Cost and information web sites

Information-oriented web sites are often less expensive to build than product-oriented web sites. This is because the focus is strictly on the text. It has to be front and centre, and the visual design elements such page colours, graphics and so on, while important, have to be simpler and attract less attention so they don't detract from the text.

But overlooked in the rush to cut costs, which is a primary reason for small businesses tending to choose primarily information-oriented web sites (usually with only a small product area), is the fact that in order to be effective, information sites need to be updated frequently. Weekly at least, but daily if you're really serious about making it successful.

This means that, unless you own a product-oriented web site with frequent price changes and product updates (which does not describe most small businesses), information-oriented web sites will tend to have higher long term maintenance costs in money and / or time. All web sites need to be refreshed once in a while, but the relatively inexpensive nature of information sites, that is the primary reason for their popularity among small businesses, seems to result in 5 or 6 page web sites that are extremely static, colourless, and almost bland.

The lack of frequent changes is a primary reason for failure. A marketers dream is that with a web site, what you are doing is basically getting people to volunteer their own time to learn more about your business. If the primary aim of your web site is to provide information, then you had better make it dynamic and changing. Even if you only talk about your business and nothing else (other things you can talk about to really spice it up will be discussed in a supplementary article in this series "Making full use of your web site"), then at least offer information on new products that you are excited about, discussions about what products you have that will appeal to different people, extended seasonal, festival, or parade hours. Even offer coupons online for redemption in your store.

Most retail businesses make changes in their real-world operations as a matter of course - front window displays, in-store signage, changing merchandising - and intuitively undestand that change inside their brick-and-mortar business is good for customers. But take a business online, and the lack of appearance of any causal relationship between online 'merchandising', money spent online, and customer purchases can often initiate discussions about how much is really necessary in terms of both time and money. How much does it really cost to make a few changes, really?

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