Just wondering for all that have a web page, is it a valuable tool for your company? Looking to start one and just trying to get input from people that have a site up and going. Thanks Jay.
well i'm not a contractor just a stupid operator but i can tell you i go on a lot of web pages for companies for what jobs they have going, if they are hiring, for instance i had not heard of some of the companies on this site say sureway,but looking at burnouts post i went to their page just to check things out.
You are right. I guess it sure couldn't hurt anything.
I would say it is very important. The boss says he has gotten a lot of work from the website. Enough to completely re-do the one we have, which is still under construction. The horse farm my family operates has a website and 75% of our business has come from the website. Day job=www.krgutility.com, may not be up-still under construction last time I checked. Farm=www.redbankstables.com. Build one, make it nice and informative, keep it updated, and I am sure it will bring a good return.
I'd say it's important too for anything from posting job openings to having a contact list for the company.
Some information may be helpful for someone to find on the web. But then again, I see it similar to the yellow pages. You usually get someone out shopping price. Or looking for someone to do a job for them and then stiff them on pay later. Still find word of mouth usually leads to the best customers.
The Internet is the New Phone Book I think the internet is the new phone Book. This will only increase as younger people that have been raised on computors start spending their money. A person can google whatever service they need and a zip code and have results. Another plus is I think people can remember a web address easier than a phone number. Just my 2 cents
Thanks for everyone's input. I think I will give it a shot. Even if I get 2 new loyal customers a year, I think it's worth it. Thanks again.
I think a web site is one of the best forms of advertising you can have. It doesnt have to be multi pages or all big and fancy, start off with a page or two that give your main contact details and description of what you do. Then you can add pictures of work done and machinery you have. DONT spend a fortune on having one built, it is not very difficult, if you can operate a keyboard ( your on here ) and want to do it, anything is possible. As important in my opinion is to have your own Domain name, eg jayp*****.com ( sorry dont know what you initials stand for), but you get my drift. Personally I dont like to see ***** [email protected]
If you do the design yourself there are free WYSIWYG editors out there that can do the trick, unless you can do HTML and visualize (I can't!). Don't spend much money on having someone doing it for you. If you want help I'm laid off and have more time than all the haul trucks could carry.
A friend of mine that's really good with computers said he would layout and design the page for me. All I have to do is provide him with the information and pic for the site.
Good deal! Be sure to post the link so we can point and laugh.....I mean point and click
My advice would be to register a domain name and get a simple web site up as soon as you can. I doesn't have to cost a lot. You may not know this, I certainly didn't, but it will be several months before your website is indexed by the large search engines (Google, mainly) and even longer before it appears in search results. I don't get a lot of business from mine, but at least it now appears when people Google the relevant search words. It also means that you can get an email address like " [email protected] ". I don't think a hotmail, yahoo addresses etc looks very profesional Who knows, if you don't, you may be kicking yourself in 12 months time. Think 12 months ahead and whaddavya godda lose? Good luck....
I have only had my site up for a few months but now I can't imagine not having it. It helps convince the clients we are a better choice.
I'm playing around with a very simple web site. It's not much but I'm enjoying building it. It's free for the first year with Microsoft Office 07. http://cpworkplacesafetytraining.com/default.aspx
Squizzy, You could add hard to beat. Do it once, do it well & hard to beat Telescooper
I completely agree. I dont think that you can afford not to have a website. My website: www.idecdemo.com , consistently gets some hits per day.Google analytics will track website performance
Websites don't have to be fancy and flashy. The site should be easy to navigate and provide the right content to the viewers. It's not expensive to have one built and they are great for many reasons. You can demo your machines, photo gallery of jobs that you have done (before & after comparison), videos, services you offer etc... You can also do link exchange with other local contractors that complement your business. This way you send them traffic (potential business) and they send traffic to you... You can have testimonial section... You can also put in small inexpensive ads in local papers and simply point readers to your website where they can read more about your company and services. This way you pay less for the ad, however the ad is smaller... There are many benefits to having a website and compared to the machinery cost they are not that expensive. I built some for my friends and they said that it was a crucial addition to their business.