When your client wants a web site just because it looks bad not to have one

Twice this week it happened. I was asked to write web copy for a client putting up a web site for the very first time. And in each case, when I asked what the client hoped to achieve with the site, I got the same answer: To not look like a schlock organization that doesn't have a web site.

Honestly, that's not such a crazy reason.

Both clients get most of their work via word-of-mouth, or from an existing base of small clients who already know them well and are open to up-selling. That doesn't mean they'd never seek new clients, but neither believes the web site can help them do the job as well as client referrals, social media or other methods. Both can be found on Google even without their own site.

And yet both have a sense that they don't quite come off as fully established businesses without their own sites. It's 2016. Every business has a web site! Unless they can't afford one, or don't understand the Internet, or whatever it is they're afraid people are thinking.

So, two questions: 1. Is this really a legitimate reason to launch a web site? My answer would be yes, as long as you're not spending too much time or money on it (although you obviously want the site you do put up to look clean and professional). 2. How do you approach a site established for this reason? Even if you don't think the site is a key part of your marketing/branding strategy, it still represents you, and it's still a chance to put forward your unique value proposition. So use the 35 seconds (if that) a visitor may give you, and make it impossible for them to miss the one thing that sets you apart from everyone else in the industry. That plus your hours, contact information key services, social media links, etc. You've pretty well got it.

Of course, there's a lot more you can do with your web site if you really believe in its value. Blog posts. News links. Social media integration. Video. You can go nuts, and many are enjoying the benefits of having done so. But I can understand the sentiment that you need to have one just to have one. And as a copywriter, it's my job to do better than writing, "Welcome to the web site we put up just because we thought we had to."

Yeah. Much better.