This month's Reader Panel shows that remodelers are still on the on-ramp to the information superhighway. Only slightly more than half of respondents who took our e-mailed survey said their company has a Web site.
Cost was a concern for a fraction of those who responded that they didn't have a site, but our data says it shouldn't be: 55% of those with sites said it cost less than $500 to design and build their site, and two-thirds responded that it cost less than $50 a month to maintain it.
If you're thinking about joining the technology age by creating a company Web site, be sure to check out our primer.
Why doesn't your company have a Web site?
“I don't have time to create a good one. It's better to have no site than to have one that is poorly designed.” Mike Kennedy, Castlewood Construction, Topeka, Kan.
“We do everything we can to avoid cold calls from potential customers. We want every call that comes into our office to be pre-qualified by a referral or some other direct contact. We don't have time to chase cold leads.” Rick Hjelm, Phase II, Lakewood, Wash.
“We already have more business than we can deal with.” Phil Johnson, Homes Made New, Greenville, S.C.
“I never gave it much thought until the last couple of months.” Don Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Remodeling, Lenox, Mass.
“Mine is a small, sole proprietor, business.” Nathan Foulds, Zippy Contracting, Franklin, N.J.
“Our Web site is in the design phase.” Keith Bush, Keith W. Bush Contracting, Ewing, N.J.
Why is your Web site maintained externally?
“We prefer to outsource our Web site so that company personnel can focus on the business.” Marc Churchill, Sterlingbrook Construction, Redding, Conn.
“It's too important a task to give to someone who is not familiar with Web site marketing.” Ken Badalamenti, Riviera Construction, Solon, Ohio
“Our Web site is our window to the world, and we want someone who is as professional at Web sites as we are at remodeling.” Riley Shirey, Shirey Contracting, Issaquah, Wash.
“We want a professional Web site.” William Welte, Welte Construction, San Leandro, Calif.
The Reader Panel survey is conducted for REMODELING by Specpan, a division of The Farnsworth Group.