Do I need a website or a system? A simple way to decide
Someone may have told you that you need a “system”, while someone else said a good website is plenty. The first thing worth knowing is that for many businesses a website is enough, and we say so even though we sell systems. Below are six questions that will help you decide for yourself.
What each one is
A website talks to your customers. It says who you are, what you do and where to find you, and it helps them call you or send a message. It can include an online shop too, so they can buy directly.
A system helps you from the inside. It is a program built around the way your business works, where orders, customers, prices and payments sit in one place and many steps happen by themselves.
In short, a website brings the customer in and a system helps you look after them. In time you may need both.
When a website is enough
- Customers mainly need to find you, trust you and call you.
- Orders are few and you keep up with them without stress.
- Your products or services have simple, stable prices.
- One or two people know everything and nothing gets mixed up.
- An Excel file or a notebook covers you and nothing gets lost.
An office that gets its clients through recommendations, a tradesperson, a small shop with few products often need nothing more. A clean website that loads fast and says clearly what you offer is a very good investment.
Six questions to help you decide
Answer yes or no, thinking of last month:
- Do you type the same details in more than one place?
- Has an order been lost or delayed because it was sitting in an email, a message or a notebook?
- To find out where an order stands, do you have to ask someone?
- If one person is away for a week, does the whole business struggle?
- Do you have prices, offers or procedures that don’t fit in a ready-made online shop, such as prices per metre or special prices per customer?
- Have you done the sum, and do the lost hours cost more than a solution would?
What your answers mean
Count your yeses. This is a practical guide we came up with ourselves, so add your own judgement.
| How many yeses | What we would do in your place |
|---|---|
| 0 or 1 | A good website is enough. Keep your money for getting more people to see it. |
| 2 or 3 | Fix the one point that hurts most first. A small tool or better organisation is often enough. |
| 4 or more | A system is worth looking at seriously, especially if question six came out as yes. |
When a system is worth it
A system usually costs more than a website and takes time from you, because someone has to explain how the business works. It is worth the cost when these things are true:
- Orders are growing and the only way to keep up seems to be another employee.
- The way you work is your own and you don’t want to change it to fit a ready-made program.
- The weight falls on you. Every answer goes through your phone and you can’t be away for a week.
One word of caution: a system follows the process you give it. If nobody in the business can say how an order goes from start to finish, begin there. Write it down on a piece of paper. That will help you whichever way you decide.
You can start small
Whatever you choose, you can change it later. A business can start with a website, add an online shop when there is demand and build a system once it is clear where the time goes. A system can also be built piece by piece, starting with the step that costs you most.
Two things are worth asking anyone who proposes something to you, and that includes us: which specific task will get easier from day one, and what happens to your information if you ever want to leave. If the answers are clear, you are on a good road.
The next step
For a more specific picture, take the 6-question check of where you lose time. If you would like a second opinion, book a free 30-minute call. We will give you a plan, and if a website is enough for you, we will tell you so.