about making tons of quick cash selling the latest, greatest widget. How about making your life easier by automating promotion or expanding your customer service capabilities without having to hire more people?

If at this point you have decided not to waste your time or money on a website, I am certainly glad I could help. If, however, you have realized what it takes and wish to pursue the creation of an effective online presence, I commend your bravery! It is not an easy task, but one well worth the effort.