Introduction to Websites
A website is an online brochure for your website. It is designed to complement any off-line marketing campaigns that you may have and any changes that are made can be immediately viewed online throughout the world. A website is used to market your business on the internet and this means more people knowing about you and the services that you offer.
Research has shown that the internet is a commonly used resource by prospective clients to source goods or services. That is because it’s an easy way to view a variety of options in detail when searching for service providers. Your website will be accessible to people throughout South Africa and the World.
You can place any information that you want your clients to know about on your website. This includes both your current as well as prospective clients.
Examples of information you can have on your website include:
- The goods or services that you offer
- Your pricing structure
- Any specials that you may have at any time
- What facilities you have
- Photos of your establishment
- Contact details
- Enquiry forms that capture your clients queries and contact details so you can respond to them
- A map and directions to your premise
Internet users can find your website in any of the following ways:
1. Website address (commonly referred to as a domain name)
Much as a telephone number is used to by clients to contact you, a website address is used to uniquely identify your website on the internet. People can log onto your website directly by typing in your website .e.g. www.webtirus.co.za in their internet browser.
2. Search engine listing
Our websites are designed with search engines in mind. This means that we include specification in your website that will make it easy for search engines to know about your website and include your in their search results.
3. Online Directories
Online directories offer potential clients a list of service providers who provide the service or offer the goods that they require .e.g. “electrician in Lyndhurst”. The directory listing will contain your contact details as well a link to your website. Some directories charge a fee to get your website listed on them while you can add a listing on some for free.
A website works hand-in-hand with your existing marketing strategies. This means your website address needs to be includes in all your marketing material such as business cards, adverts, letterheads, etc. Prospective clients can then view your profile by going online to your website.
