In today’s business world, most everyone has a website. They have become so ubiquitous they’re actually conspicuous in their absence. Even work-at-home personal service professionals like real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and dog groomers all have personal websites to promote their services. In fact, by the end of 2018 only 4.46% of North American businesses did NOT have a website, despite 75% of them thinking their businesses would grow with one.

The quality of those websites may range of course, but generally, a website is considered a minimum business expectation these days. So why would some professionals choose to use public domain email accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, or one assigned by your ISP for their business communications? With one-third of the world's population using email, why would some choose to draw attention to something they should otherwise be trying to keep under wraps – namely that they don’t take their business seriously enough to build a website or book a domain - even if just for email purposes?

What to consider before building a website
The truth is it seldom has anything to do with being cheap. These are not people handing out homemade business cards, they’re simply unsure where to start or worried about making a costly mistake. Consider the following questions they're facing:

• What domain should I choose and who should control it? (most names are taken or have premium costs)
• Who should I hire to build my website and how much does a decent site cost? (most people don’t have a referral they trust)
• Will I spend money on features I don’t need, or try to save where I shouldn’t? (in other words, what’s the purpose of the site)
• Who’s going to write the content? What’s too much, or what’s too little? (content matters, but what’s the right balance of text and images for their business)
• Why build a website if it can’t be found? What will SEO cost to make the website investment worthwhile? (how your site is built often determines how it gets indexed or whether it’s mobile responsive)
• What do I have to do to secure my site from hackers or bots? (what influences vulnerability? Hosting, CMS, SSL, forms?)
• After it’s built, who maintains it? Will site upkeep be like buying a new site every year? (choose a CMS that YOU can easily maintain, or updates will be slower and more costly to complete)
• Do you have a plan for social media integration?
• Where do you want the website data to go? (online forms, surveys, and sign-up pages are great for lead generation, but where does the data go? Be careful not to create a system that requires an ongoing duplication of work)

None of these questions are unreasonable or born of “paralysis by analysis”, and they’re certainly not because they’re afraid to spend $10 a month on a basic hosting plan and a one-page website. In most cases, these people simply don’t know where to begin. The good news is that while this problem can be damaging to your reputation, it is easy & inexpensive to fix, and that's where we at Keystroke can help. We have hosting and site development services to fit most any budget, and design professionals that will ensure you get the biggest bang for your buck.

Perfection can be the enemy of progress
The next step is to understand that some action is better than none, so we’ll also make sure the process gets started by some increment, whether it be the domain choice & a simple parked page, or budget planning. Whatever stage you're at, we'll ensure perfection doesn't become the enemy of progress. Let's get started...

• If you need a simple one-page site and basic hosting package, let’s get that done. When you’re ready, we’ll build on the improved domain name recognition.
• If you need an e-commerce site to sell your products & services, but can’t afford to run with the big boys, let’s agree on a budget and work within it.
• If you’re afraid of building a site that will become an ongoing money-pit, we’ll show you how easy it is to maintain our WordPress or Joomla Content Management Systems
• We’ll also show you how to economically engage with your customers using email and marketing automation to help maximize engagement and drive business growth

Whatever your needs, we have 26+ years of experience to help guide you through the process and chart a course that fits your business requirements and budget, as well as build a foundation for the future.

Related Links:

• Why you should never use public domains for email marketing
• Website Design - Keystroke.ca - World's #1 Act! Reseller
• Website Hosting - Keystroke.ca - World's #1 Act! Reseller
• SEO Services - Keystroke.ca - World's #1 Act! Reseller
• SEM Services - Keystroke.ca - World's #1 Act! Reseller
• Domain Registration - Keystroke.ca - World's #1 Act! Reseller