In a day and age where business has gone explosively digital and the potential for a worldwide reach of customers has never been higher, no company – big or small – can afford to be without a Web presence. If you're still limiting yourself to a bricks-and-mortar storefront, you're missing out on some major growth and profit opportunities.



“But I don't know anything about establishing a Web site,” you cry. “In fact, I wouldn't know the first thing about how to go about getting one up and running.” Fortunately for you, Web design and Web development companies exist that are solely focused on growing your Web site so your company can grow right along with it.

The Reuters news service recently addressed the topic of Web branding in an article titled, “Checklist: Establishing a Web Site.” Therein, the service talked about the “basic procedural information and helpful hints for establishing a Web site for your business.” Sure, you could try to tackle these issues on your own, or you could hire a Web design and development team whose expertise lies in developing practical Web sites and in nurturing long-term client relationships for you.

1. “Choose an Internet Service Provider (ISP).” – If you're online, meaning you correspond with your employees/customers via email and instant messaging, then chances are you already have an ISP. If not, that's okay. A Web development firm can steer you in the right direction. If so, you'll want to evaluate your existing provider to ensure its offerings are amenable to the increased communications with customers you'll likely be receiving through your Web site.

2. “Select and Register a Domain Name or Universal Resource Locator (URL).” – Where on the Web are your customers going to find you? The selection of a Web address is much more important than it might seem. A short, simple and memorable domain name is key to your potential and existing clients locating you. After all, if they have a hard time finding you on the Web, they may just give up and turn elsewhere.

3. “Design Your Web Site.” – Do you or someone you know have the Web design skills to tackle this crucial step yourself? Take into consideration that a poorly designed site will likely evoke images of non-professionalism in your customers. When in doubt, handing the task off to a Web design expert can save you money in the long run.

4. “Inform Others About Your Site.” – There is some art and some science to enhancing your Web site so that more of the right people can easily find you on the Web. A search engine optimization expert can give you a leg up on your competition.

5. “Track the Visits to Your Site.” – Do you know where visitors to your site are arriving from? Do you know how long they spent on your site, what sections drew their attention, and how often they came back? If the answer to any of these is "no," you're probably missing lots of opportunities.

The bottom line: there's potentially valuable, actionable intelligence – perhaps even hard sales leads – buried in these stats. A Web analytics expert can show you how (and what) data to capture, how to begin interpreting it and putting it into action, and explain what it could mean for your organization.