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Number 204  | February 11, 2005
© 2005 Designer Blinds

Should I Have My Own Website? 

In a word , the answer is YES!

8 Steps To Get A Web Site Started

Simple Quick & Cheap?
If you believe all the ads you’ll find on the internet for web service providers, it’s simple, quick and cheap to start your own site.  Well, that’s probably not exactly true.  Just like in window coverings, most things that are simple quick and cheap aren’t worth doing.  The good news, though, is, compared to all other forms of advertising, having a business web site does not need to be expensive at all.  Once you’ve made a few decisions, your web site can be up and running quickly and easily, but at the same time, it’s never done, nor should it be.  Here are some suggestions on how to approach getting your business online:

1. First Things First - Basic Startup Decisions
The first thing you’ll want to decide is whether you want to build and manage the site yourself —or recruit some help.

• If you are going to do it yourself you will have to learn some things about putting web pages together. You will have to learn a little about authoring in html code or you will have to learn a program with a graphical interface to help build web sites.  Probably you’ll need a combination of both of those. Then you’ll need to set aside time to manage the site and keep it up-to-date.  If you’re already running your own window covering business, most likely it will be difficult for you to set the time aside to build and maintain a web site

• Recruiting help can be difficult, too. I’m not saying it never works, but your teenage nephew or your know-it-all brother-in-law are probably not the best way to go.  Look for experienced web designers that can show you examples of the work they’ve done for other small businesses.  Check references and keep in communication with them to make sure they share your vision of what your site should be. 

2. Your Domain — Name That Baby
The next thing you need to do is find a name for your site. On the internet this would be what you call your “domain” or your web address.  It’s the name of your web site and should be used as your e-mail address, too. Make a point to use your domain e-mail address instead of your personal e-mail address as much as possible.  That way, each e-mail you send becomes a small ad for your web site.  The domain name is the "abcblinds" part of www.abcblinds.com or johndoe@abcblinds.com.

The name should be as close to your actual business name as possible.  Reserving a domain name is easy, but getting exactly the name you want can be quite difficult.  For example, a company by the made up name of "ABC Blinds" would select a domain name of  abcblinds.com.  Fine if the name is available, but this name could possibly already be used by another business in another location. If "abcblinds.com" was already in use by another company, another possible domain name might be "abcblindskansas.com" to match your location.  Some people use hyphens to get the name closer to what they want, like abc-blinds.com.  Be careful with this.  If somebody leaves out the hyphens or types them in the wrong place, they may even wind up at a competitors site.  In most cases, hyphens are difficult to remember and you should avoid using them. 

Another alternative if the domain name you want is taken is to select a different suffix other than  the famous “.com."  You may see whether you can get abcblinds.net or abcblinds.biz or other lesser-known domain extensions.  Or you can check to see if an alternative like myabcblinds.com or theabcblinds.com

If you are using somebody to help you with your site, they should be able to help you come up with a name for it. To register your domain name can cost from under $10 to over $50.  Most web service providers will handle registering the domain for you, but remember that this is separate from the other services they provide. Be sure that you are listed as the domain owner, though. A designer could register the domain to himself and charge you a fee if you want to take it elsewhere. You will want to be very involved in the process of naming your domain.

KEEP YOUR DOMAIN Another thing to keep in mind about domain names, once you own the domain name, it’s yours as long as you keep paying a small annual fee for it.  Even if you change service providers on the internet, your domain name would still stay the same. If you stop paying for your domain anything can happen, and probably will.  I know of a dealer who let ownership of his domain name drop.  The domain name happened to also be his name. The domain name was picked up by one of the lower forms of life on the internet who put pornographic material at what was formerly an innocent window covering web site.  He tried to get it back and the new owners wanted him to pay an extraordinarily large price.  Get your domain name and keep it.  You do not have to publish anything to own the domain.

3. Start Small  — But Think Big
It’s fine to start with just a page or two and build from there.  Your web site should always be “under construction” and evolve as your business grows.  One thing you’re sure to find is that it will be much easier to understand what you need to know about building and maintaining a web site once you jump in and start doing it.

4. Focus On Making Your Visitors Your Customers
You want the potential customers who find your page to think, “Ah – this is where I need to be for window coverings!”  I remember a dealer a few years ago told me soon after she put her web site up a customer came to her and said, “I went on the internet to search the world for shutters —and I found you, the perfect dealer for me, a half-mile from my door.” On the internet, you don’t need to be the best place in the world. You only need to be the best place on your block. 

5. Think Of Your Web Site As YOUR Store. You want to make it easy and comfortable for your customers to be there and to stay there as long as possible. Be reluctant to sending links outside of your site, even to sites you think are relevant. To me, this is like opening the door and telling your customer, “I think you’d be a little more comfortable over there”   For example, I see a many window-covering web sites that, instead of informing visitors about the products, just have a click to the Hunter Douglas web site for information.  This is okay to do, but keep in mind that Hunter Douglas, as a world-class manufacturer has a different purpose for their web site than you as an independent retailer.  They make it easy to find window-covering dealers including you and perhaps a couple of your competitors.

Instead tell the story yourself with the resources freely available to you in the Hunter Douglas Dealers, Designers and Installers site (DDI) to tell the story yourself. The Hunter Douglas DDI site is built for you. It has numerous resources for building your web site, print media advertising and more.  This is where you’ll find the ALWAYS up to date Reference & Price Guide, too.  The DDI site requires registration and approval.  Simply sign on at dealers.hunterdouglas.com, fill in the brief registration form and you’ll have FREE access to hundreds of great tools from Hunter Douglas.

6. Design To Make it YOURS
What do you want your web page to look like?  You probably don’t know right off the bat. Probably the best way to decide how you want your site to look is to look at other web sites. You'll want to look at your competitors' sites, sites from related industries, large corporate sites, and small local business sites. While you're browsing, note the sites that catch your attention. Print the page designs you like and make notes about what you like and don't like.  If you are working with a web design company don’t leave it entirely up to them.  They wouldn’t let you into their house and say,  “Cover the windows with whatever you think is best.”  You shouldn’t give them that kind of free reign either.  Remember that you are the owner of the site. Make it yours!

7. Keep It Up-To-Date
After you've started your website, you’ll need to keep it up-to-date.  IT’s best to change on a regular basis. Don't make the mistake of thinking that published to the internet it will remain unchanged. Your customers will want to see new content from time to time. Just like any store you go to, if you visit them several times and never see anything new, you’ll stop visiting.  Keep the customers you’ve earned coming to your site to see what’s new. If you used a web designer to build the site, you may have to determine whether you want to maintain it afterwards or continue to use their service.  Make sure when you start working with a web designer that you both know how the site will be maintained after the first edition and what it will cost.

8. Don’t Let It Just Sit There — Promote it!
Once upon a time you could put up a website and expect that a few people would find you and check you out just to see what you had to offer. It’s just not that way anymore. Thousands of new sites go up every week. In order to bring visitors (soon to be customers!) to your site, you need to promote your site. You'll want to register it with search engines. You may want to pay attention to locally oriented searches.  Even the largest search engines have ways to localize the search to your area.  Make sure your web site address is on all of your print advertising, on your business card and stationery. If you do radio ads, make sure the site is mentioned. If you do TV ads mention it and show it on the screen whenever possible.  Offer newsletter and other information that will keep your customers coming back to your site.