If your company own one or more stores, you might be wondering if it would be a good idea to have a website. You might also be wondering if a website for the company store would be profitable for your business.

Those are very legitimate questions.

I worked as a marketing director for a store for some times, and I was always harassed by salesman wanting me to by publicity for every imaginable form of paper advertising. Some offer were interesting, most were not.

Are you in the same situation?

If you are, you know how expensive paper advertising is. A simple add in the yellow pages can cost you thousands of dollars each year!

So you might be wondering if a website for the company store is a good idea, furthermore an affordable idea. And the answer is maybe.

Why? Because it depends on who you buy your website from and why.

Who should you buy your website for the company store from?

There is a large choice of company who can help you. My suggestion? Go either with a local company you personally know, or ask 3 companies for a quote and compare prices, or do it yourself.

A local company you know

This can be a great choice, because you can get a personal recommendation from a friend or a business partner. But don't fall into the "I have to buy from him because he was recommended". Do your homework first and find out if the company knows what she is doing.

Ask for 3 quotes

This is in my eye a good way to compare prices. The only important thing here is to know what you want first. If you ask quotes without detailing what you need, you will not be able to compare the 3 offers very easily.

Do it yourself

If you have the time to do it, you can use a very simple online tool and build your own website for the company store. The good side of this option is the reduced cost, because you control everything and you don't have to pay for updates. The downside however is that you need to learn how to do it. But when you compare the prices, you might decide you want to learn!

How much should you pay for your website for the company store?

Again, it depends on your budget. If you are already spending thousands of dollars in advertising each year, you might have a larger budget to put in the web. On the other had, if your company has little budget for advertising, you should pay less.

Usually, when I build a website for a company store, I charge between 1000$ and 5000$, depending on the complexity of the site. I can offer very affordable rate for small website because I use an online tool that has an unbeatable price. This allow me, for my clients who has a smaller budget, to teach them how to manage their website themselves. This way, I get them started the right way using all the knowledge I have acquired in the past few years in web marketing, usability and search engine optimization, and then I let them continue the work themselves. It is an excellent way to save when you buy a website for the company store!