Why Should Your Company Have a Website?
Just having your name alone on some computer screens here and there won't do you or your organization very much good. You need a reason, a plan to harness the power of the web.

If you are an artist, musician, or arts organization, for example, a website can be a resource that allows people who have seen your work at a restaurant, coffeehouse, or gallery to learn more about you. Oftentimes artists produce a much wider range of work than can be exhibited in one place. If you have a website, a person who enjoys the work they see at one venue can easily learn about the full breadth of your work. And a simple calendar of upcoming events can entice your new fans to other events. And the web oftentimes causes random encounters: Someone looking for local artist websites comes across yours and decides to come out to your next event -- maybe even to purchase a work. Many museums, as well, supplement their more traditional methods of finding new artists with web research. For all of these reasons, a website can be very beneficial to an artist's career.

Businesses can benefit in similar ways. A website can provide easy access for customers who do business with you to find more information about your products. It can offer purchasing advice. It can also highlight upcoming sales and events your business might have. If you sell rare items, a website can help alert potential buyers around the world about your current inventory. If you run a restaurant, a website featuring a menu and a phone number can help boost delivery sales. Or a simple menu online can entice people into your restaurant. Photos of the interior of your business and small bits of information about employees can also help make your business more familiar to customers, making them feel more relaxed and comfortable while shopping, eating, or otherwise doing business with you.

Common Problems
The problem that many website owners experience is that although they might have a good site, they are not easily found through Search Engines. (70%-80% of browsers to any website will come via a search engine).

Some of the reasons for this are:

• No Meta tags
• No Keywords
• No Description
• No text on the Home Page
• No Links page
• No Title
• No Alt text
• Not own domain name
• Use of frames
• No links to the website from other websites
• No other form of internet advertising used

These issues need to be addressed in order for your site to be successful. 

New Horizons Design has provided pages that describe exactly what a search engine is and how to use those search engines to maximize your exposure.