Since I’ve been working for dairy farmers, I’ve answered a lot of questions about if you need a farm website and how to build one. Here’s a quick-link reference to these older posts that will help get you up to speed on building a website and you can always reach out to your local checkoff if you need more personal help (or myself at don.schindler@dairy.org – I’m happy to help).
Should you have a website?
Short answer, yes. Every business needs one because that’s how people find your farm and you can control the message on the website. It’s also a keepsake for the farm – a dairy diary of your proud history.
Six reasons why you should have a farm website
What’s a domain name and where can I get one?
Domain names are like addresses on the internet. They are not your website but they point to it.
Buying a domain name for your farm
Can I build my own farm website?
Yes, you can but do you really want to? Today’s website builders are pretty good compared to back in the day, but do you have the time? Do you have the ability to write the history and marketing, take beautiful photos and do some farm tour videos? You are going to need all of these things to make a good website. My recommendation is a good local professional can save you a lot of time and effort (and potentially help you make money if you sell merchandise on the website).
How to choose the right website builder
What should be on your farm website?
There’s a lot here that consumers want to know about why you farm, how it benefits them, how you are taking care of the cows, the land and your employees. Here’s a template to help you get started.
What should be included on your farm website?
Finally, if I have a website should I worry about social media?
Yes, because this is how you’ll get in front of your consumers and drive them to your website so they can see your wonderful photos, videos and read your content.
Should your farm focus on a website or social media?
Remember if you need more help, please reach out to your local dairy checkoff to find out what resources they offer to help farmers with digital promotion.
To learn more about your national and local dairy checkoffs, visit www.USDairy.com or send a request to join our Dairy Checkoff Facebook group.
This was originally posted on Hoard’s Dairyman.