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The benefits of having a website are virtually countless. But it all comes down to one fact: Without a website, you’re leaving money on the table for your competitors to snatch away from you. Here are 3 reasons you need to create a website.
There’s a good chance you spend a big chunk of your day online. Whether you’re browsing social media or ordering supplies for your company, the Internet is a vital tool for our daily lives. In fact, Americans spend nearly 24 hours a week online, on average — and you probably know more than a couple people who are online way more than that.
So what’s everyone looking at? Of course, people look for those cute cat videos or the latest Facebook update from their crush. But more importantly, people are looking for information.
People find at least 2 trillion answers on Google every year, but if your company doesn’t have a website, there’s one answer that searchers will never find:
Information about your business.
The benefits of having a website are virtually countless. But it all comes down to one fact: Without a website, you’re leaving money on the table for your competitors to snatch away from you.
Here are three big reasons why you need to create a website for your business:
“If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.” -Bill Gates
Even if you have a shop right on the square or in the heart of downtown, there’s a good chance you won’t get a lot of foot traffic just from passersby. Depending on which study you look at, at least half of all shoppers research products online before buying that product in a store.
If you don’t create a website showing off your goods and services, how will these shoppers know to come to your store?
What’s more, your website can be your storefront 24/7, 365 days a year. That means capturing sales, even when you’re tucked into bed at 3 a.m. It also means you can always put on a good face when you get a referral from an existing customer.
Potential customers probably can’t talk to you late at night about your services, but when you create a website, you can always show why you’re better than your competitors.
A survey from 2013 showed that over half of consumers will not trust a business that doesn’t have a website. As we become more and more reliant on the internet, that number is bound to only go up. Without a website, your business looks shady (at best). At worst, consumers may believe your company doesn’t exist, and will instead go to a competitor.
This can be especially devastating for small businesses, as those brands aren’t as well known. Yet, the task of creating a small business website is often overlooked. In fact, according to GoDaddy, about 6 in 10 small businesses don’t have a website. Instead, they rely on social media, business cards and other means to attract new customers.
As Bill Gates once said, “If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.” Luckily, creating a small business website can be done in an afternoon through site-building services.
Of course, to get the best small business site, you’ll need the help of a website developer who’s experienced with web design and development.
You may think you can simply rely on sites like Yelp to keep your brand relevant. After all, there are over 100 million reviews on that site. If that’s your mindset, you need to rethink your strategy immediately. After all, practically anyone can leave a review, and not all of them will be from real customers.
“Fine,” you think, “But I can just operate on social media. After all, it’s free!” Once again, practically anyone can leave reviews on social media, and the messaging in those reviews can seriously damage your reputation. Consider this: 91 percent of people will look at reviews before shopping at a store or buying a product — and 84 percent of them will believe what they read.
Creating a website is the only sure way to ensure you maintain control of your branding. You keep complete control over the messaging and design of your website, allowing you to dictate what is said, both in the site content itself and in the curated reviews you allow to be posted.
When you create a website, you can position yourself to actually go after the customers you want. Social media and other outlets are a great supplement, but you have to play by their rules — and those rules are strictly enforced.
The benefits of having a website have never been clearer. If you are content with simply hoping potential customers will remember your name and your brand after you walk away, maybe you don’t need to create a website.
But if you’re ready to take control of your own destiny by making it easy for potential customers to remember you and buy products or services whenever they want, it’s time to create a website. Don’t let your competitors beat you simply because your potential customers can’t find you.
If you already have a website, take a moment and click through it as if you were a customer. Is it as easy to navigate as it should be? Do customers have to go through layers of pages to find whatever it is you sell? If so, consider revamping your web design and development with the help of an experienced website developer — especially if you have a small business website.
At Total Site Web Services, we’ve helped businesses large and small take control of their online presence with beautiful, effective websites. We can do the same for you.
Contact us today for a free quote and to learn more about how we can help your business thrive!
