It seems like everyone has a Web site today. From corporate goliaths like Coca-Cola to the obsessed sports fan armed with snarky one-liners, there are few who have yet to embrace a Web site.
Except for small businesses, that is. Nearly half of small businesses nationally do not have a company Web site.
A poll conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business found that only 51 percent of small businesses have a Web site, and less than a quarter have a Web site equipped to handle a credit card transaction.
In Connecticut, however, an increasing number of small businesses are gravitating towards to establishing or revamping their Web sites out of necessity, especially in specific industries.
“Definitely, it’s obvious that having a Web site has become more important,” said Andrew Markowski, director of the Connecticut chapter of the NFIB. “If you look at a company that provides professional services, they probably need a site more than other companies.”
As Markowski alluded to, some businesses need a Web site to survive because the marketplace has gone almost completely online. An example of this can be found at the Sir Speedy’s Printing Center of New Britain, part of the Sir Speedy chain.
With an assist from the main Sir Speedy Web site, franchise owner Mark Bernacki said that most of his customers refuse to do business the old-fashioned way.
“They are requiring us to do things online, through e-mail, through file transfers,” he said. “I consider our Web site to be very important and vital to our Web site. I don’t know what we would do without one.”
The Web site for the New Britain franchise has been in operation for just two years, but Bernacki said there have been significant upgrades as customer demand has skyrocketed.
“It started out with a few people wanting to have things done digitally, but now it is definitely a majority,” he said. “It helps us in marketing because we can market that we can handle business digitally and that’s what people are looking for right now.”
Web Costs
One of the reasons small businesses have shied away from establishing extensive Web sites is the cost. Markowski asserted that small business owners are more apt to invest in technology-related items such as software and computers that are integral to actually running the business. While small businesses without Web sites continue to exist and even thrive, its owners are not blind to the obvious change in the landscape.
Christopher DeMars is a graphic designer with Designs, LLC, in New London, a company that currently does not have a Web site. That will change soon. “For us, we’re still in the process of designing a site,” said DeMars.
The lack of a Web site has not hurt business though, as DeMars asserted that the company’s location is on a “busy road” that leads to a lot of walk-in customers. “It would be nice to put some of our samples on the Web site to let people see what we can do before they come into the store,” he said. Advertising and marketing are the most valuable byproducts a Web site can offer a small business, especially for those that cannot afford a Web site with all the latest bells and whistles.
