The Importance of a Quality Website
by Kevin Bondelli
We have reached the point in the internet revolution where organizational websites are not only common but expected. If you don’t have a website, you don’t appear to exist. With more people using search engines to find information than ever before it is critical that your organization have a strong web presence. This post will cover the importance of websites and ways to improve or start one.
Why You Need a Website
Like I said earlier, if you don’t have a website, you don’t appear to exist. Here are a few more reasons why it is important:
- Websites help you gain new customers.
- They allow potential customers from geographic areas outside of traditional population centers to find your company/organization .
- If you don’t have one you are missing out on a vital form of communication, making it much more difficult to attract new customers.
- Customers are less likely to take your company/organization seriously if you do not have one.
Creating a Website
I strongly suggest that your organization’s website have its own domain name. Orgname.wordpress.com might work for a personal blog, but not really for an organization. This is a matter of being taken seriously by visitors, making your site easier to find on search engines, and the ability to have a memorable URL to put on all of your marketing materials.
Qualities of a Good Website
- Effective websites have dynamic content- a website without dynamic content is just a brochure available online. A website today is expected to be a participatory tool and up-to-date information source.
- Successful sites are frequently updated- This ties in to dynamic content, because it is determining how dynamic the content is. The more your website is updated, the more active your organization will appear. When you see an organization website that has not been updated in months, you come to the assumption that the site has been abandoned and the organization is defunct.
- They are informative- Most people that initially come to your site are their looking for information. Make it easy to find contact information and the services/products your company offers.
- Mailing List sign-up- Include a sign-up form for your company's email list. This should be readily accessible from your Home page.