Over half of UK consumers (53 per cent) would walk away from any business that does not have a website, according to a survey released today. The research, commissioned by 1&1 Internet, Europe’s largest web hosting and domain name registration company, also found that 1 in 5 small business still do not recognise the importance consumers place upon a web presence. There was also huge confusion within businesses over the cost and time needed to create a website.
Research carried out by Tickbox.Net identified that in addition to the 53 per cent of consumers who would walk away from a business with no web presence, even more of Britain’s 3.7 million SMEs could be losing sales if they have a poor quality website. The results found that 85 per cent of consumers have more doubts or reservations buying from a business with a poor quality website. A further survey, conducted by Coleman Parkes Research , worryingly reveals that despite these overwhelming figures, 1 in 5 UK SMEs do not recognise the importance the public places upon a web presence, and a further 1 in 5 businesses do not believe that a substandard website could have any negative effect on sales.
Andreas Gauger, CEO 1&1 Internet, said “It is clear that consumers nowadays expect every business to have a professional web presence and are turned-off by second-rate websites, yet clearly many SMEs are confused over the importance of the issue. If businesses want to maximise sales, they must be online with a website that gives the right impression.”
The research also found there to be widespread confusion within the UK small business community over the costs and time involved in creating a website. 1&1 advises that it takes less then 30 minutes to create a website. However, over two thirds of SMEs (67 per cent) believe it would take 10 times longer and nearly two thirds (63 per cent) over-estimated the costs by an astounding 400 per cent. In addition, 73 per cent of small businesses admitted they would not feel confident tackling a build-your-own, DIY style website package . The findings suggest that misconceptions could be leading many UK businesses to miss out unnecessarily on a critical Internet presence.
Gauger added, “It is concerning to see that in 2006 so many UK businesses are misinformed about the minimal cost and time needed to build a simple website. Any business owner can easily set up a website themselves for under £40 a year and within 30 minutes – it may prove to be the most worthwhile half an hour they spend this year.”
For more information on 1&1 Internet Ltd visit the website at www.1and1.co.uk
About 1&1 Internet Ltd:
1&1 Internet Ltd based in Slough, west of London, is Europe’s No.1 web hosting and domain name registration company. 1&1 Internet Ltd is the UK arm of 1&1 Internet AG based in Germany (a subsidiary of United Internet Group, a public company of some 6,000 employees). 1&1 was established in 1992 and holds 5 million British, German, French, Austrian and US customer contracts and serves over 5 million domain names at its 30,000 server strong European Data Centres. 1&1 prides itself on being the one-stop-shop for web solutions.
1&1 Internet Ltd entered the UK domain registration and web hosting market in June 2000. As a well funded profitable company, it is in a strong position to deliver a high quality service at low cost. 1&1 is an accredited Registrar with ICANN (.com), Nominet (.co.uk), Afilias (.info) and NeuLevel (.biz). 1&1 are also Microsoft Joint Development Partners being the first to launch Microsoft .NET Server 2003 hosting in Europe.
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