If you’re starting out in business or you’re already running a somewhat successful business, one of the most frequent questions that may come to your mind is: Do I need a website?
For us, having a web presence is almost a necessity for businesses to thrive in this day and age. However, you might believe that having a website up will not really make a significant difference to your business, especially if you’re already making sales.
In order to help you answer the above question, this article will go through some of the reasons why having a website for your business is a great idea. But we will also take a glance at some of the reasons why you might not need one. Stay tuned.
Do I need a website? – 12 reasons why you do
1. It’s easy to set up
Long gone are the days when you would have to create a website from scratch. Modern website builders such as Wix and Squarespace allow you to easily create attractive, user-friendly websites even if you have zero code knowledge.
Even WordPress, an extremely popular platform that used to heavily rely on code, has transformed into a block editor. In other words, it has become easier to use when trying to create an attractive, functional website.
2. It makes you look professional
Having a website up makes you look professional. Unlike a regular company page on a social media website such as Facebook or LinkedIn, a website gives you some sort of credibility.
After all, people will assume that you spent money to create and manage your website, which in one way or another indicates that you’re serious about running a business.
3. It acts as a digital business card
In the UK, the average number of hours a week that an adult spends using the Internet is around 25 hours. That means that the chances of someone stumbling on your website are decent, especially if it’s well-built and they happen to be specifically looking for your business or the products/services you offer.
And your website will basically act as a permanent digital business card for your brand. People can visit it over and over again to get information such as your location, services and products offered, contact info, and more.
4. It increases your visibility
As of January of last year, there were around 4.66 billion active Internet users in the world, that’s more than half of the global population.
And without having a website up and running, you can miss out on all of these people. Indeed, with major world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people are resorting to the online world to find businesses that can satisfy their daily needs.
5. It attracts new customers
It’s within the realm of possibility that you’re happy with your current customer base. However, there are very few businesses that don’t want more fresh leads or customers because, without them, your business could eventually fail.
Websites can act as a gateway for new people to find out about you. Indeed, through the numerous practices known as digital marketing, business owners and webmasters can try to make their websites more visible to people on the Internet. This can include SEO, Facebook Ads, Google PPC, and many more.
When it comes to SEO, this is done in a way where once someone Googles something related to your business and the products or services that you offer, your website will be amongst the first results that show to them.
Any positive comment about your business, your products or services can function as social proof. Indeed, these online sentiments act as proof that your company, its products, and its services are great.
It’s also important to note that around 88% of consumers consider online user reviews to be as important as personal recommendations. And what better place to display positive user reviews and testimonials than on your website?
We also recommend that you feature any (positive) mentions of your business in online articles, blogs, or local newspapers.
Besides serving as social proof, including such reviews can also serve the purpose of an archive. In other words, if some of the third-party review sites that mention you close shop in your future, you and your visitors will still have access to those reviews.
Rockstar Marketing does this by displaying the testimonials of our clients:
7. It encourages people to contact you
A website is a good place to include your contact information for potential or existing customers to reach out to you. This helps you to establish a clear line of communication as well as create a sense of responsibility and transparency.
You can also set up a contact form on your website, which can help protect your email from spam.
Rockstar Marketing does this by displaying a “contact us” button wherever it’s naturally possible:
8. It ensures long-term success
As we have mentioned before, more than half of the global population is currently using the Internet, and there is no way for that number to go but up. As a result, more and more businesses are establishing an online presence to stay relevant.
What this means is that competition for attention in the digital world is increasingly high. Having a website is the first important step into this world.
9. It allows you to sell online
In 2021, eCommerce sales rounded up to 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide and were expected to reach about 7.4 trillion dollars in 3 years’ time. And while COVID-19 helped to greatly accelerate this number, it still is an inevitable outcome in this day and age.
So, we’re guessing by now that you can see the potential in this. After all, there is a huge number of people who would only order products online and refuse to be physically present. Even in instances where it is impossible for you to open your physical store, you can still sell and ship your products to people’s doorsteps.
Of course, your website can also be used to sell services instead of physical products. That’s what we do at Rockstar Marketing through our services’ pages.
10. It provides quality customer service
A well-built website usually contains a lot of information that existing or potential customers might need. This way, none of them will have to call you to email you to ask about something simple such as your location, hours of operation, and more.
Having an effective website can drastically improve the overall experience of customers. Additionally, you can include dedicated customer service on your website. That’s especially useful if you are a big business with a huge number of customers at once.
11. It spurs competition
Your competitors, local or national, most likely have a website of their own, and this gives them an edge over you. So, in the name of staying relevant and highly competitive within your field, it’s important that you create a website that represents your business.
12. It’s a crucial step in a customer’s journey
A well-made website is usually where most of your audience ends up, regardless of what channel they originated from. And on your website is where people will be inspired to take action and potentially become your clients.
Think of your website as a physical shop, people will be walking by (surfing the Internet), and they might just decide to come in and take a look at what you have in store. And even if they don’t buy anything from their first visit, they will still be interested in your business.
Do I need a website? – 4 reasons why you don’t
1. You’re not looking for growth
One of the main reasons for having a functional and attractive website is to continuously increase the number of customers that your business has. However, if, as a business owner, you feel that your business has grown enough and you have little to no reason to try and attract new clients, then there is no point in having a website. If this is you, consider yourself lucky!
2. Your business isn’t digital-oriented
Many people’s “business” is something as straightforward as being a plumber, for example. Such businesses rarely need a website to run a successful business. Unlike us, a marketing agency, for example, where it is beyond necessary to have a running website.
Plus, many of these businesses already have enough information on them on online directories such as social media. As a result, having a website up would be a waste of time and money.
Of course, as a plumber, it’s likely that you’d still benefit from a well-developed site with good SEO. That’s because it can bring in plenty of valuable leads without much effort on your part. In other words, you need to do your own due diligence and see how your competitors are getting new clients. If some of them are doing it through a website, you shouldn’t miss that train.
3. You serve a small community
If your business has been serving a small-knit community for years and you have no plans to expand outside of those geographical limitations, then there is really no reason for you to make a website.
4. You don’t have the budget
If you don’t have the money or the time to develop a functional and aesthetically pleasing website, then don’t bother. If you’re a well-established business, having no website at all is honestly better than having a bad, dysfunctional one.
Do you need a website but can’t create one? Let our experts help
If you’ve decided that your business does indeed need a website but found yourself incapable of creating one, send us a message immediately. One of our website design and development experts will get in touch promptly to help out.
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