# General Business Category > Marketing Forum > [Article] Your website is a waste of money!

## Chatmaster

So your business needed a website. You heard from a friend that he knows someone that can design a website for your business at a very good price. 3 Weeks later and you can say you have a website, it is pretty and you are proudly telling everyone to look at it.

But exactly what is the purpose of having a website anyway? I mean, surely paying such a large sum of money for a piece of the Internet must have a purpose! Is it for entertainment? Perhaps you got one because everyone else has one? Maybe it is because all your competitors have one? Or maybe it is because you want to utilize it as a marketing tool? What ever your reasons, ultimately the Internet has a sole purpose for your business and that is to get exposure.

But does your website give you that exposure? Does it actually work as a marketing tool? Well, for the majority of businesses the answer is an unfortunate and quite loud NO!

Do you believe the Internet is all hype and the reality is that it is a complete waste of time? Well, do you? Do you only keep your website live just to be able to look professional and to say, we have a website? Then your website is probably just wasting your original investment. Yes I said it, your website is a waste of money!

*Why is your website a waste of money?*

Most businesses, whether or not you are small or large, knows at least the basics of marketing or sales. This is a given, else you wouldn't have a business, right. So why does your website not work. Why do you as a large business have to rely on your big marketing budget to make it work for you? Do you want to know why? Well I will tell you why!

When we look at the statistics that the OPA recently published on Internet usage in South Africa, we get a very good picture of just how powerful the Internet is in South Africa as a marketing tool.  Although the OPA only represents a handful of websites in South Africa, their stats gives you a very good idea of what the online market is like. Well very few of the conventional marketing resources can boast with 7,8 million unique users, but still your website is wasting your money. Well, you are not alone; the majority of business owners and marketing teams feels exactly the same way as you. They also wonder sometimes why they are still doing this Internet thing.

But the other side of the coin is also true. More and more businesses invest more and more money in their Internet marketing. More and more businesses are getting more diverse and employ SEO's and Internet marketers to expand their marketing into this explosive resource. More and more businesses are outsourcing their Internet marketing to specialists at a large cost. Certainly they must know something you do not. If ROI is the key to a successful marketing campaign, why has your website been a waste of money since day one?

*The real culprit*

In our discussion on the reasons a website doesn't work it became clear to me, given I was upset when I started the topic, was that there seems to be a misunderstanding amongst website owners on exactly how the Internet works as a marketing tool. 

In conventional marketing there is a difference between selling and marketing. On the Internet these two different methods merge into one. The reason for this is that conventional marketing relies on a big budget and lots of repetition. I like to call it interrupt marketing simply because the idea is often to get into people's faces. To stand out with the biggest, brightest most colorful billboard is often the way to get noticed in conventional marketing. 

But on the Internet it is different. On the Internet, interrupt marketing is called spam and the consumer actually has more choice to ignore you. The consumer is a lot safer because no salesman can knock on their palisade fence with a piece of iron, and no telesales company can phone them during dinner or their favorite TV program to sell them a holiday package they will never use. The consumer can also close those annoying little pop-up ads before their 20k image loads on their ultra fast South African Internet connection. The consumer has a choice.

But even the most basic element of the Internet is totally different from conventional marketing. In conventional marketing you do not spend hours on ensuring that the construction of the billboard is 100% correct before you can start advertising on it. All you need to know is how many cars drive past and the exact location and size of the billboard.

You do not care how the television signal reach television sets all over the country, you just care about the demographics and the time the ad is supposed to run. The technical detail is not important. 

The Internet is different, way different. In the online environment technical detail becomes the most basic part of your Internet strategy and here is a surprise to you all. Very few web designers actually knows how to design a website so it works for your marketing strategy. It is no coincidence that your website is a waste of your money, yes the basic construction of your website is often the first stumbling block and reason for your websites miserable failure.

*Who designed your website?*

So this brings me to a very interesting question, who designed your website? Was it your sisters' son's friend from high school? Maybe it was a graphics designer that designs the most awesome flash animation or maybe even a large web design company that you were referred to by a friend?

The fact of the matter is that your website needs to meet a few basic requirements to even stand a remote chance of functioning for what it was intended as marketing tool. It needs to be designed technically correct, it needs to be compiled for ultimate sales advantage and it needs to have ultimate usability designed into it. Yes this is the basic requirement that all Internet marketing is based on. You can do everything else right, but if these basic principles are missed, the site is dead and a waste of money.

*So who is to blame?*

No it is not the web designer. They are doing what they know best, they are not sales people but specialists in technology. They know how to create features on a website and that is what they are trained to do. Most web designers are guided by their clients on how to design the website. At the end of the day, their success is measured on pleasing their customers. They are restricted by the fact that they need to utilize their knowledge and expertise to keep a customer happy. They build the shop, the web site owner is responsible for the display in the window and the selling of their service or products.

*What makes a website tick*

Technical design is the first step. One of the largest suppliers of traffic to any website is natural ranking in search engines. The majority of sites are not designed correctly for search engines to make accurate assumptions on what these sites are all about. Basic HTML is also being replaced with JavaScript, Flash and images. All of which causes problems for robots when they index sites.

For these robots it is the same as having a good conversation with a wall. They cannot follow links nor can they thoroughly understand the theme of each individual page, that is if they can index any of the content at all.

The basic coding and design structure of a site is crucial for the success of one of the prime online marketing techniques for any site, SEO.

Although SEO, Viral Marketing, Editorial marketing and banner advertising can provide a site with targeted traffic and hot leads, a further problem arises. Websites are designed for their owners, not for the prospective customers. They are filled with information that consumers and visitors are not interested in. Finding real information is tedious or impossible so they simply move on to the next site and the next, and the next, until finally they get the information they were looking for.

Integration of datamining and Social Media Marketing (SMM) for retention and conversion purposes doesn't exist in the majority of South African websites. In other words you are marketing a site without having a salesman to sell your products or services 24/7 to visitors, that is to say if you get visitors at all.

As with conventional marketing you are being ignored. On the Internet it is even more so. If you do not provide the required information or usability the visitor moves on and you are forgotten before the next mouse click.

*It is too technical!*

I often hear "it is too technical!"Â My answer is always the same, Yes it is. 

We are not all web designers or SEO specialists, infact we have businesses to run and salaries to pay. 

So how on earth can we solve this issue? 

It is simple and called management. You need to learn how you can manage your website as to enable you to still give all your attention to your business. If you have 30 minutes a week, you can outsource most of the responsibilities and just by means of reporting and understanding those reports, know exactly what is going on with your website. By empowering yourself with the correct reporting and management techniques, you will be able to take decisions and prevent being mislead by your service providers. Running a web site requires understanding not the technical know how, technical expertise is employable, but it is your understanding of the Internet that makes you successful online.

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AndyD (05-Aug-10)

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## Chatmaster

*Making informed decisions*

The Internet is filled with information about internet marketing, but for some reason there is very little real information on managing your website if you are a business owner. Further more there is a lot of misinformation and for most people it becomes confusing to distinguish between facts and fiction. Therefore it seems to be a challenge to equip yourself with the necessary information and knowledge to be able to successfully utilize your website. So what to do?

The best and sure way to ensure you are dealing with an expert in Internet marketing is to do a search on their name in a search engine. Most experts make use of Internet marketing strategies themselves in order to sell their services. Their success is normally reflected in their web presence and media mentions. This way you can ensure that you are safe and dealing with a true expert.

Once you decided that the person you are dealing with is reputable it is normally not to difficult to find the information you are looking for by reading their articles, forum posts and blogs on the specific topic. Signup to their newsletters, blogs and forums where they are active, this way you can ask for their help free of charge and open discussions to other experts also active in the same communities.

Buying books on Internet marketing can be a complicated start in getting informed on Internet marketing. Authors of books are normally not experts themselves but they have done a lot of research on the subject and sifted most of the useless information to get the real facts. Therefore a book can be very useful and make for a quick solution to your problem.

Attending courses can be very useful. Many people prefer this because they are then able to ask questions if they do not understand. Normally you also have some kind of support from the facilitator when you try to apply your knowledge.

You can also get a consultant in to assist you in setting up a process to manage your website. Again do a search for the person's name to ensure that you are dealing with an expert.

The fact remains, you need to get yourself into a position to be able to make judgment calls and manage your website, else it will not work for you. When you employ sales or marketing staff, you ensure that you get the best you possibly can the same should go for your 24-hour salesman. Yes that is your website! Invest a bit of time into merging marketing and sales techniques into your website, you will be surprised to see what it can deliver!

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AndyD (05-Aug-10), wynn (15-Mar-10)

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## Vincent

Interesting article - can't wait to hear your full presentation on the 7th March. Reading your article I've fallen into many of the pitfalls that you've mentioned.
Off topic slightly, What is Viral Marketing? I've heard this mentioned often, but what is and how does one go about doing Viral Marketing.

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## Chatmaster

Viral Marketing? Mmmmmmmm I will write an article on that! Perhaps I can highlight a few issues there in terms of conventional marketing as well. Viral Marketing has it's definitions which imo is meaningless, if you think lateral and aren't to worried about creating sensation then you can easily setup a Viral campaign. But let me work on it first.

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## Chatmaster

Vincent, I just wrote a few words on Viral marketing I would love to get comments on it  :Big Grin:

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## Vincent

> Vincent, I just wrote a few words on Viral marketing I would love to get comments on it


Yo call that a few words. :EEK!:  
I'm going to print it out and then read the article.

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## Dave A

> Yo call that a few words.


Yes. It's that Chathead  :Wink: 

I think it's brilliant. I know one article already that is featuring in the next mailing.

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## Chatmaster

The article just scrapes the surface of viral marketing. There is so much more to mention when it comes to it that I feel it is a few words. lol

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## ChrisP

I know this is an old thread, but it is a very interesting one. I would agree that most small businesses over-estimate the marketing effect of their websites. It can still be worth it to have a website as a type of "online brochure" but to expect it to attract new clients without considerable time and resources invested in it is naive. Take the keyword accountants: Google SA returns 117 000 sites. Of those sites 99% of people wont go past the first 10.

We have a lot of accountants registered on our website Find an Accountant and a lot of them get great leads from it. So they rush off and build their own websites, sometimes even cancelling their listing with us, only to return in a few months with zero action on their own sites. And those that do have websites often report that the majority of their website's traffic comes from Find an Accountant.

Marketing a website to atttract new customers is a fulltime and expensive job.

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## tec0

Within in reason a lot of people will agree with you.  :Thumbup: 

However, my view is that a Website must:

>> Contain a company profile.
>> Contain contact information.
>> Allow Customers to preview information. 

Problems that youâre Website will face:

>> Search engines & cost.
>> Hosting Cost, Website Maintenance Cost and Quality of host service. 
>> Additional Advertisement Cost. 

The truth: A website exists to give information. You still need good reference, quality service and proper advertisement âif applicableâ your websiteâs *only job* is to allow for easy access. 

That to me is case and point.

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## derekjay

I think the mistake that so many small businesses make when designing their website is to think that its supposed to be an "online brochure". Yes, you need to have informative content on your site, but the key question must be asked:

*What is the main purpose of the site?*

- Is it to create sales leads? 
- Is it to sell products directly? 
- Is it to generate brand awareness?

Whatever you decide, that needs to remain the focus throughout the design process. Dont create an excessively informational online brochure if your main goal is to capture leads. That kind of thing.

Basic marketing rules need to be kept in mind when designing (or conceptualizing) your website - or else it certainly is just going to be a waste of money. This is exactly the same as investing in any marketing medium.

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## Peter Princeton

ok.....

as for web designers......

i don't consider myself one.  i just build websites.

BUT....

the business owner comes to me because he or she knows NOTHING.

if he or she knew anything about internet marketing, my services would probably not be needed.

if you build a car, it has to work.

if you build a fridge, it has to work

if you cook food, it has to be edible.

so if you build a website, it has to work.

if not, you are simply an artist - creating objects of beauty.

if you build a website and nobody visits it, you have not delivered on the client's expectations.

what you CAN do is to do some keyword research, and tell the client what competition the site will be up against, and to use some long tail keywords to slip in underneath the radar.

but if it is not going to work, then WHY THE HELL BUILD IT ?

because then it IS a waste of money.

just my brutally honest 0.02c

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## adrianh

*if not, you are simply an artist - creating objects of beauty.*

Or most likely an artisan wannabe creating things from "blou draad & bubblegum" :Ban:

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## ChrisP

DerekJay said:

_I think the mistake that so many small businesses make when designing their website is to think that its supposed to be an "online brochure"._

No necessarily. As I said in my earlier post - a website that wants to actively attract new clients takes a lot of time, effort and cost. But that does not mean to say that business owners that don't want to invest the time, effort and cost shouldn't have a website. For these people an "online brochure" type web presence (to put on letterheads & biz cards etc.) is still viable as the costs can be very low (and probably more than covered by the savings of the print cost for paper brochures)

I think the key is, as you rightly say:
_"Whatever you decide, that needs to remain the focus throughout the design process."_

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## orpaspar

Great discussion going on here ...

One thing I wanted to bring up is that IMO websites are definitely a necessity for businesses - even simple, three page online brochures. More and more people are googling businesses they hear about or read about or are thinking about doing business with and then making up their minds from what they see online. In these cases, a small, brochure-type website is better than nothing. Sure, these sites won't feature anywhere in the top million results in a Google organic search, but with social media, forums and good ol' fashioned networking, keywords and SEO are not as important as many make them out to be (or perhaps as they used to be). The website is just one part of the business person's marketing arsenal, along with their business card, brochures and the company's advertising. Any website can be effective if used as a part of the whole. Obviously, a well-designed, slick website will create a more positive impression of the company than a dull and dated design will. But a lot of the time, the bells and whistles thrown into a site are superfluous and done more for the designer's portfolio than to satisfy the needs of the client (again, my opinion). However, not having a website is becoming a serious no-no.

But wait, there's more ...

I also agree with a previous poster who said that building a website and expecting it to just bring in clients "out of the box" is naive. That's like printing a whole lot of brochures (good or bad) and then stacking them in your office and hoping to get sales. You have to get the brochures out there. You have to hand them out. Likewise, you have to get your website's name out there. A website is an unbeatable way to dispense information about and to create an impression of, a company and what it does. But you have to tell people about it at every opportunity. Your website address should be on your business card, letterhead, brochure, at the bottom of every email ... everywhere you can think to put it.

Okay. Done. :Big Grin:

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## tonyflanigan

interesting thread...

we have most of our little 3 or 4 page clients sites performing very lekker on Uncle google. *Without* using the business' name in the search term nogal.

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## tonyflanigan

@ peter. just a suggestion, unsubscribe from facilities that *forces* the browser window to re-size. Aweber is notorious for that...

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## adrianh

@tonyflanigan, nou ou broer, your website is totally inconsistent. When I go to "Blog" the look and feel is totally different. "Services & Prices" is the same as the main website, but "About Us" is part of the "Blog" look. "Sitemap" is on its own mission. "Galleries & Portfolio" sits low down in the left hand corner of my 25" screen. "Privacy Policy" is ok. 

Ah, I see what is happening, the main site is pure HTML and the "Blog" & "About Us" is Wordpress that lives in the Wordpress directory.

Nou broer, I find it a little troublesome that a web designers own site has so many kokkeroaches...

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## tonyflanigan

:Clap:  i had a visitor to my website!

hm. Thanks Adrian, a little *constructive* criticism from someone who is qualified is always welcome.

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## adrianh

Aye well, I think it better that I point these things out than your customers. I can assure you, my products and websites have their fair share of kokkeroaches.

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tonyflanigan (21-Jul-10)

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## Dave A

> i had a visitor to my website!


 :Rofl:

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## CJOtt

Awesome thread. I agree with tec0... I've heard a lot of conflicting theories and ideas about websites though. I'm still thinking of doing some kind of emarketing course to brush up on these skills cos I think that things will be in a state of flux for a while as new fads and trends dominate the online space...

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## Chatmaster

If you are thinking of doing some emarketing course I would like to recommend you look at this emarketing course from Quirk. Rob Stokes is one of the few people I truly respect when it comes to Internet Marketing and probably one of the few people in the country I would say has a solid understanding of what it truly is.

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garthu (12-Aug-10)

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## orpaspar

Interesting thread. Yep, unfortunately, due to a lack of education/understanding, many businesses out there (especially the small, one-man shows) think that "if you build it, they will come". So they spend a few grand on a site and a domain name and hosting and up goes their three-page brochure site. They check Google and can't find it and their contact us form gets used so seldom that cobwebs start forming in the corners. So they curse the pimply-faced web designer who built it and declare that it's all a waste of time and money. Sure, they may get googled by name and the googler may be able to see the details of what they offer and think that at least they are professional enough to have a website and are therefore worth a phone call. But it really does nothing for them.

Part of the lack of understanding about website ownership is that a website is not a magical sales attraction device that works by casting spells on people using the Interweb. It's actually just a tool and it all depends on how well it is designed and used as to how effective it is. A website without the facilities to be found (SEO), attract attention (constantly added useful information and offers), capture details (forms) and follow up (newsletters and reminders) is like a pile of brochures sitting in the corner of your office - pretty much useless. Websites can be amazingly successful vehicles for promoting businesses if they are properly equipped, promoted and run. Unfortunately this takes hard work and/or money ... and some savvy, savvy? 

Well, that's my ten billion Zim dollars' worth, anyway.  :Stick Out Tongue:

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tonyflanigan (11-Aug-10)

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## alexwang

in time notice for youth
good news for young people surfing online

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## Webmaster

Hi there

I was browsing through and found this article. What is said is very true, most websites do cost allot of money and don't bring in any traffic. In any business including an internet based one you need to invest money to make money, 

However If youâre looking in the right places there are many sites that offer services for free or at a very low cost simply because they aim at attracting larger groups of people either to advertise via their own website or have an automated system which they are playing the number game with.
(lowest price = more customers, more customers = bigger income)

I have noticed a handful of online marketing companies that do this and once I get rolling I'll write a few articles of my own  :Smile:  ONCE I've fully checked them out. 

My business is also based with online web hosting and design services and because if the exact issue explained in this opening post. I have constructed my business around trying to offer the marketing secrets design companies never research. 

Hosting is a big deal too. If you have a decent host that offers all the right features for marketing your website and applications to make your backend easier to operate like CMS's and ad management software.



Regards

The Webmaster

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## Dave A

> (lowest price = more customers, more customers = bigger income)


Now there's a myth that needs to be busted  :No: 

But maybe in another thread one day.

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## Webmaster

Yip it seems so, just allot more to it though than that :P 

I have noticed people seem to think that the more something costs the better the service? Thats another myth. Guess these things is a good idea for a post  :Smile: 

Webmaster

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## Dave A

> I have noticed people seem to think that the more something costs the better the service? Thats another myth.


Maybe not always true, but it does increase the *potential* of getting better service  :Wink: 

Certainly far more likely than assuming being the cheapest means you'll get the biggest turnover.

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## Webmaster

Hmm ok, I like a good debate  :Smile: 

Let’s use this situation since I recon it’s the only part I honestly know anything about, As a business expert I won’t even bother as I’m sure you have allot more experience than me, and I never assumed that starting term I just used it as an explanation. Websites can be a waste of money! the point still stands ‘you can start a website and have it designed without it costing you too much’. If you don’t market your website it won’t get anywhere.

About Web Hosting & Design 

We have two scenarios - There are positive and negatives to both. 

A big company offering a set of services, you choose your services and pay as you should. You will deal with someone who “applied for the job” to help you that has a general knowledge of what they were taught and give you advice that is good but is parroted from someone who understands about website hosting, ADSL setup and networking etc. Fair enough. They setup general PHP server sided access etc, charge you per mail address, per gig, per database and pretty much break down every aspect of your business in order to milk every possible penny, Without annoying you too much.
Or you get 
A specialist or small group cc. Offering Hosting and Design who offer Hosting and Design, their focus is obviously making money but they need to generate a positive name for themselves simply good business is their marketing, word of mouth. They don’t charge allot and give you similar advice to the big company. The good thing about this is simply your host and design is at the same place and you’re likely to deal with the same person with all your website needs. Adjustments don’t need to be made by getting your web designer to talk to your host or find out if a certain application will work on your hosting server (Just to be informed of some restrictions because your big hosting company employees don’t know of the latest software and applications or how to install them).

Simply my point is, if you’re a web designer you know that when you have a speciality site that needs to be made. Dynamic in its own way and you need to be told by a big hosting company something can’t be done when you know it can! And now you need to tell the client he needs to try something else? 
Is it really worth the client paying so much extra to a big hosting company for service when the small guy can offer the same services and more at a much lower price?

Regards
Webmaster

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## takingyouforward

Owning a website for your business is not useless, you can benefit from your website. Internet Technology is the trend in the WORLD. People will search in the computer over the internet to find the products/services/ or anything. Let's say the customer nearby at the market and can't find any product on what he's looking for. He will find the company through the internet and purchase a product and get a delivery to his home. For the business owner, if you have a website make sure you have a good SEO Specialist to market your website or to increase your website ranking in the search engine and increase the website traffic. if your website is listed in the top, you will have more visitors or customers to buy in your store instead of going to your office to buy a product.

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## IanF

> For the business owner, if you have a website make sure you have a good SEO Specialist to market your website or to increase your website ranking in the search engine and increase the website traffic. if your website is listed in the top, you will have more visitors or customers to buy in your store instead of going to your office to buy a product.


Welcome takingyouforward, I had to google where Mandaue City is. Philipines that shows how small the global village is. My own thoughts are get your website working first before you worry about SEO. I see many websites where there is no call to action, or it is convoluted to find out a price or info on a product.

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## wynn

The problem I forsee when you have a host as your developer is that unscrupulous small guys (like big guys) will neglect you when they get bigger (busier) and then if you wish to migrate they make it impossible for you.

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## garthu

Not to sure the suggestion is that webs are a waste of time/money, just under the right conditions they are.

Ours was our savior! We had the misfortune of having to start a new business in the middle of recession with 0 cash flow or injection. The only way to get out was via a website. Hugely dangerous situation to be in! That website managed to get business under way with NO other form of advertising, no flyers, no online campaigns...

The way i see it, with the seo improvements, it just gets better, which it does... would really have to bugger things up somehow now to go backwards.

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## Webmaster

Hi Wynn 

That’s a fair response, and in most cases I'm sure it’s true. The 2 factors about starting a 'website' online before the marketing begins are hosting and website design. 

A host only really needs to get you to sign up. Once you’re paying a monthly fee they can pretty much only give you advice or support. There is no real extra income from you unless they try to make you upgrade for whatever reason. That’s why it’s beneficial for big hosts to break up packages and you get charged ridiculous fees.

A website designer / developer on the other hand will help you setup the website and every time you need to do an upgrade or make changes the website designer will help you know what methods can be used and will be paid each time he dedicates time in helping you. 

That’s another reason it’s a great idea to do your hosting and design at the same place.  Your website designer doesn’t need to argue with your host about changes that can be made and the process to making your precious website work will be much smoother.  

You can’t stop a company from growing but if you sell ‘your cake’ where you’re making it gets to the shelf faster, fresher and has the opportunity to have a better response. Simply by knowing that future business depends on good service will keep your website hosting a good experience. 

Regards

Webmaster

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## chenyanroger

Yes. It's that Chathead

I think it's brilliant. I know one article already that is featuring in the next mailing.

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## G Robin

Good Article

A website will be a waste of time when the person do not do his research and strategic planning....It's like a chain reaction every component fit into each other....

Beginners could rather start by a free blog or a squidoo lens...and then when ready start, a website and link the two to each other ...and the profit is double !
Backlinks & experience building up...

Thanks
Gino

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## ava_camen

great article. pointed out real good discussion. cheers to the ts.

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