Is a Website in Your Future?

It seems that almost every business has its own website. You may be wondering if you could or should take the plunge and put your business on the Internet.  If you are considering a site for your childcare facility, planning is the key to success. 

You may be able to design a web site yourself if you are highly computer literate.  Running your own website takes a lot of time and expertise.  There are a few things to consider before going on the web either by your self or with the help of a professional.

There are many childcare facilities that already have their business on the Internet.  This can be like any other form of advertising.  Some days, you will have a lot of hits (visits) and other days there may not be so may.   Advertising is essential in running any business.  It keeps your name in front of customers.  It would be nice to just avoid the trouble of taking your business on the Internet, however, it seems that today, everything is going electronic.

    Before you go on the Internet, you must know why you are going on the Internet.  Do you really need a site?  A consultation with a professional may help answer that question.  You may also answer that question yourself with a little help from your business plan and a few questions.

• What are the goals for your business? 
• Is your childcare facility full right now? 
• How far away do your potential clients live? 
• Is there a listing somewhere on the Internet that potential customers could find you instead of having to go through the trouble of running your own website?
• How much money is available for all of your advertising?
• Can you do this by yourself or will you need professional help?
• Do you have a good use for the site?
• Will you offer new information and keep the site from getting stale?

These are just a few of the things that you must consider before going on the Internet.  Before taking the plunge, ask yourself why you think you need to be on the Internet.  If it is just because everyone else is doing it, then you should rethink spending the time and money on a website of your own.  You must have a reason or lets say a niche.  More than likely, if you have been in business for long, you have found your niche in the childcare business.  That is the group of customers you want to target.  The first page needs to be a real eye-catcher so the visitor will want to keep reading. 

You can target this client by offering information that will appeal directly to them.  If you can’t write articles or find information to post of your own, consider hiring someone to write for you.  This does not have to be very costly.  There are many people that may specialize in your area that would be happy to write an article or two for your site periodically for a reasonable fee.  If you are interested in business help articles from me, please feel free to email me at ccv_1@msn.com please put article in the subject line. 

Web Essentials 

Keep it simple applies to the Internet world.  Less is more; keep the clutter to a minimum.  Most websites would do well with 2-5 page websites.  This should provide enough room for graphics and text. 

Be user-friendly.  Not everyone has a high-speed connection.  Many people access the Internet with dial-up modems-including myself.  Therefore, keep graphics to a minimum so the downloading speed is not too slow.  There is nothing that will turn me off more than waiting too long for a page to open to see the information on it. 

Keep information short and to the point.  Don’t let information get outdated.  Visitors can easily get lost in navigation.  Don’t place more than five scrolls on a page.  Subject headings should be brief.  Don’t put music on the site.  This will slow down the transfer of information and may turn off some customers.  The less bells and whistles used many times means the more professional you are. 

Icons should reflect the topics that are most important to visitors of the site.  Make sure you have an area that describes the childcare facility, offers directions, contact information, events, and if appropriate schooling activities available.

I recommend putting contact information on every page.  Too often I spend too much time searching the site for the contact information and give up after a few tries.  Also, make sure the email accounts work.  Check your email at minimum every few days and respond to email ASAP. 

Having a website will be useless unless people know that you have one.  Put your address on every thing.  Put it on business cards, letterhead, other advertisements, booklets, in the entry to your business, and any other place you can think of. 

Use a guest sign in book at your site.  You will have email addresses to send a newsletter to if you ever decide that this is the right direction for you. 

Search engines are very important for website hits.  More often than not, this is a job for a professional.  You may find other organizations and sites that would help your business if you were affiliated to them.  If this is the case, you can link back and forth.  However, when doing a search on a major search engine, you want your name to come up in at least the first two pages.  Let someone else handle the metatags and metadescriptions to make this work. 

If you decide to have a website, make sure that you can check site traffic.  This will help you target your potential customer.  Things to watch are; where is your traffic coming from, how long are visitors staying, and where are they going on the site.

Pay attention to color.  The look and feel and ease of operation for visitors to your website is the key to meeting your potential customer’s expectations.  As is all forms of advertising, you and your business are giving a first impression every time someone sees or hears your name or your business name.