Business News
WEB SIGHTS
7/31/05
By FRANK NELSON
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Businesses feeling pressure to keep up with the virtual Joneses
by having a Web presence
To the usual checklist involved in starting any business -- good
idea, market research, financing, business plan, budget, hard work,
etc. -- it has now become almost obligatory to add "establish
a Web site."
No matter if the business is large or small, or even just one person
wanting to sell his or her special cookies or soaps, or a book he
or she has written, or to attract more people to a church or sports
team or social club . . . everybody seems to have a Web site.
The Internet has become such a pervasive and influential part of
people's lives that many ventures want to keep up with the virtual
Joneses to avoid missing out on business or inviting some sort of
stigma for not having a Web presence.
Melike Bitlis-Bush, who runs a one-woman Web design and development
company in Santa Barbara called MBB Design, estimates that as many
as 80 percent of local businesses have Web sites.
Nationally, she puts the figure at around 50 percent, with Santa
Barbara's greater wealth, combined with a better-educated, more
tech-savvy population, accounting for the difference.
This rapacious demand has given birth to a virtual cottage industry
of Web site designers and developers, many, like Ms. Bitlis-Bush,
working away in their own homes. Santa Barbara's Yellow Pages lists
more than three dozen Web site designers, and that's just the tip
of the search-engine iceberg.
Many of these people are survivors from the dot-com era who once
worked for large, rapidly growing companies; after the crash, they
found themselves out of work but are now back, plying their Web
and tech skills as independent contractors.
According to some designers, there can be a downside to having
a Web site -- the cost, for starters -- and establishing an online
presence may not always be the smartest move, especially in the
early days of a new business when precious cash may be better spent
on other things.
But generally they agree that the pros far outnumber the cons
and the list of benefits is a very long one.
"I think we're at the point where everyone who's serious about
business needs a Web site," says Matt Anderson, co-founder
of Santa Barbara-based Boomtown Studios.
However, Mr. Anderson, who started his multimedia business with
Shawn Miller in 2001, is not always impressed by what he sees on
the Web and describes much of it as garbage. "It looks like
it was created over the weekend by someone new to it," he says.
He and Ms. Miller are Boomtown's only two full-time employees,
though they have ready access to another half-dozen contract specialists.
Between them, this team aims to add some creative "pop"
to the Web sites they work on.
"We can make a three-person business seem as good as Microsoft,"
says Mr. Anderson, adding that a small company's Web site can be
"every bit as beautiful and functional" as that of a large
company.
One way they help achieve this is through the use of the Flash
animation program. "Flash can add a lot of eye candy to a site
and can deliver dynamic information," he says.
However, he also cautions about using Flash in the right context:
"Flash is a good spice, but it's not the meal."
JudyAnn Dutcher came to Santa Barbara a decade ago as a licensed
marriage and family therapist. She honed her skills at adult education
classes and through UCSB Web master and graphic design certificate
programs before launching Dutcher Design in 1998.
"It's always an advantage to have a Web site," says Ms.
Dutcher, who builds and maintains sites for nonprofits, small businesses,
schools, individuals and special events. "If you're selling
or want to get information out to anyone, the Web is a convenient
way to go."
Doug Anderson and Gina Fiedel bring 30 years of combined experience
in fine arts and design in New York and Boston to Fat Eyes, the
Web development company they run from their home in Mission Canyon.
Mr. Anderson says he believes this background enables them to deliver
much more than just a Web site. "We aim to give clients a deep
presence online," he says. "An online identity that really
speaks to who they are. We can express the heart of the organization
as well as what it does."
He says a good site has to achieve two opposites. It has just
a few seconds to capture the attention of the browsing reader; then
it has to deliver a real emotional tone. "It breaks down to
successful marketing -- how to convey very deep things about a company,
very quickly."
Mr. Anderson sees many advantages for his clients, who include
local wineries, health organizations and the charity Direct Relief
International. "Everybody uses the Web, it's a great tool.
It's an absolute essential in certain fields and becoming an essential
in others."
At MBB Design, Ms. Bitlis-Bush is a great advertisement for why
companies should have Web sites. "If I want to buy anything,
the first thing I do is search online," says the Turkish native.
While working on her house recently, she bought some mosaic tiles
through the eBay auction site and some door knobs that, with free
shipping and no sales tax, were cheaper to have sent from Illinois
than to buy locally. "Everyone needs a Web site to reach clients
and serve clients," she says.
For many small businesses, a Web site means immediacy, flexibility
and the opportunity to showcase their products to the world. It
also means saving all those costs associated with brick-and-mortar
premises. But even so, launching a Web site is not necessarily a
cheap option.
Ms. Bitlis-Bush says that when people ask her how much their Web
site will cost, she feels like asking them how much a car costs.
In both cases, the price can depend on many variables.
She estimates a simple four- or five-page Web site, with text and
images -- basically the equivalent of a virtual brochure -- might
cost around $1,000. Generally, though, her sites run at least twice
that size and cost about $1,800, while hourly rates for small-scale
Web designers hover around $60.
But costs can rise considerably if clients want e-commerce connections,
Flash or other sophisticated features. Matt Anderson, of Boomtown
Studios, says most of his projects fall into the $5,000 to $30,000
range.
He encourages clients to consider their Web presence as part of
a total media package. Often, he says, the Web component seems to
be lagging behind how the company portrays its image in magazines
or on television.
Mr. Anderson says another potential drawback is that the more high-tech
the Web site, the more computer processing power it requires to
run. "It's easy to forget that a lot of people are running
older computers. There's a potential to make presentations that
are beyond the average user."
Ms. Bitlis-Bush also points out another pitfall: Everything on
a Web site, including images and ideas, can be easily stolen, even
though it's possible to install copyright software to track down
offenders. Similarly, every site is a potential target for hackers,
who can cause serious problems if they break in.
Other potential disadvantages are that a poorly designed site may
reflect badly on a company and make it appear unprofessional (or
worse); an online company may be suddenly swamped with orders it
can't meet; and while an online brochure can be easily updated,
it cannot be physically dropped off where customers gather.
Perhaps the most subtle disadvantage of all is that once a Web
site is up and running, the owner comes to rely on it and suffers
major trauma when it crashes. "It's like when e-mail goes down,"
says Ms. Bitlis-Bush. "Life stops!"
e-mail: fnelson@newspress.com
PLUSES, MINUSES
Many businesses can't wait to set up a Web site. But while being
online has many advantages, there are also some drawbacks.
THE PROS:
Saves cost of running a brick-and-mortar business
Provides worldwide reach
Flexible and convenient
Easy to change and update
Immediacy: Your message is out there in minutes
Easy to run business from home
THE CONS:
Ideas and images may be stolen
Can be expensive to set up and maintain
May lose business if site crashes
Not all sites display well on all computers
Vulnerable to hackers
May be overwhelmed with orders or replies |
