So we know that a call to action is essential, that business blogging is the way forward on so many levels that it just needs to be done and that websites are more than online brochures in the world of Web 2.0. But let’s be realistic – if you are a small company or a start-up business in the current economic climate with credit nearly impossible to come by and possibly facing incredibly tough times do you really have the money to spend on a website? On marketing?

There are lots of companies, big and small, who offer websites for a very achievable sum of money – from as little as £399 upwards. I was recently doing some competitive analysis into law firms which resulted in my looking at a number of different company websites where the sites that were built using the off-the-shelf type of web packages tended to stand out and not in a favourable way. This doesn’t mean that they are all rubbish and a waste of time and effort but when they’re done badly, they’re done really badly.

Although they cost a bit more money you are often better off spending more to get a bespoke service tailored to your needs that will provide a website that can work harder for you and give you a higher ROI.