Brooke Schmill
bschmill@gmail.com
Something that has been a continual frustration for me since I have lived here is the lack of websites for small businesses. This annoyance kicked off about two years ago when I was new to town and looking for a hair salon. I could not find a website for a local business, only the corporate chains. Finding simple hours of operation was impossible. I went to two places, just to find them closed. Finally, I randomly walked into a salon that appeared chic from the outside. Fate gave me a great stylist I’ve gone to ever since.
For this article, just to make sure my point was still valid, I re-visited a number of businesses that I tried to find those websites I mentioned from before. Sure enough, when I Google searched “salons Laramie” only eight out of the 20 results had working websites.
Beauty Salons are not the only businesses in Laramie I am talking about. For this piece, I looked up websites for random businesses (such as restaurants) and the same thing happened. I was given a Facebook, Google information, Yelp information, Laramie Live data etc.
Any information provided is helpful and most businesses put effort into a Facebook page. However, I don’t view Facebook as a professional image for a business. I think it is a business’s responsibility to provide necessary information themselves on their own platform. To me, Facebook is a blog opportunity for a business to keep already loyal customers up-to-date with information, promotions, holiday hours, special events etc. Searching a Facebook page for ten minutes trying to find a menu PDF for a popular, established Laramie restaurant is just annoying. I know from experience that a local restaurant is great, but as a visitor new to an area I would have no clue. Laramie is one of the most- if not the most- diverse city in the state and I think people who move here are confused by how behind the times not having a website is. Corporations are not exempt from my frustration either. Trying to find location specific information is not as easy as it should be.
A town like Laramie has a sense of community that is rare to find. I love the nostalgic feeling that partners with a small town. I know from experience the community partnership is a challenge for cities much larger to replicate. Along with this- I full heartily support small businesses and the purposes that small businesses have. That being said, there is nothing wrong with local businesses trying to matching the success of comparable businesses in larger cities, who have excellent websites. I think by making effort and investing in the expense of a website, whether the expense is time personally creating a website or paying for one, businesses in this town would instantly modernize and create a competitive image for themselves.
On a final note, if a business still does not want to create a website, or don’t believe they need one, they ought to at least minimally dedicate to keeping their Facebook page professional, frequently updated and as free from errors as possible.
