Website

[leirl]

Hi I'm in the beginning of starting up my daycare. I've been lurking on the forum here and found a lot of great information.

What i would like to know is the pro's and cons you found in having a website?
What to include?
If any one has any I would be able to look at since I have no Idea of what to do.

[Momof4]

I don't have any cons at all because it hasn't cost me a penny and I get great comments about all my information and pictures on the website from parents. There is a contact sheet right on the site so people can send me an email directly so it makes it easier for them after finding my ad. I always have my website noted at the bottom of my ads. It's a great selling feature. I'm with freewebs.com.

[Artsand crafts]

Having a webpage is a great marketing tool for a home daycare. I don't see any cons about it. When I did mine I googled several home daycare webpages to get ideas of how to make mine. You can check webpages in daycare bear from other providers that are posting their website in their adds... The only thing I would recommend is not to make it similar to any of the providers in your area. You both could end up looking silly if parents find similar webpages from the same area and not taking you seriously... I've seen this in my area before and it's hard to know who is the real deal and doesn't look professional either.

[sunnydays]

Definitely no cons. It brings me clients all the time...a lot of the time, the parents are really eager once they have seen my website and they are almost ready to sign on with me before even meeting me. My adivce is to make sure your website is an accurate portrayal of you and your daycare...so don't promise anything on there that you don't think you can actually deliver and don't take pictures that are misleading. Parents will see the truth when they come to visit and they will feel duped if you have misrepresented your daycare or simply copied someone else's website. Good luck!