# Is it NECESSARY to have a website?



## LucasWorx (Aug 28, 2012)

At this day and age, I see that every business has a website, or at least a landing page.

But I just started my t-shirt line this month, and I have only two designs ready to be sold.

Does it still make sense to have a website, just to feature TWO products? 

It may look ridiculous to feature only two products on a website, so I don't plan on having it yet. 

But what if the buyers of retailers demand to see a website upfront? Moreover, some people say a brand without a website is not recognized as respectable. Is this the case?

What would be a solution?


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## equipmentzone (Mar 26, 2008)

If you want to taken seriously as a real company you must have a website. And your email address should have your company website name on it, not @gmail.com or @yahoo.com

_


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## ericsson2416 (Aug 29, 2007)

You need a website, even with just two designs. Put a story about you or the brand and what it stands for on there. Maybe have a place to post ideas for followers of the brand? A mailing list to join? News and updates in new designs? Answers to questions on sizes and how the shirts are printed..,.


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## PyramidPrintWrx (Jan 16, 2014)

Agree with all that's been said. When I'm looking to buy something, even looking for a local store, I look for the company website. If there isn't one, I wonder if they're legit, if they're still in business, or if they'll be around long. OTOH having a website doesn't mean any of those things, but the more information and references you can provide a potential customer, the better.

Even if it's just to showcase your company's brand, style, mission, values... or if you're a store or shop, your address and phone number. You can have a newsletter signup form to collect names & contact information, have your social media accounts linked, and can track with analytics how many people found your site and what they were looking for to get there which will help you plan.

It doesn't have to be fancy or cost a lot to build. You can get inexpensive hosting with a company like BlueHost, HostGator, etc, ($3-$7/month including domain name registration) and use Wordpress (free) to get started.


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## LucasWorx (Aug 28, 2012)

Thank you for your advice, everyone. 

I'm gonna put up at least a landing page for now, with an email address to contact me.


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## kimura-mma (Jul 26, 2008)

Yes, having a website is important.

But...

If you're focus is to sell to brick and mortar stores, then just start pounding the pavement with samples and line sheets. Buyers are not going to place a wholesale order through your website. They will place the order through you directly.


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## gscott (Jul 20, 2014)

hi,im about to jump into this, business,and was wondering how much does it cost for marketing


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## johnleisenberg (Jul 12, 2014)

Build a store on Etsy, it's free, their tutorials are excellent and they charge 4% when you sell. Worldwide audience. At least you'll be out there and it'll give you motivation to create more product.
john e.


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## matttehman (Jun 16, 2014)

ABSOLUTELY necessary! And it is so easy to build one nowadays, there is no excuse not to!


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## matttehman (Jun 16, 2014)

equipmentzone said:


> If you want to taken seriously as a real company you must have a website. And your email address should have your company website name on it, not @gmail.com or @yahoo.com
> 
> _


This is A+ advice. I cannot tell you how many times I have immediately written off someone as a business professional when I see their email address is @Hotmail.com.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

I'll disagree with the lot, here.

If you have a very large network of people you interact with often (county club, involved with local functions like little league, you're just a popular guy, etc), you can actually do just fine with a business card and a cell phone.

I would say that 90% of my retail shirt sales comes from handing out a business card. On the back we have an offer: "Bring in a friend to buy a shirt, your next shirt is free." And it works great.

Our primary retail website is atrocious. I keep wanting to just take it down, because all it does is gets people asking for quotes figuring we're going to compete with VistaPrint or some other wholesaler.

By sticking to face-to-face promotions, which I do often, I'm able to generate a lot of retail business without a strong online presence.

Of course, I have a store front in a popular part of town on a busy street, which helps. But I have considered working from a "I will visit you" door-to-door angle in this game, and I think it would work just fine.


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## selzler (Apr 4, 2007)

A site is necessary if you are selling items that are not custom done for each person. I use to have a site I only do custom embroidery and no longer have a website but I have a store front. I found the website was not for my business but I also do events and flea markets. I now do corp. logos more than any thing. But for what you are trying to do it sounds like it maybe what you need.


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## treefox2118 (Sep 23, 2010)

Even if you have your own garment line and unique designs, a website isn't necessary.

I see people selling their own designs (relatively generic) at street fest booths, flea markets, even just out of their backpacks.

One kid I know (a customer of mine that we print for) sells $500+ in profit a week out of his backpack. He's 18 or 19. Fills up his backpack with designs, and goes to places where people might want his gear (skateparks, outdoor concerts, city parks and beaches). He makes $5-10 profit from each t-shirt, and rolls the profits into buying more. And he does better than any of his friends working retail!


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## dcbevins (Jul 31, 2011)

LucasWorx said:


> At this day and age, I see that every business has a website, or at least a landing page.
> What would be a solution?


I used to work for a signage/screen printing/embroidery/vinyl shop not too many years ago. They had zero web visibility. You would be lucky to find their phone number via google. My job was mostly to keep the Roland cranking. 

We/they/I had orders stacked back *months*. More orders than we could shake a stick at and no sign of it slacking.

So I am just saying it there are still some business out there that have missed the whole web thing and still do well.


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## ericsson2416 (Aug 29, 2007)

There are a lot of good points here. I think it really comes down to your market and how you want to shape your business model. We started seven years ago in my garage so a website we key in people finding an email address to contact use. But if you plan to be like the guy at the skatepark or if you are in a smaller town where word of mouth can spread like wildfire then a website might not be as important . You gotta think how you want to communicate with customers.


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