helen sandler | journalismWebsites for SMEs
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Small and medium-sized businesses and the web A company without a website is probably losing business. But although it can seem tricky for small and medium-sized enterprises to set up a site, doing it themselves is a genuine option. Web designers might prefer everyone to defer to them, but a simple site is within the capabilities of most directors. For very small businesses, particularly one-person operations, the DIY option can prove both cheap and adaptable. Fiona Hall, therapist and coach, set up her own site using the Microsoft FrontPage software that came with her PC. It is hosted by 1&1 at a charge of around £5 a month. "It was easy," says Hall, who has no special knowledge. "I only wanted a simple site so I did it myself. I was then able to update it at any time to reflect changes in the business after startup." She spent three days building www.creative-living.org.uk, which serves as a marketing tool: people she meets through networking will look up the web address on her business card to find out more. As Hall's coaching involves helping clients to get in touch with their creative side, building her own site fits in with the theme. "And I know it looks professional," she adds, "because web designers have asked me who did it." For those contemplating e-commerce, more complex software is needed, but they might still be able to set up the site themselves. "Perhaps their customers are starting to ask if they can order online," says Bruce Townsend, marketing manager at e-commerce software developer Actinic. "Or they're looking at what's happening in the marketplace and don't want to be left behind." He believes it can all be done in-house. "It's amazing how much you can do with boxed solutions nowadays," he says. "They've got more powerful but they're even easier to use." Actinic's e-commerce packages start at less than £400 for its Catalog software, which allows users to build a complete website with their own branding, including a product catalogue and shopping cart, as well as company information pages, using adaptable templates. No knowledge of HTML is needed; the system will slot into the existing IT network and can be hooked up to accounts software (but orders can only be processed on one computer). It can also be upgraded for more sophisticated needs. Townsend explains how transactions work. "Security isn't an issue," he says. "You can process orders online or download the orders and process them yourself so you can see if there's anything suspicious. If you got a £10,000 order from Eastern Europe from someone you didn't know, for instance, you might want to phone and check it out." Card details are encrypted until they're downloaded by the merchant, so there is no risk to the customer. Sites selling toys, cakes and clothing have all been set up by company directors using this software. But for those with a high-value product to sell and few IT skills, it may be more appropriate to ask a professional to design the website, to give a glossier feel. And unsurprisingly, web designers and web developers tend to look down on DIY sites. Mike Slocombe is a respected and forthright web consultant who runs Urban75 Design. His biggest clients include the BBC and NCR and he is the author of Max Hits: Building and promoting successful websites. "The website is a major part of the business and should be planned as part of the strategy," he warns. "It's not enough to just put up a few pages. You need to get the site to look good, with design that's appropriate to the target audience, and to have it coming up in search engines-80 per cent of people use search engines to find sites. It's difficult to get all this right." Although using professionals is an added expense, Slocombe insists it's worth it. "If you use a template, you'll look like everybody else, but you want to stand out from the crowd. And the director who thinks he knows how to use Dreamweaver..." He shudders. "An appalling website just tells people what a load of crap you are." Many web developers will offer a basic package for those on a small budget. Adrian Wanless runs Mawbray Computer Consultants, specialising in building websites for SMEs. Some of his customers are referred by Businesslink and are startups or companies reviewing their marketing strategy. They range from a management consultant to small hotels. Cost varies considerably, from £500 for a basic brochure upwards, and e-commerce will cost more. "A website is the cheapest and most effective way of advertising," says Wanless, "but it's impossible to give an average cost because the site has to be bespoke. One 15-page website might be straightforward while another five-page site might be complicated." He echoes Slocombe's warnings about search engines. "It can be the best website in the world and if no one can find it, you're wasting your time." Mawbray asks its clients to list the search terms it thinks customers will use. These are then built in to the site. But it doesn't end there. As well as the coding "behind the scenes", there is a need for good links to the site. "You need links from other sites to yours to improve your ranking," says Wanless. "If you're trying to get above a particular site in the search results then you might look at what they're doing and try to improve on it, but it's ongoing, because they might jump above you again. It comes down to budgets and whether people want to continually review their ranking." These reviews are constant at one company which has used both DIY and professionally built sites over the years: the long-established Garden Pharmacy in London's Covent Garden. The pharmacy/perfumery has had a basic web presence since an internet expert "off the street" hooked it up in 1992, and Ganz later bought Actinic software to trade online at www.garden.co.uk. He set this up himself but the need to increase revenue grew more urgent as the rent on the bricks-and-mortar shop soared. "About four years ago I realised that the site needed to look flashier and more modern," says Ganz, "and that was beyond my capabilities." He called on a small company called Smart Decision to revamp the site (at a cost of £5,000) and it remains in charge of all design issues. Meanwhile a team of four people at Garden Pharmacy keep the product details up to date and process orders. "We reckon we can spot fakes and forgeries in payments as effectively as an online company without paying their charges," says Ganz. The team are testing a beta version of new software from Mole End that adapts Actinic Catalog to allow orders to be processed on more than one terminal. Ganz himself spends an hour or two each day keeping the site up to date, monitoring the search engines and handling online advertising. It is quite an investment in terms of time and money, but with an annual turnover of £3.5m, it's an investment that is paying off. And this approach has one thing in common with the cheapest of DIY sites: the boss has his eye on the website. ----------------- This piece first appeared in Director (the magazine of the Institute of Directors), Sept 2004 © Helen Sandler 2004 |
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