Tips on Features

Another difficult task when starting your business Website is deciding what features are necessary, useful and cost-effective. Here are some tips:

1- Do you want to update your Website yourself, or do you want someone else to do it for you?
If you plan on changing an item on your Website 1, or 2 times a year, it is not cost effective for you to have a system built for you to update content on your site. These are called "content management systems." What that means, is the content on the site, as well as images with articles, can be altered by yourself, but template and site design is unalterable.

2- Do you need a storefront?
If you do not have a physical product that sells a medium to large volume in your storefront, you do not need a storefront. Storefronts can always be an addition to a site once your product is starting to sell in larger volumes. I recommend - unless you are a complete retail shop from the beginning - starting with a basic information site, and if you find your customers are using it frequently, or ask you about selling online, expanding it to a storefront site. Another mistake a lot of clients make is that they want all the "bells and whistles" upfront and it is not cost effective or necessary.

I always recommend starting with all the free services available for processing online payments and orders, and keeping it simple until a solid volume of sales from the Internet is established. We all have dreams of huge retail Web sites that make millions, however, we need to remember our audience, and customer base. Just because there is a storefront open on the Internet does not mean you will automatically sell items.

3- Do you need a blog?
If you do not plan on writing interesting, relavent and timely pieces, that you expect your customers to respond to online, then you don't need a blog. You should be writing content for a blog at least 2 times per week, and it should be new and fresh each time. If it is not - people won't care about returning to view it. When going to a site and seeing posts from months previous with nothing new, it is clear that there is little interest in this feature on your site. This means, it is not helping your business and in some ways could be detrimental. If your customers believe you are not replenishing and updating your store, business, they lose interest. Nobody wants to return to the same old thing over and over again.

4- What email can/should I use as a contact on my site? Should I have a form, or just post the information?

People have come to despise contact forms, but there is a very good reason to use one and the MAIN reason people use one today is - spam and thieves. A form protects your email from being crawled by spammers and I.D. thieves. It has security and won't allow certain types of messages through. However, if you are fine with spam and possible issues related to exposing your email - then your email can be displayed. Many people choose it to be prominently displayed because they want their customers to feel a personal connection - which does make sense for a local small business.

What email address should I have?
It looks unprofessional when you have your own Website to post a non-domain name email address. ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ). Your Website comes with unlimited email addresses with your domain. An email such as This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. can be established for you, and then forwarded to your email of preference. All your business materials should also have your professional email address on them ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).  Even if you only check your Yahoo! mail - at least the image email matches your domain name.

5- How many pages of content do I need on my site?

My recommendation is to have a contact page, basic information page, and homepage content. Some businesses need image galleries because their business is about showing a customer their product before they arrive at the store.  My recommendation is to browse competitor sites, see what they are offering and have, and what it might be useful for yourself. You want to make your site BETTER than theirs. That doesn't always mean more features, or "bells and whistles." It could mean the opposite - keep it simple. 

What's most important is the design, color scheme, and image portrayed on your site matches your business printed items, and your business ideals. You want to appear professional and organized.