9 reasons why website creation for small businesses is important, especially to increase your business sales!
If you’re a small business owner or just starting out, like many, you might think there’s no benefit to having a website when you can do it all on social media. Or maybe you think you can’t afford a professional site so you get a freebie and do it yourself.
Maybe you’re in the generation that didn’t grow up with computers; you don’t use a computer so you think your customers don’t use it. You think if you are not tech savvy why bother with a website. But even if you’re an established business that has built on word of mouth and thinks it’s doing great thanks, there are several reasons why your business needs an institutional website as well.
I believe that even with all you can do on social media, and even if you’ve been in business for several decades, unless you don’t want to grow your business or you’re about to retire and travel the world, your business You need a website and preferably one that is professionally designed by a Web designing in Tinley Park.
Here are 9 reasons why your business needs a website
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Your business will gain credibility
More and more people are looking online for things they want, for solutions to their problems, to compare prices, or just to get some information about a store, restaurant or business before buying from them. If you don’t have a website, potential customers will go to your competitors who do.
Having a website will not only provide the information they are looking for, but it will give credibility to your business. A website tells you, I’m here, I want to do business, and I’m in it for the long haul.
You might be thinking, I have a “free” website that I built myself, why should I pay someone to do it for me? There are several reasons why I don’t recommend “free” sites that I run elsewhere, but even a “free” site is better than no site at all.
If you have a freebie site for example, ask yourself, is it providing you with the professional image you want for your brand? There’s nothing less professional online than a website that says “Hey look, I used a free website builder!” Your business will gain much more credibility by having a website agency to help you develop an institutional website.
With careful planning, responsively designed and with your customers’ needs in mind, your website will provide a professional image and give potential customers a great experience when they visit, whether on their computer, tablet or mobile phone.
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Saves money in the long run
As a small business owner, especially one just starting out, you’re probably thinking you can’t afford a professional website. But you really can’t afford not to.
Although the cost of developing a website will vary depending on your needs and your skill level, once it’s up and running, a professional website is worth the initial investment.
Compared to the cost of traditional advertising media such as newspaper ads, radio commercials, and promotional materials and even networking events that often include the cost of a meal or trading tables, when you consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it’s a very cost-effective way to promote your business in the long run.
Even if your skill levels are slim and you need to continually pay your a website development agency to maintain and update your website for you, the maintenance costs are still lower than ongoing traditional marketing , and the investment is certainly worth the number of potential customers who will find your business online each year.
When it comes to comparing the cost of a professional website with a free website, unless you are quite qualified, your website will cost you in time and effort that could be better spent elsewhere in your business. Not only that, but if you’re unprofessional, or can’t be found in a Google search , you’ll lose customers and it will cost you dearly, too.
Saving money is definitely a great reason why your business needs a professional website, but there are plenty of other reasons.
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Customers can easily stay informed
At its most basic, think of a website as an online brochure or catalog that can be updated at any time. It’s much easier and faster to update information about your products and services on your website than in a printed brochure or catalog.
A website is an effective way to introduce your customers to new services, informing them about new products, announcing upcoming events and special promotions. You can also provide added value by posting tips, resources and other information through a blog on your website. Unlike print ads, newspaper articles and brochures, which quickly become out of date, your website can provide current information and news. And if you discover an error after posting a page or posting, it’s a quick fix.
A website can be much more than just an online brochure or catalog though. We now have YouTube videos, Podcasts, Webinars, eBooks and other online media to showcase our skills, expertise and products, offer online classes, courses and workshops. Not to mention the integration of social media, which allows you to share information on your website across multiple channels and reach an even larger audience.
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A website is always accessible
Unlike a physical space, which is only open a few hours a day, a website is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can provide regular and potential customers with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when your store or office is closed.
Not only that, with so many interactive features and add-ons available, your website visitors can contact you, enroll in your courses, schedule appointments and even shop directly through your website, even when you’re away from your desk. or after closing.
With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a buying decision.
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A website allows you to target a wider audience
Websites are accessible from anywhere in the world as long as there is an internet connection. As more and more people have access to the internet, even in remote locations, you can reach a much wider audience if your company has a website.
If you offer products or services, or you are based on businesses or consumers, your website provides an alternative place to sell. As a retailer, an e-commerce website is a great place to sell your products to a wider market. Think of all the people who can’t get to your brick-and-mortar store that you could sell your wares to.
Even service-based companies can offer their services globally through a website. Now that we have so many affordable ways to communicate with people, we can do business with anyone, anywhere, anytime. A website makes it much easier to attract customers from a global market.
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Provides a means to showcase your work
No matter what type of business you are in, a website is a great place to showcase your work or demonstrate your skills. By including a portfolio , image gallery or videos, as well as testimonials about your work, you can demonstrate what makes your company or you unique.
When I first wrote my original article, there was no Pinterest or Instagram . Now, 9 years later, many people are using these social media channels to showcase their work. But is your target audience on Pinterest or Instagram?
On Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and other social media channels, the quality of your photos or graphics is compromised and the size can be substantially reduced. Not only that, but Facebook and other social media channels control how people interact with them and even who can see them.
If you have a website, your portfolio can be seen by everyone anywhere, and you are in control of what people see, the quality and size of your photos, and how people interact with those photos.
Not only that, but did you know, in most cases, once you post your work on these social media channels you no longer own the rights to those photos and they could be being sold for use in those sponsored ads you see throughout your timeline?
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A website saves time
I touched on this point in number 2. Time is money, so they are often tied together. Saving time is another great reason why your business needs a professional website.
Time is an important commodity in our fast-paced world, even if you don’t put a monetary value on it. Most people today don’t have enough time for leisure, pleasure, family, or healthy activities. Having a professionally designed website saves time in both the short and long term.
By providing information to your customers online, you can save a vast amount of valuable time that you would otherwise spend communicating with your prospects.
Talking to customers on the phone, via messenger or email, in person at meetings, networking events or trade shows, all take time. Creating flyers, brochures and other promotional materials takes time – time to plan, research, communicate with your designer, printer and so on. Not to mention the time it takes to distribute your marketing materials.
With a website, you can save time by providing information about your products and services in multiple formats online — graphics, videos, ebooks, flip books — or as text right on the page — with no distribution required. Once your website is up and running, it is available to your customers indefinitely, saving you time to communicate the same message over and over again to different people.
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A website can improve customer service
A website is a great way to provide value-added service to your customers, and it’s a great way to keep them coming back to your website when they need your products or services.
No matter what products you sell, you can share tips to your customers on how to use or care for the products they have purchased from you. If it’s clothes, you can give tips on how to wear your clothes. If you sell beverages such as tea or coffee, you can provide brew times and temperatures.
If you offer a service such as bookkeeping, you can provide your clients with valuable advice to help them pay less tax at tax time or how to simplify their bookkeeping. Or if you have an insurance company, you could give advice on choosing the right insurance policy for their or their family’s needs.
By including a FAQ page or a resources section, you can regularly add articles or send out newsletters to answer all your customers’ questions, you can keep them better informed and up to date.
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You own and control your website
There are many free or low-cost ways to gain a web presence or claim your space online, but in most cases you have little or no control over everything contained in it. With a professional website, you have everything under your control.
Social media is a great way to bring traffic to your website and it’s a great way to share what’s on it. However, relying solely on social media to attract customers is not just preventing multiple prospects from doing business with you, but you have no control over what happens to them.
Things you’ve uploaded to your favorite social media channel can disappear at any time without notice when they pull the plug for any reason and you could lose everything forever.
The same goes for a free website. When you decide it’s time to move on, you can’t always take your site’s content with you (at least not easily) and you’ll probably need to start from scratch.
With a professional website, which is hosted in a secure location, I guarantee that you will be renting space for your domain, but you are able to access everything that is contained within it. If you ever want or feel the need to move to a different hosting, you can take everything with you (provided you have backups and/or do this before your account expires).
If you are convinced that your business needs a website, please contact us. SEO Company in Orland park will help you in every step so that you have a modern and professional presence on the web.
