I hear the story all the time... "I have a friend who's doing my website", "I have a cousin who's doing my website", "I hired a web guy to do my site". Small business owners know in this day and age they need to have an online presence but all too often they entrust it to someone else. Often times this person is a buddy or a relative. They think those people have a special skill that's out of their reach for whatever reason. When you entrust someone else to build your website there are several problems. And you're going to run into these even if you hire the very best (and most expensive) web designer out there.
1. The people making the website don't know your customers.
The first problem is the fact the people you hire to keep up your website don't know your business. As a business owner you deal with customers every single day. You know what makes them happy, and what drives them away. You know the questions they're going to ask about your products and services before they ask them. Someone who's building your website as a favor or who you hired isn't going to have this type of intuition, and conveying your vision is going to take a lot of trial and error even with the most committed designers.
2. Small businesses can't get their web designer to update the site fast enough.
The second problem is time. The beauty of the web is it's ability to be updated in realtime. When you build your website, you're going to get some feedback. You need to be able to react to that feedback quickly to capitalize on the traffic coming to your site. If you're relying on a buddy or a web designer they're not going to be able to make changes to your website as fast as you would be able to do it yourself. Friends and family don't do it because they usually have a day job or at least someone who's willing to pay for their services. Professional web designers can't do it because they're servicing multiple clients. And you know everyone of them is putting the same pressure for them to get things done immediately. When you have the ability to update your website you can react to feedback immediately, giving you a better chance to win leads and customers.
3. It's too expensive to hire an in-house web designer.
The third problem people run into is the expense. If you've read above you probably thought at some point the solution is the hire someone to do your website. Unfortunately most small businesses can't afford to pay a person a web person to be at their beckoning call. Web designers are in demand and typically command a decent salary. What's more, they don't like to work a 9 to 5 schedule. Finding someone who's technically equipped to maintain a website that's willing to work for an unskilled wage isn't going to happen.
So how can you avoid these pitfalls as a small business owner? You need to find a platform that is easy enough to use that you can make changes to your website yourself. That's where WebStarts comes in. Unlike traditional ways of building a website, WebStarts makes creating and updating a website easy. There's no software to download, no servers to setup, no domains to configure. All you do is drag and drop text, images, videos, and virtually anything else wherever you'd like it to appear on your page. When you're ready to share your website with the rest of the world you choose a domain name and it's automatically setup to work for you.Within a few minutes you're able to share and promote a link to your very own website.
When you need to make an update or change to your WebStarts website nothing could be easier. Simply login to your WebStarts account from any computer connected to the web, make your changes, and save. With WebStarts there's no need to wait on an expensive web designer. You're in control of your website, and in control of your business.
The best thing about WebStarts... It's free. WebStarts is a freemium model. That means you can sign up and build your website for free. When you're ready to get serious and take your site online, upgrade to a paid plan and you'll get access to powerful, professional features. To sign up for a free WebStarts account click here. You can also call WebStarts at 1-800-805-0920.