I don't know what your industry is, but just as an example, let’s assume it’s roofing. Now envision yourself as a sole-proprietor of a roofing company: experienced, licensed, insured, and you even have five to ten dedicated employees, two trucks and wonderful spouse who handles customers.

Now envision your potential client with a residential home and a leaky roof. It rained all weekend, and this poor guy's attic has more buckets than a painter. What would you say if he wanted to fix his roof himself? Most people would probably say it’s not a good idea. The potential to save money is overshadowed by the concern of working on a vital system of the home without the correct tools, experience or help.

Now to switch the topic over to websites. You may not think a website is as important as your home, but for a small business, it is. Your website is an absolutely vital piece of how you are seen by new, potential and existing customers, not to mention the competition.

Choosing a skilled company to build, support and host your website provides you with many benefits:

1) Your Time
Spending time learning and spending time doing are two completely different things. The first takes three to four times the amount as the second. Spend your time wisely; it is the greatest resource you will ever have.

2) Your Money
Money is valuable, although not nearly as valuable as time. When small businesses decide on whom to have create their website, money is certainly an issue, and rightly so. Finding a full-service web provider will probably cost you more in the short run, but not in the long run.

3) Your Clients’ Time
Respect your clients’ time. Your clients are undoubtedly searching the internet for the products and services you provide. Having a landing page created by an effective web development team provides your client with the necessary information in the least amount of time.

4) Your Clients’ Money
Cut down on miscommunication and mistakes with an informative website created by a professional design team. Be upfront with your clients about your prices so they will come back to you again and again.

5) Effective Presentation
As we said before, an experienced web development team knows what to say, where to say it and when to present your products and services in a professional and effective manner.

6) SEO - Search Engine Listings
Did you know that an inexperienced person listing their site on search giants like Google and Yahoo can actually cause their site to come up short on searches? There are tricks of the trade that are organic, meaning as time goes by, they change, grow and adapt. Having someone who dedicates their time to these adaptations means that your website will continue to be effective without having to do a thing.

7) Overall Design
For the same reasons, let someone who knows the current styles of the web, whether conservative or modern, shape your website into a contemporary composition.

8) Support
A full-service web designer can provide you with continual support while your website is up and running. Imagine being able to tap a professional resource when something goes wrong or needs to be updated.

9) Your Competition
If your competition doesn't have a website yet, they will soon. Be assertive with your business and have a professional team of designers create something that will bring the customers over to you.

10) Your Future
The future of small business commerce is web based. Plain and simple.

Jeff Algera
JLA Development
http://jladevelopment.com

Jeff Algera is the acting CEO of JLA Development, a full-service web design company providing small businesses with website representation. Jeff may be reached through his website, http://jladevelopment.com.

Edited by Chris Carera (chriscarera@gmail.com)
Written by JLA Development