Businesses in Toledo

Probably something else Carty wants to tax.

4toledobytoledo, who do you recommend i hire if my business needs a website?

What I find aggrivating as hell is the websites that people DO have are so poor! Good question from Upso as to who to use - if you find one you still need to do your own proofing.

I can list at least three local businesses right off the top of my head who's websites dont even list their hours of operation!!

Most were found by me on weekends when I was trying to see if they were open on sundays or not.

Man, that's as big a mistake as approving a radio ad where they mispronounce your name, or address (which I also hear all the time...) Who would pay for that??

whoever did upso.org does a nice job. Is that guy for hire. ;)

The problem with small businesses is that they don't have (or unwilling to) spend the time and/or the resources to dedicate for design or maintaining a good website. In a previously life, I used to set up web hosting accounts for small businesses and in general when they called to set something up, they didn’t realized what it take to design one, or how much they had to pay for someone to do it for them (We didn’t design, just hosted) In general, the result was 2 basic approaches.. Can’t afford it.. do without one, or pay for hosting but not design… so they would have Suzy Secretary throw together something using a basic FrontPage template, and upload it. It’s amazing how many small business websites had the same look.

so true

I found a great local company called BEK designs they do top notch work.. also there prices are vary reasonably.

Check Them out at www.bekdesigns.com

No doubt it can get expensive if you want a highly customized website, but the barriers to entry to get your business online are lower than ever. Hosting plans cost $5-10 per month, and there are literally thousands of free or low-cost templates that can be set up in minutes. If you really want to get online quick, set up a blog at Blogger.com for FREE.

Beyond that, businesses can use other free online tools to increase their web presence. They easily can connect and communicate directly with their potential customers on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn (both free). Getting a listing on sites like Yelp or Kudzu (yes, both free) will let customers share positive reviews about the business.

My point is that it's easier than ever to have a significant presence online, even if you can't afford a custom website design. In fact, there's a story in this month's issue of Entrepreneur Magazine about free and low-cost web tools for small businesses ... here's a link to the story: http://is.gd/deK7.

You have a valid point now about pricing for hosting, but the issue also is the time it takes to learn, and set up this stuff. Unless the Business is a Computer/electronics shop, chances are the owners or employees are not going to have and/or take the time to learn the applications to use the properly. Yes.. to you and me, something online make take only a few minutes to set up, but we are "Pros" as far is doing stuff online. Now take someone who spends most of their life running a business that sells crosstitching supplies. What are the chances they are going to have the same skills as we do? Something like setting up a basic website, even with all the tools in the world, still isn't going to be a easy endeavor for them. For us, setting up a basic webpage is something we can do without thinking about, for allot of small businesses owners it along the line of teaching them Spanish.

I think 30lines is onthe right track. If you are online using it for whatever reasons, you can easily figure out most of these free services and create a home for your small biz online.

But if you are in the market for a web presence that is uniquely yours, you get what you pay for and from my experience most Toledo small businesses don't quite understand that.

Toledo Owners need to think outside the box when it comes to web site, design, and optimization. A web site is THE ONLY tool that can be used for all aspects of a business operation and with marketing, single handedly creates an augmented solution if designed right.

THINK WEB 2.0
BLOGS, TAGS, MULTIMEDIA!

IF companies are spending money on marketing interns to write a bunch of content on their site, they are not WEB 2.0

Put the power in the consumers hands.. LISTEN TO THEM..

then you will see just how effective your web-site can be.

Your numbers can increase with simple little ideas. Its just if they are willing to let the little man speak.

There are few people in this city who know what the future holds for DIGITAL MARKETING, its just if Toledo is willing to jump on board and come along for the ride too.

Yelling WEB 2.0! is not going to mean much to most small biz owners in Toledo, sadly. Most have little to no web presence in the first place, let alone the capacity to moderate crowd-sourced content.

Well with a little micro-management these companies could get people who actually go to that business to relate back on business suggestions and gossip. Like I said..

"Your numbers can increase with simple little ideas. Its just if they are willing to let the little man speak."

@drunkenwildmage: My point is that businesses can now have a significant web presence without an expensive website or any design/programming knowledge. You only need to know how to read and type to create an account on Yelp, LinkedIn, or even ToledoTalk ... all are perfectly good places to communicate with your customers and prospects.

@toledolen: I agree with your point about "WEB 2.0." Forget the jargon. I'm a big believer in the "Duct Tape Marketing" approach, but I do think that alexrolfe is right about listening to your audience. Tools as simple as Google Alerts are easy ways to stay in tune with online chatter, without investing a lot of time or effort.

its interesting that this thread has provoked responses from brand new toledtalk users. one gets the feeling some of these are fake accounts...

ha ha Well I might be a little cheesy but not fake. I am a student at UT and the professors are all hyped about this 2.0 stuff. Just imagine if Toledo mocked San Francisco, with WAN Wi-Fi, PRO small business, and fun marketing campaigns that spark community interests?

I know it is a far shot, but just imagine the capabilities of our TOL.

@nits: I'm a UT grad transplanted to Florida, but I'm still a big fan of Toledo, and I definitely stay current with the Toledo marketplace and all of its benefits/shortcomings. It's good to see a spirited conversation about how Toledo businesses are keeping up with the times, and how they can get better.

@alexrolfe: Keep fighting the good fight, my friend. I think Toledo has all the potential in the world to be a great city again.

OK..I agree..For Businesses to grow not, they need to have a web/internet presence. Granted things have gotten easier for them to get on the web, but still there are some things that appear as obstacles for a Business not setting up a website. That goes back to time and money. They don' think they have time it takes to set up something, and/or the money to maintain a "proper" website.

OK..I agree..For Businesses to grow now, they need to have a web/internet presence. Granted things have gotten easier for them to get on the web, but still there are some things that appear as obstacles for a Business not setting up a website. That goes back to time and money. They don' think they have time it takes to set up something, and/or the money to maintain a "proper" website.

it really does seem like this page is full of fake accounts. why else are these new people only posting on this page? i call a scam