Deciding whether or not to establish a Web presence can be a daunting task. You need to decide what you are going to do with your site before you start "shopping" for a designer. We at Spears Designs are here to help. We have complied a few common questions and their answers to make your decision easier.

How can I tell what type of site meets my needs?

Here is a list of 10 questions you should ask yourself BEFORE you start planning your site or looking for a designer.

1. Why do I want a Web site?
2. Who is my intended audience?
3. Why will people come to my site?
4. What types of tasks should users be able to perform?
5. What types of content should and should not be part of this site?
6. Does my company have recent print materials, advertising or graphics standards available for the designer?
7. What are my long term and short term goals for this site?
8. Will there be an area that will need updates or an area that may grow or expand?
9. What is my timeline?
10. What is my budget?

Is having a Web site worth the initial cost?

Consider the cost of establishing a Web Presence, when doing so don't look at it as an expense. Look at it as an investment. Advertising in any form is an investment in your business. The average Web site will cost about $1,200. In addition you will have web hosting fees of about $30 per month. This brings your first year cost to $1,500 to $1,700.

Will establishing a Web presence result in profit sufficient to justify the expense?

For a small business, $1,500 to $1,700 sounds like a large initial investment, but think of what that investment could do for your business. Your business can be seen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year by millions of world wide potential customers. Compare that to magazine or newspaper ads, radio time and direct mail!

After the initial design phase, how much will my site cost?

This generally depends on you hosting site. It is however, safe to say that hosting and upkeep will run about $360 to $600 a year. (There are MANY FREE hosting services now. One of the best is http://www.fortunecity.com . They offer 20MB of space and only require you to have their banner at the top of your page. If you want to have order forms and secure shopping you will need to "rent" your hosting service from another provider.) Reasonable rent for a virtual storefront with 24/7 service!