
Your web site is your online brand. It is your identity. It is also your company’s reputation. Years back, web sites were stand alones and for many companies, having a simple web site was good enough. For many also, flashy web sites were their way of showcasing their business online. If you don’t have a web site, you are not a reputable company. For new and old businesses alike, web site design/deployment has become a vital component in every branding initiative and strategy.
Nowadays , however, the web community is moving towards standardization, not only on the way web sites are being developed but also on how they are being designed. Standards for usability and user-friendliness has to be considered. A standards-compliant web site will help confirm that you are a refutable company (proof of the careful thought and planning put into it). Your web site must support social media networks and must be search engine friendly. Whoever thought that you have to make sure those “robots” and “spiders” should be able to “crawl” your web site if you want your site to be indexed and added in major search engines’ database? Ignore the robots and your site will sink into the oblivion of cyberspace.
And then comes Internet Marketing. You may not have considered Adwords, Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaign before. But now, if you want to be able to attract more visits to your web site and especially if you intend to sell your products online (allowing online purchase and payment, which is what your competitor is already doing), you will have to go back to the drawing board and re-consider the entire design of your web site. If print and media advertising is important but is expensive for you, you cannot afford to ignore the benefits of online marketing. And good web design will determine whether or not people who visit your web site stay to buy your products.