16 reasons why your business needs a website

Many business owners ask, "Since I have a small business with a small workforce and we don't sell anything online, do I need a website?"

The answer is YES!

If you have a business, you should have a web presence so that you don't lose business to competitors who already have one.

Furthermore, are you sure you can't sell your product online? COVID-19 has changed the retail landscape, with millions of online shoppers searching for everything from books to clips to houses to natural gas and more. So by the time you're dead, your competitor has probably seen how effective a web presence can be for their business.

You definitely don't want to be left behind.

1. A website builds trust and makes you a credible choice

Trust is one of the most important things for service companies. Simply, if potential customers don't trust you, they won't use your services. Owning a website is one of the most basic ways to show potential customers that your business is legitimate and that their services are an option they trust. In fact, 84% of consumers think that a website makes a business look more credible than a company that only has social media profiles. 

In addition, more than 30% of consumers will not even think about using a business if they do not have a website. The site often contains basic information about the company, owners, location of the company as well as the VAT number and other information that is easily verifiable and gives additional security to visitors when making a decision about using your services.

2. A Website Increases Your Visibility

There are over 4.5 billion active internet users worldwide, and over 90% of them accessed the Internet via mobile devices.

Without a website, your business is virtually invisible to these people. With COVID-19 pushing the global market even more digital, your business will become invisible to those that matter unless you invest in a website.

3. You Have Complete Control Over Your Website

Since your website is your property, you get absolute design freedom — unlike with social media platforms.You can share user reviews, videos, images, and whatever else you desire.

Also, you don't have to follow the constantly updated rules of social platforms. And if there's a social media blackout, like when Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp all disappeared for several hours, your website and its content remain safe.

4. Almost all customers research their options on the Internet before opting for the service

Think about how often you go online when you think about buying something. Probably enough, isn't it? Well, even users looking for certain services are no different. A total of 97% of consumers go online to find and research local businesses. On average, customers look at approximately three to five online service-based companies before contacting one of them. 

From this we can see that customers expect to find the website of reputable companies so that they can compare their services and that they will be rejected by the company if they do not have it. So if you don't have a website for your business, you are disqualifying yourself from getting the job. It's really not that surprising. 

If you were a customer who bought a service and you can't find a company online, it's hard to do that, right? It makes sense for a client to go with a competitor who has a website that contains all the necessary information about their services compared to the one that does not appear in an online search. Without a website, you are basically invisible to those customers.

5. Customers will be able to find answers and contact you with ease

The Internet does not have working hours as a normal business. Which means your prospects are constantly consuming information, researching, and making purchasing decisions online. They expect access to your business at any time of the day or night. Even more than that, they expect the whole process to be as easy as possible. They may want to know what services you offer, what your prices are, when and on what days you open, where your premises are located, or they can even make a reservation there and then. 

Understandably, it would be very difficult for you as a business owner to offer that level of customer support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and no one would expect that. But a website can do it for you. A well-structured website that offers all this information makes your business instantly accessible and flexible to the needs of your customers, which means they will be able to find the answers they are looking for at any time and can contact you or book a service with ease whenever it suits them.

6. Present your offers with a wide range of possibilities

It cannot be emphasized enough that a website is the first interaction of your target audience with your brand. Your position in your business is completely under your control. Not only can you display your feature offering, you can also provide short video guides or PDF download instructions. You can also highlight your awards, testimonials and all the features that can alleviate the existing dilemmas of the visitors. This increases the average time your customers spend on the website and may influence their decision to contact you.

7. Your competition certainly has a website

Your biggest competitors most likely have their own websites. Almost every entrepreneur has their own website. What do they get out of it? Online shoppers will find them sooner than you. Higher profits because they serve people both locally and online. Better reputation because they are present wherever they are needed. If competitors don't have a website, then you will be at an even greater advantage if you make it first.

8. As many as 75% of users admit that they judge the credibility of a company based on the design of the website

Not having a website can make users trust you less. In fact, according to a 2019 survey, 75% of people admitted to judging a company's credibility based on website design. People are more likely to work with someone they trust, and a website is the first place they go to check out data, reviews, and awards.

9. Website is essential for use in digital marketing

If you're advertising your business online, you'll need to send people somewhere when they click on your ads. If you don't have a place to send them when they click, your marketing efforts are essentially pointless because users won't make a purchase or take any action they want. The natural place where your digital marketing campaigns can attract users should be your website. 

Your website should be your company's main network hub or home address, and all your other online appearances - such as social media, My Business on Google, online directories, and, of course, your digital advertising - should be in circulation. on your website and run right back to it. An appropriate landing page on your website would be an ideal place for users with any of your digital ads, and then from there they can research and learn more about your business and eventually get in touch with you to book a service.

10. You can track the habits of your customers and your online performance

Having a website for your business will also allow you to track your performance on the Internet. While the most obvious benefits of a website revolve around finding and bringing in potential customers on the web, the benefits of being able to take a deeper look at customer habits with tools like Google Analytics should not be underestimated, goals and answers to many other really useful questions. 

For example, you will be able to see how many people visit your website and certain websites, how long people stay, where they come from to your website, which direction users travel through your website, and whether they performed the desired action, not to mention lots of interesting information about users and their demographics, such as where they live, their age and gender, and their interests. You can even use analytics to measure the results of any digital marketing campaign that clicks on a page on your website. 

All of these statistics give you valuable insight into your customers and their behavior, as well as an understanding of how people interact with your business, what kind of content they like, and how you can improve their user experience. This way you will have a website that is linked to a GA account and you will be able to strategically target your customers and improve your future marketing efforts.

11. A Business Website Gives Lasting Value

One of the best things about investing in a business website is how it continues to generate value for you even years after you've created it.When you pay for ads on social media, your potential clients only see your ads for as long as you run them. If they don't see it, you'll have to pay again to run the ad campaign.On the other hand, a business website will give you ROI over time. Even if it doesn't give you returns in the first year, you have time to tweak things until you get returns.

12. It Offers Social Proof

 What your customers say about your business can determine whether others patronize you or not. So while review websites like Yelp are good, your website is the best place for people to get more information about your business.Displaying your best testimonials on your website is an effective way to establish trust and social proof. What is more, publishing your best reviews on your website ensures that third-party review sites don't minimize the good things people say about your business.

13. A Business Website Lets You Sell Online

Ecommerce sales are exploding and are projected to hit over $5.4 trillion in 2022. Surely, none of these sales happen with businesses that don't own websites.

Even if you aren't a traditional ecommerce business, having an online storefront can help you attract new customers and help you continue selling even when your physical store is closed

14. It's an Essential Step in Your Customer's Journey

An effective website is where you want your audience from different channels to end up. It's on the website that you'll inspire action from your potential clients.

Your website is like a physical shop—people walk by it until they come in to look at what you offer. So even if they don't buy something the first time they walk in, they might buy something on subsequent visits.

On a similar vein, customers come across your business via different channels like social media feeds. If the social feed ad is interesting, they'll expect to visit your website to find out more about the business. If there isn't a website, they might not take the next logical step in the customer journey. 

15. It's Essential For Local Businesses

Many small business owners don't see the need to invest in an effective business website. However, they're currently missing out on an incredible source of revenue.

The following statistics show how important a website is for a local business:

• 46% of search on Google include local intent
• 97% of users use search to find local businesses
• 28% of users purchased an item after a local search
• 70% of users will visit a store because of what they found online

A business website will help you capture all of this potential and make your business even more profitable.

16. Small Business Website Statistics

• 71% of small businesses have their own website.
• 75% of consumers judge a business's credibility based on their website
• 81% of shoppers research a business online before making a purchase.
• Small businesses with websites grow 2X as fast as those without.
• 48% of people said that the number one factor they used to determine a business's credibility was their website design
• Over 1 out of 3 of small business owners feel that their business is too small for a website.
• Approximately 28.1 million websites using Google Analytics.