1. July 19, 2012
How much is a website?
We get this question a lot. Unfortunately, the answer would be about the same as if you asked “How
much is a car?” There are many questions which need to be answered to determine what the
appropriate investment in a commercial website should be but one of the first and most telling is
“Why do I need a website?” We will try to help you answer that here.
Why do I need a website?
The answer to this question can actually take you a long way to figuring out how much you should
invest in your organization’s web presence. You may want to have a website to provide simple
contact info, be vetted as a “real” business, differentiate yourself from the competition, be found by
prospective new clients or even be found by prospective employees. Based upon the audience you
are aiming at, you will want to make sure that your website “speaks” to them in terms, language, and
visual appeal that will send them the message you want them to receive.
For example, if you are a business trying to attract new creative talent for designing and building toy
prototypes, your website may need to have lots of bells and whistles which show the creativity of
your organization. But if you are an accounting firm trying to attract new commercial accounting
clients, you would want a very different look as well as a different site structure to share information
about your expertise and professional skills. If you want to differentiate yourself from your
competition, you will want to see what they are doing to determine what size and scope of sitewould
be necessary to tell your story effectively to a prospect looking at both sites.
Answer this question for your organization and you will be off to a good start. For more of the types
of questions we often get and the answers we share, stay tuned for our series on questions to answer
before building your new website in January.
Technology Management Network Support Web Development Apps
www.ForeSiteTech.com 99 East River Drive East Hartford, CT 06108 860.528.1100 Fax: 860.528.2100 MLG@ForeSiteTech.com