There is a new version of an old debate. On one hand I am hearing from business owners they are questioning the value of having a website now. They just use social media or people can email them. I have heard that the only reason they have one is because its a “requirement”. They don’t plan on putting any effort into it. Search traffic is down. It’s getting harder to attract visitors. I get it. It’s not going to get easier. Especially if you don’t plan on doing anything with your site. How confident are you selecting a vendor when you can’t find their website? Going without is not a good option.
You have a website. So where are your millions?
On the other side of this debate is the website owner with big expectations. They started a website years ago. The site is pretty much the same site they launched. They might add something to it once per year. But they have no visitors. Why? People should have found it by now right? They have a website, doesn’t that mean thousands of people should now be their customers?
Both examples are valid and coming from the same place. They don’t see the value of their website. Or they don’t know how to get their website to provide value to their business. But in both cases this can change.
Are you still looking for the website “good old days”?
Back in 2000 I was working on websites for Fortune 500 companies. We could launch a site on a Wednesday and have a 1000+ visitors on Thursday. But think about why that happened? First of all, in 2000 it was still a new idea for a company to have a website. There was a novelty factor that attracted visitors. Second, these companies have a large marketing arm behind them. They used many other channels to let people know a they had a new website.
I think people still have these legends of website success in their minds and think this is the norm. But its not. The best sites are successful and solid because they continued to grow over time.
How to Calculate the Value of My Website
Website value can take many forms. Your business may not require on online store. But there are many things the website can do that will help grow your business.
Let’s use a specific example. Your business hosts live events to help generate leads and revenue. What is the value of your website in this business model?
- Somewhere to post the details – Webpages are the main source of information on your event. You can use these pages to direct callers, share on social media or email to interested parties. You have one place to update any changes and everyone learns to get the latest info here. What is the value of a new attendee you have not met?
- Event registration – In our example, this site has the ability to take online registrations. How much time are you saving or another team member/employee saving by sending people to the website? Instead of taking registrations over the phone or mail? What is the advantage of not waiting to get paid the day of the event?
- Directions on how to attend – A map attendees can pull up on the way there. Parking instructions. Or online connection information. What is the cost of dedicating a team member to monitor the phone on event day just to answer these questions?
- Materials for the attendees – Create a place to post event materials. Attendees can print if they need to or bring up online at the event. How much do you save not printing materials for people who don’t show?
- Creating an audience for the next event – Since you did online registrations, you collected all that contact info on your attendees. Now they become the invite list for the next event. What percent will sign-up again? How much revenue is that? How easy is it to get the webpage updated with the next event while the current one is still happening?
The point of this example is anything the website can do for you helps business. And these are simple examples. Think about how much more it could do if you add more interactive functions or AI?
Website Value – The Correct Answer
Your company website is valuable if it helps to generate more revenue for your business. It is not valuable just because it exists. Give it a roll. Give it a function. Then make sure it performs that function. Or keep working on it until it does.
Effect of Website Maintenance on Website Worth
An old website is hard to work with. Maintenance on a website keeps it from getting old. Its hard to add new functions or get attention for an old website. New bots will have trouble crawling old code. And it will be hard to convince the new business owner that there is value in a site they will need to re-do.
Want more Website Value? Get hands-on.
Start with realistic expectations and don’t do this on auto-pilot. Posting a site and walking away is not good enough anymore. You as the website owner need to get involved. and find out what it will take to get visitors interested in your website. Start by looking for ways to freshen current website content. Maybe take a little bit each week?
Signup for our Free Consultation. Cybervise webmasters would be happy to talk to you about all the good things happening with your website.
