Experience dictates that a few things are necessary to know about your business before you can go ahead and partner with someone to implement a website.

Below are a few things to check to see whether you’re ready to implement an online presence:

• Age of the business: Are you newly formed, less  year 1.
  
  Or in a growth stage (over 1 year of operation)? Businesses will have different needs depending on their maturity.
  
  
• A business name: This one goes without saying.
  
  But I’ve experienced many clients who have approached us for a website after only registering their company recently under a temporary name, with plans to change it in the future. Without knowing your business name, you won’t be able to verify whether the domain name you want is available. So this is very important.
  
  
• Business Plan/Revenue Model: Again, this one is also pretty obvious.
  
  However, many customers have called wanting consultation on their online needs but didn’t know what their product was, what their service differentiator was, their total addressable market, or what their ideal customer looked like. Without knowing this, you won’t be able to create an online presence that generates cashflow for your business.
  
  
• Marketing Plan: Brand, Values, Origin Story, Your Why, Customers, and Competition.
  
  A Marketing plan is essential to have for your business. You might immediately think of a thick document that would then sit on the shelf and never see the light of day again. Some marketing plans might be like that. But I’ve found that if you can answer a few questions, then you have a marketing plan. And this will help you stand out from your competition online. It should be simple. Memorable. With a few basic headlines.
  
  They are as follows:
  What do you do as a business (benefits of your service/product offering)?
  Why do you exist(mission/vision)?
  What was your business birthed out of (origin story)?
  What are your values (Brand)?
  Who are your customers?
  Who are your competitors?
  Why would a prospect choose you over a competitor?
  
  Every business owner should know the answers to these. They don’t have to be written down (initially.
  But as your headcount grows, you will need to document this so your team can understand this and follow you).
  If you can articulate answers to these questions, you will be able to build an online presence that resonates with prospects.
  This ultimately means you will increase your chances of generating sales.

• Budget: Have a ballpark range in mind of how much you’re willing to invest into your online presence.
  
  And make sure its realistic. I can’t recall the last time an outstandingly valuable product cost me nothing. You also can’t invest nothing. If you have a family member or friend who says they can do it for you, think about the level of support they will be able to give you not just now, but in the future. More than likely if they have a job, they will have limited time to support you.
  Costs to be aware of are: Web hosting fee (and whether or not it increases after one year), web design and development (and make sure it includes sending your site live), domain registration and domain renewal, Email Hosting, and possible graphic design fee as well if you need a logo.
   
  The level of features you require will affect the web design and development fee. And this is normally dictated by the age of your business. If you’re just starting out, you may not need a full-on ecommerce store. But as you ramp up over the next 6 months, you might.

Here is a rough rule of thumb for our value offerings:

• For new businesses (less than one year old):
  
  + Monthly Hosting: 
  Includes: unlimited bandwidth, unlimited space, 30 minutes of updates per month – non accruing, dedicated local account manager, DNS management, SSL Certification, business email hosting with 10 aliases.
   
  + Domain Name Registration + Renewal: yearly, or every three years or more.
   
  + Web design and development:
  Includes: home page, contact page, product/service page.
  Social Media integration.
  Possible additional features: members area, blog, ecommerce store, calendar, sign up
   
  
• For established businesses (over one year old):
  
  + Monthly Hosting: 
  Includes: unlimited bandwidth, unlimited space, free 30 minutes of updates per  month – non accruing, dedicated local account manager, DNS management, SSL Certification, business email hosting with 10 aliases.
   
  + Domain Name Registration + Renewal: yearly, or every three years or more
   
  + Web design and development:
  Includes: home page, about page, contact page, product/service page, team page, Testimonial’s page.
  Social Media integration.
  Possible additional features: members area, blog, ecommerce store, calendar, sign up, social media marketing, online marketing, email marketing.

As you can see there is a lot to consider when it comes to your online strategy.

But taking into account these five areas: business maturity, business name, business plan & revenue model, marketing plan and budget; will set you up for success and make you online implementation smooth.

Why not continue the conversation with us here?