Without hesitation, the answer to this question is a resounding YES. It's seems a reasonable question to ask--especially if your business has been running along for years without a website--but the percentage of people who turn to the Internet as their primary medium for locating products and services is already too large to ignore (and is constantly increasing); you really do need an effective web presence in order to maximize your opportunities.

It's easy to see why good websites can be so effective--they are always-on, always-accessible, always-up-to-date (ideally!), and interactive! If you don't have a website yet, the good news is that there has really never been a better time to get one; the ongoing evolution of web technology and standards means that there are more options than ever for getting your business on the web--from developing a site yourself, or choosing from among the many website development companies available. There are so many developers available, in fact, that you can easily find one whose work (and work style) most appeals to you. And, having had a business for a while likely means that you've got lots of compelling content with which to populate your website--customer testimonials, photos (perhaps even videos) of your work--all of which make for the kind of engaging website content that can set your site apart, and that potential customers appreciate.

It depends on what you think your business needs. If you just need a couple of pages that will function essentially as a static placeholder containing not much more than your company's address and phone number, then you should definitely consider the online website-building tools offered by most web hosting companies. Some of these tools are quite capable, and can produce sophisticated-looking pages, but the price you pay for the low cost and easy set-up is limited flexibility and uniqueness--the flexibility to create a truly unique, engaging website that is capable of growing along with your business.

There have never been so many options for getting your business on the web--you can even put together pages featuring your business on popular social networking sites (such as Facebook) for free. Indeed, if you're not fully convinced that having a full-on web presence is a necessity for your business, then perhaps these are better options for you to pursue.

Great (and important) question! Our goal at Right Brain is to create websites that are elegant, engaging, and effective. Websites that clearly communicate your company's core strengths and values, and make your customers feel as though they already know you even before they contact you for the first time. Crafting a website that accomplishes this seemingly simple objective relies critically on knowing your intended audience--and communicating with a wide variety of audiences is something we've done a lot of, whether they've been engineers at aerospace and software companies or small, one or two person family businesses. The ability to craft the message for your intended audience accurately and quickly has some very direct effects--it frees you up to concentrate on running your business, while we move on to selecting the best tools to bring that message to life in your website.

There are many talented web designers out there, and you should definitely shop around to find one whose work appeals to you; and since building a website requires a degree of collaboration between site builder and client, it's also important to get a sense for how well you and your web designer will work on an interpersonal level. And of course, it's always helpful to get feedback from your prospective site builder's customers, as well.

Here's what a typical* Right Brain website development plan includes:

• laying out, designing and implementing your site (gathering up existing content, creating new content, generating the code to bring the vision to reality)
• reserving a domain name for your site (yourgreatcompany.com)
• ensuring that your website appears and functions as designed on all major browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari)
• setting up e-mail accounts and addresses reflecting your chosen domain name (you@yourcompany.com, info@yourcompany.com, etc.),
• providing one year of ongoing support services, including regular updates to the website content
• tracking traffic to your website traffic via Google Analytics
• training your staff members who'll be checking on and responding to e-mail that your site generates
• creating a personalized CD containing pertinent website-related documents (account passwords, contact info, plan details, etc.), as well as instructional/tutorial videos illustrating the (sometimes easily-forgotten) steps for checking your newly-created e-mail accounts, etc.

*These items are commonly included, but, as a small company, Right Brain gets a pretty good feel for each of its customers, and develops a sense for their specific needs; this means that Right Brain will craft a highly-personalized website plan that allows you to maximize the value of your time, allowing you to focus on what you are best at, and leaving the rest to us.

No two websites are identical; as such, the cost for developing a site can vary widely, primarily depending on the site's overall complexity. For instance, the sites featured in the portfolio ranged from $1500 to around $5000 to develop (including the cost of one year of website hosting, content updates, and end-user training as well).

As your business grows and evolves, your website should grow along with it, always reflecting your latest products and services. As such, in addition to the initial cost of website development, there is also a recurring annual cost to cover updates to content, additions and upgrades to the site's functionality, and site hosting. It's worth remembering that all the costs associated with the development and maintenance of your website are advertising-related business expenses that you should claim on your company's tax return.

Send us an e-mail message to get the conversation going, and let's set up a time to talk (or perhaps conduct a video-chat, if that works better for you). After that, we'll be in a better position to provide you with a cost (and time) estimate.

First and foremost, you can expect to be treated with respect, and with a full appreciation for the fact that your most precious resource is your time--this means returning your calls and messages promptly, taking the time to find out about your business and your vision for it, answering all your questions clearly and honestly, and even means turning down work that, for whatever reason, won't suit your needs, can't be done in your ideal timeframe, or is simply beyond the scope of our expertise.

As a business-owner, you've invested much in building and maintaining your business; that fact is never lost on us. Creating and maintaining a vibrant web presence for your company is a task we undertake with the full awareness of the role that your website can play in your company's growth. Your website shouldn't simply be an online calling card--we want your website to be a reflection of the best your business has to offer, and we enjoy using every technology in our ever-expanding toolset to make that happen.

Perhaps your company has never had an online presence before--at Right Brain, we feel uniquely qualified to help you take that exciting step, and demystify as much of the process as possible, so that you feel completely comfortable as you expand your company's reach into a digital world that can seem complex and daunting.

Nothing gives us a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment than seeing other small businesses grow and prosper, knowing that perhaps we've had a small role in their growth.

As with the cost of developing a site, the time it takes to create a site varies considerably, from as little as two weeks to a couple of months, depending primarily on the site's overall size and complexity.

There are other factors (apart from complexity) that also have a large effect--it may surprise you to know that the time it takes to gather the content for a site is usually one of the biggest sources of delays. This is quite understandable, especially for small businesses which might never have had the need to consolidate their marketing materials in one medium (much less try to blend them together in a seamless whole). It's typical to have photos in dusty old albums, in addition to printed brochures and typed (or e-mailed) customer testimonials, all of which need to be gathered up and made "web-ready." Many of the images (and a good portion of the written text) you see in the websites featured in the portfolio section were in fact scanned and/or transcribed from their original form. It may seem a little daunting, but Right Brain can help--with the scanning, transcribing, and any other content preparation that's needed to craft an elegant, engaging and effective website for your business.

All websites developed by Right Brain employ the best established practices for site construction and organization, and conform to Google's guidelines for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This means that the websites will be effectively and regularly indexed by all major search engines, and will generate the best possible "organic" rankings.

In the course of working with you to craft the vision for your website, if we feel that your company will benefit from the services of a full-on SEO company, Right Brain can suggest a few reputable firms for you to work with. Since your Right Brain-designed site will already conform to the best practices for maximum "searchability," it will make an SEO company's job that much easier (and may even end up costing you less overall).

As handheld/mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) proliferate, this question becomes increasingly important. As such, you'll be glad to know that Right Brain can develop websites that are optimized for viewing on mobile devices. In fact, if you visit www.rightbraincomm.com on your smartphone, you'll automatically be redirected to the mobile version of our website!

Websites that are optimized for mobile devices look quite different from their "full" counterparts that are intended for viewing on the larger screens of laptop and desktop computers. The site structure and layout of mobile-optimized websites are designed to maximize the use of the small screens and are better suited for navigating the website using your fingers (instead of a mouse). If you feel that a good portion of your target audience will be viewing your website on mobile devices, Right Brain can develop a mobile-specific website in addition to a "full"/desktop site. Don't worry if you haven't considered this question before--the mobile website design arena is relatively new and continues to change rapidly; as with many other website-related questions, the answer usually becomes clear in the course of working with you to craft the vision for your online presence.

While we're on the subject of mobile websites, there's one other tidbit you ought to know about Right Brain--even if you're unsure about whether you need a mobile-specific site (or your budget precludes having one developed at the moment), our website design philosophy and best practices are such that your "regular" site will still be fully viewable "as is" on most mobile devices. Our strong preference for the use of open standards-based web technology means that your site will appear the same way on most mobile devices as it does on a desktop or laptop computer. There are good reasons for developing a mobile-specific site to accompany your "full" site, but, until you decide to do so, it's good to know that your company's web presence won't be lost in the rapidly growing mobile web!