We are experiencing a "structural shift" in which "information technologies have begun to alter the manner in which we do business and create value, often in ways not readily foreseeable even five years ago."
Alan Greenspan, Chairman, Federal Reserve Bank.
Small business owners give many reasons for not having a website (see Figures 3 and 4). While some of them might be genuine concerns, others are based on inaccurate and out of date information about technology and marketing. New solutions such as easy online website builders make it easy and affordable for anyone to launch and maintain a professional looking website even with limited time, expertise, and resources.
Source: AMI-Partners. Source: StageSoftware.com.
Lack of expertise, time, and concerns about cost and online security are among the reasons given by small business executives without websites.
Small business owners say their businesses aren't online because websites are:
Not relevant - many small business owners without websites believe that their products are not readily sold on the Web, therefore they don't need to establish a Web presence. This is no longer the case. A website, even a simple one listing your contact information, hours, and where to find your store, establishes credibility in today's wired society where consumers would rather log in than open the yellow pages.
Case Study: Lindsay Frucci, owner of No Pudge Brownies, was initially amazed that launching her website www.nopudge.com to sell cookies on the Internet led to $800,000 in combined retail and online sales (SBC 2001): "I can't imagine running this business without the technology. If you had told me five years ago that I'd be this into it, I wouldn't have believed it..."
Too expensive - many entrepreneurs are scared of the idea of getting a website after hearing horror stories from their friends about websites costing anywhere from $10K to $100K a few short years ago. Most people don't realize that they can get an equally powerful site today for anywhere from $20 to $1000 (see Figure 5).
Source: NFIB.
Over a third of small business owners built their websites for under $1,000.
Too difficult - many entrepreneurs assume it takes a lot of work to build a website. They don't realize that it's really quite easy to do. You can either hire designers to take care of most of it, or you can do it yourself as easily as typing a letter or sending an email.
Too technical - many entrepreneurs think it takes knowledge of programming, or that they will feel dumb consulting a designer who will talk over their head. In fact, easy new website tools such as www.CityMax.com look just like MS Explorer and MS Word. They provide a variety of templates that make customizing your website a snap, and technical support is just a click or a call away if you need help (although the process has been made so simple, you probably won't).
Too time consuming - maintaining a website used to be time consuming when changes required a lot of knowledge of coding (see Figure 6). It can still take a lot of time to contact your web designer to explain and then approve regular updates to your site. New web builder tools, on the other hand, allow you to update and maintain your site yourself in only minutes, and make it look exactly how you want it to look. What used to take weeks to do now takes just a few days, hours, or even just a few minutes.
Source: NFIB.
Half of the small business owners who were willing to answer the question spend less than two hours a week maintaining their websites.
Too risky - there have always been concerns about the security of information stored and exchanged online. Stories about viruses and hackers and customer reluctance to do business online have often convinced small businesses that the risk isn't worth the benefit. However, online financial transactions have become mainstream.
* Online banking on the rise - 30% of Americans with Internet access had tried online banking as of October 2002, and 8 million of them bank online on any typical day.
* Online shopping -- Two-thirds of Americans with Internet access shop online.
* Security certificates and dedicated shopping carts are standard features with many of the new online web building tools available, ensuring the reliability and security of online transactions.
If you are convinced that there are solutions to all your concerns about websites, and just want to learn how you can get a professional looking website for a reasonable price with all the features necessary to draw customers, get leads, and make sales, your options include new online website building tools, or if your budget is more than $3000, check out the web designers at www.WebsiteDazzle.com.
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