Web Site Or Not?

fci

I guess the time has come to get a website. I work primarily on referals and in a specific part of town. I only run 2 projects at a time and don't really want to get any bigger than that. My projects are usually high end and the customers like the individual attention. I'm not convinced that I need a website, what are you opinions?

L. B. Condulet

A website is another form of advertising. It can also be used as a place to put information for your existing customers to see. If you are happy with your current workload, I would say that you don't need a website.

In my opinion, websites are highly overrated.

Celtic

This was one of the best sites I ever stumbled across:

www.standardratebook.com

However, I think the sites owner;
- went belly up and stop paying the bill
- went on vacation with a very heavy-set Mexican women and never came back
- is doing time for price fixing
- etc etc

Anyway, it was a really good website.

__________________

shed-n-deck

If you don't need a website, then why consider one? If you are living primarily off of referrals, then what would be the point? I started my site a few months ago, back when I was taking 2 or more days off a week...Now, I don't take any time off, and it's all off of referrals. I would have waited if only I had known...But it's nice because I have generated a bit of profit from my site on my off time...But the problem that I have is that I do such incredible work() that I don't need to advertise, maybe I should double my prices... Well, I'm just kidding, of course...But, if you are in need of filling some off time, then I would suggest that you use a website. It's a great way of advertising and not paying a lot for it. I get a few jobs a week from my site, which is pretty good for me.

__________________
Shed

tinner666

If you can build it yourself instead of spending so much on it that it becomes a money pit, it can be a good idea. I built mine and it costs about $50. for each 5 year renewal. There are several free WYSIWYG site editors on the web.
I use mine to steer customers to it so they can see the type of work I do with several examples posted there. I update it whenever I get another set of start-to-finish pictures. I don't use flash or active X. Just a straight forward site.
But, it gets me several cold leads a year also.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

firemike

Even if you don't want to use it for your primary source of advertising, it's still a nice place to steer clients so they can see what work you do. I built mine for that very reason. Like you, 90% of my work comes from referrals are really don't count on the website as my main source of income.

The nice thing about the website is that it gives you a little more credibility, especially if it's a registered domain name and not one of those free piggybacked websites from someone else. To have an e-mail address for your clients to contact you at a yourname.com looks more professional than an e-mail address at one of the free sites like Yahoo.com.

As others have said, there are many free website builders, or you can purchase something like Frontpage or Dreamweaver and do it yourself. Another thought is to have someone you know such as a friend or relative or that does websites build one for you. Many high school and college students will help you build a site very inexpensively just so they can gain the experience.

Hosting is rather cheap nowadays, I get offers for as little as $3-$4 a month, for a few dollars more you can get a lot more features. It all depends on how far you want to take the website.

My opinion would be to have a website, even if it's just one or two pages promoting your business and giving contact information. For what little it actually costs I think it is a good business tool.

__________________
-Mike-

tinner666

Firemike's right about the cheap hosting nowadays. I had forgot to mention it.

I'm such a cheapskate, I went for the free hosting at GoDaddy which included a 'non-flash' bit of advertising on the top of my pages.

I don't notice it anymore than I notice ads on this site.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

tinner666

The free hosting came with my dot-com registration.

__________________
Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

PMI

The bottom line is that no having a website is one step away from saying you are not going to have a cellphone. At a minimum, you can easily get a starter site with a home page (just one page) so that you can list your company and contact information. The reality is that most homeowners are connected to the Internet which is now more used as a search than the traditional Yellow Pages and White Pages. Even the Yellow and White Pages have an online version (which should tell you the importance right there). What you need to do is be careful and strategic on the words you say so that others can easily find you. For example, say you are a Plumber who works in 1 county and 5 or 6 different towns. Then say that. You can say "ABC Plumbing is a family owned business in XYX County of Florida, servicing the cities of 1,2,3,4 and 5. Please send me an email and I will get back to you within a day, or call me at (area code) 123-4567 if you need to talk to me for an emergency. You would not believe how many people will find you over a period of time if you do it correctly. I am proud of the return of investment that my site (pmi1call.com) has gotten me overtime, not overnight since that is unrealistic. Phil

shed-n-deck

And if you are looking for hosting, I can offer you cPanel hosting for free (construction related site) if you agree to place a link to my site in your front page footer.

__________________
Shed

A+Carpenter

I just shut mine down after 7 years online. I prefer a known relationship with my client. Websites are a glorified business card in my eyes now. Save the money put in tank and go make clients.


Crosswinds Construction and Framing

__________________

PMI

I understand where you are coming from, but most of our customers are already online, and many times your customers will refer a business via an email to someone else. You definetely want them to be able to guide a new customer to your site. You may be able to get away without a website now, but no way to thrive in the years to come. Phil

shed-n-deck

It's the online community that I am after....I have my hand in the referral jar, it's sweet, but any potential work is a great thing..........

__________________
Shed

Susan Betz

There's a lot of talk about cheap hosting, and that's fine, but if you're working with high-end customers I suggest you pay someone to do your initial design, unless you enjoy doing web design on the side.

Take a look at some web sites that you like. Most companies that design web sites for clients have a link at the bottom of the page. Call them and find out what they charge and what you get for your money. You don't need anything fancy, just good looking.

I do our web site and it would be very expensive if I were paying someone to do it. But it's brought in a lot of business, so even if we were paying for it, it would be worth it.

__________________
Fences of Distinction, Ocala, FL
http://www.fencesofdistinction.com

RidgeWalker

Every one is obviously entitled to an opinion about a web site.

I've had mine online for just over 2 years now and I've revieved alot of compliments from clients about it. Many told me the information I provided on my site was very valuable in helping them make a decision about choosing us as thier contractor.

I also had several people tell me that would never choose or even consider a contractor who didn't have a web site. Demographically speaking these were younger home owners who are in thier late 20's and 30's. On the other hand I have had some clients who to my suprise are in thier 70's find my site online and choose to do business with us.

I believe without a doubt that in the next few years contractors who do not have a website that provides information about thier company and the services they offer will start be get left behind. As more and more people turn to the internet for information, if your don't include yourself your shooting yourself in the foot persay.

Just my 2 cents worth.

wackman

Yes, it give incredible credibility.

CCSowner

I like having a place that I can have customers go to see photos and information on jobs that I have done. Plus they can learn a little more on my business.
Thanks
Adam

__________________
Adam Forsythe
Creative Covering solutions
"New England's Answer to Brick paving and Tile/Stone"
www.creativecoveringsolutions.com

porkchop

I could not agree more, you have to realize the phone book will not exist in 10 years. Organic search on google, yahoo and about 10 other search engines will become the way customers find you. I understand that you get most of you business from referrals, but what if someone cant find your number what are the chances they would search google first? I could not take that chance.

__________________
- Chris
My construction company- Chicago Painting Contractor, Chicago Handyman, Chicago Remodeling. Chicago Internet Marketing by LSB.

buildenterprise

My website costs me $10 a month, the domain names cost $9 a year. I built the sites myself. Cheapest bang for the buck when it comes to marketing my business. Like someone else said, everyone is online now, and it's really nice to give them a web address to look at my work rather than a street address. Everyone wants convenience, and the site provides that for them. And yes it does help your credibility.

__________________

gofrugal

Now a days to have website is really cheap. Most of you can have it for as low as $10/month. In this internet world, I think it is must.