Business Websites

If you are a business owner, you've probably wondered if launching a company website is worth the time and effort. "Is it expensive? What's the return on my investment? Can a business website really promote my company and help it grow?"

While the answers depend to some degree upon your specific company, establishing a company website can almost always benefit your business. The next question to answer would be, "What kind of website?" The following is an partial list of some of the types of websites you might consider -

• Public Portal
  The most common implementation for businesses, this is where those who are interested in knowing more about your company would go to find answers. Visitors might expect to find one or more of the following items -
  • Your business profile
  • Service or product information
  • Ordering information
  • Contact information (phone numbers, mailing/email addresses)
  • Customer services or technical support

• Storefront/E-Commerce Site
  This is a business website focused on selling goods or services online. Examples of such sites would be www.amazon.com and www.drugstore.com where you can expect to browse products, fill a virtual shopping cart with your selections, and use your credit card to pay for your purchases that will be shipped to you. Storefront sites are often heavily laden with advertising and specials.

• Web-based Office Site
  Especially effective for those companies with branch offices, web-based office systems give your employees at all locations access to the same information via the Internet. It is important to note that, due to the sensitivity of the data on this type of site, only your employees are granted access. Some of the kinds of information available on such a site might be -
  • Business calendars
  • Inventory and pricing information
  • Appointment schedules
  • Client information
  • Order/invoice information
  • Employee records
  • Company policies and procedures
  • Technical publications

• Editorial Publications Site
  Your business focus may be to provide news to your clients, or possibly to conduct forums for special interest groups. Examples of sites that provide world and national news would be www.foxnews.com and www.cnn.com.

• New Product Launch Site
  Websites can be an especially effective tool in introducing or promoting new products or services offered by your company.

Your website might also be a combination of two or more of the above site types. For example, you might want to combine a single site to serve both as a public portal and provide web-based office systems. Again, keep in mind that the above represents only a few types of business websites you might consider for your company.