One of the things I'm having to explain to clients who have never had a website is the inherent flexibility. Newcomers to the web are often so used to print media that they think that web sites have the same advantages and disadvantages. Thankfully, that is not the case.

Let's say you are creating a website that is nothing more than a glorified online brochure. It's okay, that type of site is better than nothing at all on the web. And here's why. Let's say you create a brochure with the exact same information as your website. You have 5,000 copies of the brochure printed up. Three months down the road, a opportunity comes up for your business to go a different direction. Well, now what will you do?

As far as the brochures go, you're pretty much stuck with them. There's not much you can do with the 4,000+ brochures you have left, aside from shredding them and using them as packing material. The website, however, is a completely different story. You can take all references to the old direction of the business out, and convert it to the new direction.

Of course, if brochures have worked for you in the past, you certainly shouldn't get rid of them totally. However, you might consider going to a smaller brochure that gives just enough specific information to entice the reader, then direct them to your website. Make sure that your brochure has just the information on it that is unlikely to change.

Tim Priebe

Tim is the owner and senior web designer at T&S Web Design. His company has developed and maintained website for dozens of small businesses and organizations. Tim also maintains a blog with free website advice for small business owners.