Do you know why you're creating a website? Are you trying to sell products online, provide customer support to your existing business, or make money from blogging or with affiliate marketing? Here are a few reasons why people build their websites.

Make Money

Many people create a website to make money online. A website is a great communication tool to help people, and also make profit for yourself. The demographic of online users usually have a higher education with higher income, and buying online is no longer perceived as a risk for many Internet users. There are many ways to make money online, and a few examples include ecommerce, affiliate marketing, advertisement and membership services. The fundamentals of online business is similar to offline counterpart, and having a business plan, financial support, marketing strategies, and fulfilling a customer's needs are necessary to have a successful business.

Save Money

If you have an existing business that requires customer support, a website can reduce cost and save money. By posting Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and Answers, and describing products and services in greater detail will ease your customer service activities. Providing a downloadable brochures and software drivers will allow your customers to self-service their need 24x7 and 365 days. Brochures and catalogs cost money to print and distribute, and making use of the website will save money. For example, a restaurant owner may post menu and restaurant hours, and the customers many not need to call to ask for hours of operation or asking questions about menu being offered saving time of your employee(s). Users may also refer your website on their own for additional resources if information provided is useful and reusable, causing more people to visit your website and potentially become a customer. You may also use your website to collect customer feedback or customer survey, to enhance your business with more communication with your customers.

An ability to search information online makes the web a powerful tool. Companies using Intranets can include company documents, standard operating procedures, payroll information, job postings, paid time off, company news, training programs, and other additional resources on the website. These services are referred to as employee services. External customers will benefit from online catalogs, user guides, product reviews and use cases. Offering online demo of the products and suggesting improvements to your product are valuable communications you can have with your customers.

Communicating with employees, co-workers and customers is stress-free when using the web. Trying to get in contact with someone while they are traveling to a different time zone is very difficult and frustrating. You can easily put your information online and the traveler will be able to access the information at any time. Web pages can also be translated into different languages which makes communicating that much easier. The internet has more flexibility than broadcasting or printed information. Information can be updated, omitted, or added quickly via the internet.

Social Networking

To be successful, you need to network with individuals with knowledge, resources and great habit. By letting your visitors read your articles, share your experiences, and display your insights; and your readers will become your friends and give credit for your hard work and respect your knowledge. You never know who you will be networking with, and how many fans you'll have. There are plenty of stories where one may read and refer, which may lead to significant opportunities. The web allows you to meet thousands of people in a small amount of time. By having a web presence with great amount of resources, you will have significant advantage over your competitors.

Web Marketing

Using the web for promotion can quickly reach millions of users. Successful internet promoters select target audiences to cater to. If you try to promote to everyone on the web, not everyone will be interested. Instead, narrow your reach and focus on target audience who need your products or services. Don't try to sell refrigerators to eskimos, but find target audience who are looking for refrigerators at present time. If a targeted user is coming to you to learn more about your product/service, it increases the likelihood that they will buy from you.

Online Education

Libraries and museums have a great amount of information, but the web will have all of the information ever discovered and more. With so much data available, it is difficult to find the specific information one may need and try to comprehend by reading. Providing online education is a way to help users learn the specific topics they desire by tutorials and examples. Instead of the student and teacher physically being in a classroom together, a lecture can be presented online through a live or recorded video.

The use of multimedia in presentations help illustrate things much clear and quickly. The use of videos and sounds can assist in conveying your idea to the user in much pleasant ways. Videos can show you a step by step process of how something should be done, what the inside of a building looks like, or a life-like experience.

Conclusion

No matter where your business is located, reaching your target audience is no longer limited. Meeting with a customer face to face can be difficult or even impossible if your customer is located across the globe. If your target audience has internet connection, they will be able to access your information, contact you via email, or pay you electronically. Understanding the purpose of having a website allows you organize the information in logical manner, and also help your website visitors cater the information they're looking for. Regardless of whether you're looking to make money, save money or network with people; building a web property will help you achieve your goal.