I remember quite clearly being approached by one business woman who decided that she wanted a website on the basis of one of her customers telling her that she needed a website. Why? Because “everyone has one”.

It turned out that her target audience were local women, aged 40+, a demographic that (particularly at that time) barely used the Internet.

I suggested to her that she invest her money in shop-front signage instead.

On the flip side of the coin, Annerley-based latin dance studio Smooth Latin Groove approached me, in 2006, with a clear focus in mind. Smooth Latin Groove‘s award-winning website is now an integral part of their promotional and customer-support strategies.

Getting back to you: Whether you have a website now or are thinking of getting one, you need to give thought to how a website would:

(a) pay for itself, and (b) ideally, make you a profit

Maybe your website would sell things, and thus make a direct income, or maybe it would simply save you time answering questions on the phone. Maybe you could save money on printed brochures and direct prospects to an online brochure – one that can be easily updated at any time. You could also develop a community-oriented website and generate passive income from automated advertising.

At the end of the day, a commercial website is (or should be!) a business asset. If it’s not, it is a liability. Not only does it cost money to design and develop the website, there are ongoing hosting and, potentially, maintenance costs involved.

A good website, backed by a solid business strategy, will pay for itself – either in terms of direct sales or some other value important to the business.

So, is your website an asset or a liability? In other words, is it returning value to your business or is it sitting there, costing you money in hosting fees?

Either way, what can you do do improve it?