Comments on: Website Ownership: 4 Biggest Myths & Realities

By: Karl

Karl — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:13:40 +0000

I used to work with a local website design company here and you’d be surprised the amount of small and medium sized business owners give the same reasons to not having a website as found by the research.

Karl

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:30:58 +0000

Yeh, there is a learning curve with some content management systems. But I am talking about an ideal case where the person who creates a website understands the needs of the client and chooses the best and simplest CMS, not the one that needs an expert to maintain it. And yes, if the small business owner cannot maintain the site via the CMS, they could easily hire someone for a few cheap hours of maintenance every so often.

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:08:05 +0000

Well, yes, I suppose that maintenance can be troublesome. (Note: Upgrades aren’t really required. They’re just nice to have. ie. I checked out your WP version, and it isn’t 2.7.1. )

As far as traditional advertising methods vs. the internet, there is one huge difference: cost. I am appalled when I see how much people pay to advertise on television, radio, or in newspapers & magazines. But yes, choosing the right kind of advertising would also depend on the target demographic. ie. Advertising online in America is more valuable than advertising online in China, India, Africa, or other countries where there is not that much access to the internet.

By: Dennis Edell

Dennis Edell — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:20:19 +0000

I have to agree with some here, regarding sites that need constant updates; especially for sites that are product based and the like.

If it’s a true small business…the owner also runs the counter…this just isn’t going to happen. Granted he/she could probably hire a high school or college kid, but most don’t understand that.

By: Ajith Edassery

Ajith Edassery — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:55:23 +0000

Good points. In fact, there’re some truth in the myths as well. Sometimes, the site maintainence can be really troublesome. Especially when people use CMS programs that needs frequent-unfriendly upgrading.

Another point, traditional advertisement (television, newspaper, national radio, local FM) still works great as online advertisement share is still below 7%.

And like Kim said, if it’s a one or two page site with timeless info it’s okay to maintain it. But if you have a site that needs to be updated often, and if that’s not happening probably that’s a worse situation

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:55:12 +0000

Nope, that article received no comment love.

By: Kim Woodbridge

Kim Woodbridge — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:52:05 +0000

LOL – Maybe that’s where I got the idea in the first place I’ll have to see if I commented on that.

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:50:50 +0000

I couldn’t agree more. I actually wrote about this topic once before… Many people try to build their own websites, assuming that any website is better than no website. But a bad web presence could be very detrimental.

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:06:54 +0000

Yeh, I bet. The lack of exposure is probably the biggest thing. So in your country, traditional methods of advertising are indeed more effective.

By: Kim Woodbridge

Kim Woodbridge — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:55:32 +0000

Personally I think it’s worse to have a poorly designed site and outdated information than no web presence at all. For example, my daughter’s school has a pretty website but if you go to the news section the most current information is for signing up Kindergartners in January 2007!! That’s two years old. They also have to make sure that they respond to inquiries – I have asked questions on numerous company websites and it isn’t uncommon to not receive a response.

By: Nihar

Nihar — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:23:21 +0000

It is a shocking stat. but if the study is made for my country India. it will be more shocking.

This is because lack of knowledge and exposure to the web/internet.

Lot of people think that you need have good knowledge in computers to run a website.

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 18:05:40 +0000

Well, some web development companies quote outrageous prices. So if this is something that a company sees, they might think that all websites are expensive to build.

By: Kurt Avish

Kurt Avish — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:02:41 +0000

You are right. Mainly about myth 3 where for example in my own country when I look for a company, I either only find a classified listing for it or nothing.

By: Velvet Blues

Velvet Blues — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:16:53 +0000

Yes, I find it frustrating when businesses do not have websites. As someone who works online, I just EXPECT everyone else to be online too!

By: Ben Pei

Ben Pei — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:28:25 +0000

Why would they say website is too expensive? I guess thats the reason why their business remain small..