Once the decision is made to get your own website, when should you begin work on it?

The best answer: as fast as you can! I’ll give you some reasons why.

First, you can’t enjoy the benefits of owning a website until it is actually launched. The benefits may include additional revenue, and also can mean less time invested in customer service problems. One common use of a website is to provide documentation and instructions for using your products on your website.

Secondly, aged domain names have a tendency to rank higher in Google searches than younger domains. So the older your domain, the better advantage you have in web searches.

Third, you can start promoting your site once it is launched. You will want to start your promotional efforts right away because they really add up over time.

Fourth, the sooner you get your website up and running, the sooner you can start “catching up” with your competitors.

Fifth, if most of your competitors do not have a website, starting a website today puts you that far ahead of the competition. People often think it’s too difficult to start their own site, so they put it off. Or they have heard horror stories about how much it costs to have a professional designer do it or how hard it is to get changes made.

Sixth, starting a website today (if it looks halfway decent) will make potential customers more comfortable in dealing with you. If they can check you out ahead of time, they often feel better about contacting you, and more importantly, spending their money with you.

Seventh, because the average person requires several different interactions with you before they will buy, a website can lessen the personal interactions required to induce your prospect to spend money with you. By including articles or documentation on your website, you can help the prospect get to a buying decision with little direct effort on your part.