 "Google To Offer Free Websites To Indian SMEs")
Google India has announced the launch of a nationwide initiative to help small medium enterprises (SMEs) in India to get online with a free website, personalised domain and hosting. Called ‘India Get Your Business Online,’ this initiative aims to break down the barriers that stop small enterprises from getting online - by offering a quick, easy and free tool to set up and host a website. Google’s goal is to help 500,000 SMEs in India to get online in next three years through this program, working with web hosting provider HostGator. Small business owners in India can logon to www.indiagetonline.in and use the tool to get a get a free, easy-to-build website and web hosting for one year powered by HostGator. Businesses also get a customised domain .in name and free tools, training and resources to succeed online.
“Google has always believed in the power of the Internet to help small businesses thrive and to make people’s lives easier by making information more accessible and useful. We recognise India as a high growth and high potential Internet market in the world and we’re committed to play the role of a catalyst to bring the benefits of the internet economy to small and medium businesses in India. We have received tremendous response to this initiative in other countries and we’re very excited to bring this initiative to India and empower local businesses as more and more Indian users get online,” said Nikesh Arora SVP & Chief Business Officer of Google Inc.
While India is home to an estimated 8 million small and medium businesses, only about 400,000 have a website. The initiative is designed to bridge the information gap that exists online due to the lack of presence of local Indian businesses on the Internet. Businesses often believe that getting online is too complex, costly and time-consuming; this perception prevents many SMEs from taking the first step towards building an online presence. Google India and HostGator plan to change that through this initiative. In addition, HostGator will also offer free support in creating, hosting and managing the website for a period of one year without any cost through its toll free call centers 1800-266-3000.
“SMEs form a very substantial part of our global customer base and we are committed to offer world class service to Indian SMEs. With Google, we have the perfect partner and we are very excited about the opportunity this represents for small and medium businesses in India. We will do our best to help out business in India build their online presence and also offer 24/7 support through our call center.” said Taylor Hawes, Marketing head of HostGator.com.
India get your business online program is also supported by Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), popularly known as FISME. FISME, the non-profit organisation will work with Google India to help SMBs get online through direct customer outreach and events.