Posted: 11th Nov, 2003 By: MarkJ
New research from UK ISP
BTOpenworld has found SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) to be failing when it comes to the online realm. One in four often doesnt update their website on a regular basis:
INTERNET APATHY LEAVES SMES WANDERING IN A WEB WILDERNESS
British SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises) could be missing a trick on the internet because one in four fails to update their website on a regular basis.
BT Openworld, the UK's number one business ISP, is warning SMEs that they are in danger of falling into a 'web wilderness' by relying on sites which no longer present an accurate picture of their business or service offerings.
By neglecting to keep important information such as product and contact details up-to-date, small businesses are jeopardising future sales and risk losing customers.
Neville Manuel, vice-president of value-added services at BT Openworld, said: "It's all well and good to promote an online presence, but if the site you're directed to contains out-of-date information, or links to blank pages, you create a bad impression. This can easily be enough to lose sales."
The most common areas of website neglect are company news, product information and contact details. Incorrect location details and broken links often go unnoticed for weeks, as do contact details for people who have left the company or special offers that have expired.
"The average small business has just £500 to spend on internet applications each year," added Manual. "However, the huge range of web tools on the market means this can be sufficient. You no longer need to be highly technical to be a web guru. Updating the site yourself is often the most cost-effective means to make this sum go a long way."