Data Warehouse advantages and disadvantages

There are several advantages and disadvantages to having a website for your business or limited company. In the modern age, more and more businesses are getting online. As I mentioned in a previous post, there were around . If you don’t take your business onto the World Wide Web, you could miss out on potential customers, sales and profits. According to data collected by the Office for National Statistics – internet sales were up to £473million (a week) in August 2010 (Retail Sales Statistical Bulletin – August 2010). So having a website designed for your small business or limited company is just one important step towards getting a slice of the internet pie.

So what are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Websites?

Reaching a Wider Audience

The first and perhaps most obvious advantage of a business website is the potential for reaching a wider audience. The internet is used by literally millions of people, all of them are looking for something and some of them might be looking for you!

Building a website for your business will mean you could potentially reach these otherwise unreachable customers. Your business might be local, but you might have the potential to sell your products or services to a wider market, whether it be people in the next town, the nation as a whole or even the international market. Data shows that internet shopping is still on the rise, so taking your business online will potentially allow you to take advantage of the growth and expand your business. Even if you have no intention of using a business website to sell, you still might want to let customers know about your business. People commonly research businesses online before actually visiting the business location. So having a well designed website will help encourage them to come and visit you or be able to find your business in the first place.

Anyone, Anywhere & Anytime

An advantage of having a website is your business information and details about your products and services can be accessed by anyone, no matter where they are on the planet or what time of day it is. The internet is online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So even if your business isn’t open your website will be!

If you have a contact form or another way for people to be able to contact you – even if it is as simple as your e-mail address on your website, then people can potentially get in contact with you, whether you’re in front of a computer or not.

In the modern age, people are using their mobile phones more and more to browse the internet, find out about businesses and even buy products and services (UK Business Going Mobile – M-Commerce). So even if your website is just a short description of your business it might help customers find your location while they are on the move. This is especially important for restaurants, pubs and other eateries, but is also a relevant consideration for most other businesses.