10 reasons why you need a website for your business
If your business has come this far without a website, you may be asking yourself: do I need a website for my business? What’s the point if my business is already thriving without a website?
The short answer is that there has never been a better or more important time to invest in a website for your business. A website offers a wide variety of benefits to small businesses, and most of these benefits are growing exponentially year after year, just like the Internet itself.
Not convinced? We’ve put together ten of the biggest benefits your small business can get from even a simple website.
Ten reasons why you need a website for your small business
1. A website gives you a professional image
84% of today’s consumers think a website makes your business more credible than businesses that only have social media profiles. Your website is also the perfect place to showcase any professional certifications or awards your company has.
In addition, having your own website allows you to create a branded email address (e.g. mbote@princeyoulou.com), which adds a level of professionalism to all your correspondence, especially if you’ve used a personal email address to conduct business until now.
2. Your website can attract new customers through Google
You may be happy with the current size of your business, but every company experiences customer turnover. To foster continued success, you need to attract new customers, and one of the best ways to do that is to make yourself visible on Google.
A well-optimized website can help your business rank well for a variety of search terms and attract a steady stream of new customers. There are several free SEO tools that make it easy to optimize your website without any prior training.
3. You can clearly present your products and services
You can show potential customers what they will get from working with you by posting high-quality photographs on your website. Take a look at how 242 Tacos Street Restaurant accomplished this on their website:
You can also use your website design, as well as featured images, to give people a sense of what it feels like to enter your physical location. This works especially well if your brand is closely tied to the “feel” of your location.
You can also post important information about your products and services on your website to ensure you attract the right customers. For example, if you run a restaurant, you can list gluten-free items on your menu so that people with celiac disease or other conditions that make gluten unsafe know that they can eat at your establishment.
4. You can display your top reviews and testimonials prominently on your website
Displaying your top reviews and/or testimonials prominently on your website is a great way to establish social proof. These can be personal testimonials from customers.
If your business has been featured in popular local newspaper articles or blogs, you can also highlight them, as Verone Mankou did below:
A secondary purpose of publishing your top reviews on your website is to create a permanent archive. This means that even if third-party review sites close at some point in the future, you will still have access to your top reviews.
5. A website can encourage customers to contact you
A website is a great place to make your contact information available to potential customers. You can even publish your contact information in a header or footer so that it appears on every page. Snakes and Lattes, a small chain of board game cafes, placed the phone numbers of its four locations in the footer of its website:
6. You can integrate your website with Google Maps to make it easier for people to find you
A website allows you to embed maps directly into your content. Some businesses embed a map directly on their homepage:
If your business has come this far without a website, you may be asking yourself: do I need a website for my business? This is especially helpful if you are hosting events, as they can attract people who would not spend their time in the area where your business is located.
7. Your site establishes your place in the industry
If your competitors aren’t online yet, they probably will be soon. Establish your position as a leader in your field by starting with a high-quality website.
If your competitors are online, you have another opportunity: you can create a website that is completely different from those of your competitors, showing potential customers what sets your business apart.
8. A website is no longer intimidating to create and manage
Modern website builders like Squarespace and Wix make it easy for you to create an attractive, mobile-friendly site without any knowledge of code. Even WordPress, the most popular way to create a website, has switched to a block-based editor:
In other words, it has never been easier to create a functional and aesthetic website.
9. Ensure your long-term success
By 2020, nearly 4.54 billion people (59% of the world’s population) will be using the internet, and more and more people are going online.
Without a website, your business is invisible to these people. As we move into the digital age, your business will become invisible to everyone if you don’t invest in a website.
So to stay competitive in this increasingly digital world, your business must go online.
10. You can enjoy all these benefits without spending a fortune
Creating a website is not only easier than it used to be, it’s also more affordable. If you’re willing to take a simple, non-technical DIY approach, you can create a website for as little as $70 a year.
WordPress, again the most popular way to create a website, is completely free for the basic software.
So, do I need a website for my business? The final verdict
I hope by now you’ve realized that the question is not “do I need a website for my business”, but “can I afford not to have a website in the digital age”. And the answer, if you want to continue to thrive in the long run, is no. A website is one of the best investments a business can make for its future.
If you’re ready to get started, contact me and I’ll be happy to help you with your project.
Finally, if you have any questions about starting a website for your small business, ask them in the comments section below!
