Knowledge

The value of a website

04 Mar 2016 | Research & Business Knowledge

Our recent members' survey indicated that three quarters of us maintain our own website – and this remains the most popular online promotional tool – social media usage for business purposes lags behind.

This struck member, Fiona Silver, as an interesting finding and she posed a question on the E-group – 'is a website worth the time and money?'.  When she set up as a freelancer 18 months ago, Fiona decided to rely on her LinkedIn page rather than pay for an expensive site or have a DIY version which ran the danger of looking poorly done, and being off-putting rather than advantageous.

Fiona summarised the resulting debate as follows: 

General observations

  • Most people felt that a website was important for their business
  • However, this was largely as a means of reassurance rather than a way of proactively attracting new business.  It is difficult to climb the SEO rankings unless you have a very specific niche
  • There was some indication that the likes of LinkedIn were taking over some of the role of company websites
  • A site was likely to be more necessary when dealing with end clients rather than other agencies.

Benefits

  • A site provides a more professional impression
  • Provides a format for showcasing previous work
  • Implies a permanent commitment to freelancing
  • May be needed in some professional circumstances
  • Available to all (unlike full profile on LinkedIn)
  • Provides a corresponding email address which looks more professional.

Recommended Software for 'DIY' sites included Wordpress, 1and1.co.uk, wix.com, branded.me (uses LinkedIn profile to create a website).  Timescales for creating a website varied from 4 hours (using branded.me) to 5 days – most of the time is spent in creating content.

So will Fiona now set up her own site – I guess we will have to wait and see!

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