i certainly think they're worth it!
i had a lot of fun building mine (and a lot of headaches, but i digress)
it's a great tool to supplement forum postings, classified listings, etc. when i post a for sale ad on a forum i will throw up a couple photos, and also include the link to see the rest of the available animals.
squamishserpents.ca/available
i'm not sure my "available" page is as professional as it could be, but if you click on any one photo, it will give you ALL the information pertaining to that exact snake, as well as a link where you can make an email inquiry about the particular snake you're interested in. that way customers don't have to be involved with my complicated ID #'s, they can see what is available and what has already sold, and the website has a lot of other things.
some pages are not done yet, but i also have a spot showing off racks and enclosures:
squamishserpents.ca/snakery/facility
the rodent-breeding side of things:
squamishserpents.ca/snakery/rodents
and my blog. the News section is a place where i can update what's going on with pairings and clutches, or just post random thoughts: squamishserpents.ca/news
i think if you have an eye-catching and easy to use website, it will for sure bring you more business. especially if you also have some educational stuff on there.
i just recently added this page: Can I Keep Multiple Snakes in One Enclosure?. and whenever somebody asks me about co-habbing, i can point them there!
building a website isn't for everyone though. as easy as Wordpress is, my website did take a LOT of frustration and fine-tuning. it's been about a year in the making and it's still not done. (though mostly because i'm lazy...)
so in my opinion yes, a website is essential if you're a big-time breeder. if you just have a couple clutches then perhaps it's not worth the hassle. and definitely not worth the money to pay somebody else to do it!
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