Even recently considered a novelty, your website is now the single most important element of your marketing program. Unfortunately, a lot of us still think of a web development project as something to hand off to the neighbor kid who's "great with computers". Would you let the neighbor kid create your spa marketing strategy? Probably not, but that's exactly what ends up happening to many businesses who try this approach. In fact, many spas we've worked with have been down the web development road with three or four different individuals who haven't been able to "get it." One client we're working with currently had his entire website rendered obsolete when the guy he hired had a computer crash, with no backup!

Your website represents your company to the world and touches your customer in many ways. While great design is essential to a successful site, the functionality of your website is the most important element. So what does "functionality" really mean? These days, your customers expect your website to be more than just an online brochure. Can your customers buy your products or gift certificates through your website? Can they book appointments online or sign up for email updates and specials? By making your website truly functional rather than just decorative, you're increasing the efficiency of your business. Your website allows your customers to do business with you 24/7, at their convenience. During busy holiday gift-buying seasons, convenience is everything to your customer. A sale delayed is usually a sale lost.

Just like your business, your website should deliver the best customer service possible. Customer service requires industry-specific business insights, strategies and skills that most "semi-pro" web developers simply don't have.

Offering your customers a way to conveniently purchase Gift Certificates through a dedicated system like our own GCOS system has several advantages over email. A dedicated system allows your customers to give you all the critical information you require to fulfill their orders quickly and efficiently. What happens if that email is lost? You have an upset customer. A dedicated system lets you track your GC orders, and allows you to place orders over the phone, edit, delete or fulfill an order all through one program. The image of your company is also enhanced by an appealing and easy-to-use interface. Most importantly though, a dedicated GC ordering system is secure, giving your customers peace of mind that their credit card information isn't being sent via (insecure) email.

There are many ways to go to secure web hosting. Nearly every phone company, cable provider and neighbor's kid offer their services as a place to park your website. DVI Web Works offers secure and reliable web hosting, but we include something extra in our monthly and annual plans: up to one hour of maintenance, content changes and technical suport. You can rest easy knowing that your critical business data is zealously protected and your website is consistently up and running. But what good is mere reliability if your customers keep seeing the same web page month after month? Your business website needs content updates to remain compelling, and a Web Management plan from DVI Web Works allows you to stay fresh all for one low price.