Do I really want a website?
That’s probably the question so many of you are still asking yourselves every time you see one of those ads about getting the perfect website, or when one of your friend sends you a link to his organization’s website. It’s easy to brush it off saying “well, their organization is much bigger than ours, we don’t really need a website” or something like” Our organization is still quite small, we don’t need a website yet, eventually, when we are big enough, we will get a website.”
Understandably, you are thinking of cutting costs. That’s rational, of course. You are probably thinking having a website is a luxury, and not a necessity right now.
But what if I were to tell you that you are actually spending more on promotion, without your website, than you would have if you had your own website? Matter of fact, you are looking at this all wrong. You don’t just want a website; you need a professional website. Here’s why.
1. Your business or organization is still small.
If that is your main excuse for not having a website yet, then you need to consider this: In order to get big, you need more clients, partners, donors, volunteers. You don’t get big to get more clients, you get more clients to get big, get it? Having a professional website is the best tool to get more people involved with your organization, so you can get that big.
2. Your clients are expecting you to.
Seriously! Remember when people used to move around with phone books to look up numbers of people and organizations? The internet is the new phonebook. More and more people are relying on the internet for their information bout local services. So supposing someone wanted to book a wedding event planner doe her wedding, truth is the first thing they’ll do is to go to google and type “event planners in Bamenda”. Even if they already know someone who can do the job, they’ll like to see what other better options are available, and what to expect generally from a good wedding planner. So if you had heeding my advice and gotten your professional website made (which I hope you will), guess whose website will be the first to show up? Yup! Yours.
3. Social media is not enough.
“But I already have a Facebook page for my organization. We also on twitter and LinkedIn.” That is excellent, but its still not enough. Social media has its limitations. First of all, you are not allowed to post just anything. Twitter for example lets you write just 250chacters per post. How much can you really say about your organization with just 250charaacters? Moreover, all your audience is not just on one social media platform. Some people prefer WhatsApp to Facebook, others prefer Instagram, while others prefer snapchat. All these people need one location where in they will be sure to get all the information about your business. One location where you can give them as much details about your organization or products and services as you want, and you know where that location is? Yup! Your website. So, social media platforms are mainly used to drive traffic to your website, alone they are simply insufficient.
4. You need to stand out, and how you are serious.
Almost every small business or organization has a Facebook page at least, most of which are hardly ever updated. Very very few of them have a website linked. Having a professionally made website will show to your clients, funders, volunteers or audience in general that you are serious about your organization of business, and this will make you stand out from the crowd.
5. It will help you sell online.
More and more people are tending to do their purchases online. In 2016, over 50% of all purchases were made online, and the trend is quickly coming to Africa and Cameroon to be precise. Jovi’s latest album has been selling like no other album in Cameroon because NewBell Music is taking their products online here http://shop.newbellmusic.com/ . I know, you’ll be thinking, “but I don’t sell services, I sell physical products, what about delivering the products and all the troubles that entails?” Truth is, even if people come to your online shop and don’t end up buying, they will think of you the next time they want to buy your service and they are in your area. Trust me. Check out what we did for Kola Coffee aka NWCA here: http://www.nwcaltd.org/
6. It’s cheaper than you think.
Honestly! Did you know that you can get a startup website at Y’G for just 80,000frs? And if you’re lucky, during promotion periods it could even go down to 50,000frs! I kid you not! Let’s do a little analysis, shall we? A newspaper advert on Cameroon Journal’s page will cost you approximately 30,000frs for just a week. A radio advert on MediaAfrique will cost you about 20,000frs for a month. I don’t even want to go to TV stations, that’s a whole different story. Meanwhile, you can get a startup website for 50,00frs for the whole year! Do you still need more conviction??
Seriously, take my advice, small business owners and small organizations, there are no more excuses. If you’re delaying building a website, you’re hurting your business. It’s time to get started! The best part is, http://yems.group will be right here to build the most affordable and professional website you will find around here. You can bet on that! (I know because I work there:)