Since the inception of the Internet in the 90’s, many entrepreneurs didn’t have a clear roadmap on how to leverage on this new phenomenon. However, the emergence of social media has opened a pandora box of possibilities bringing along dramatic shifts in the way businesses operate. Instead of relying on freebie web hosting, businesses are gravitating towards hiring professional developers to come up with custom website design to give them a competitive advantage over their competitors. So, if you are looking to understand how to hire dedicated developers or why you need a website at all, you have come to the right place.
According to a research conducted by Clutch in 2016, approximately 46% of startups in the US didn’t have a website for online. On a global perspective, the numbers were even dismal as 59% companies in the world didn’t have websites.
Unless you’re a small business owner who is not interested in growing your brand, there is no reason you shouldn’t have a website. With low priced services and dedicated developers around the world, you don’t have to personally have the coding knowledge to build a website.
10 Compelling Reasons Why Every Business Should have a Website
Boosts your Profile and Credibility.
With the increased internet penetration all over the world, more people are sourcing for product information and price comparison online. If you are a home-based without a website and a physical address, it means potential customers will be bashing your competitors’ doors losing potential income.
By creating a website for your business, your loyal and potential customers have an easy access to the information they are looking for which boosts your credibility. Sort of a slogan telling them you are here, you mean business, and you are here to stay.
Easy and Free Digital Marketing Channel
Having a website grants your business a free ticket to online advertising. Sort of an online billboard that parades your products and services to your actual and potential customers.
A simple search on search engine displays million of results. As to how your business performs, you will need to pay special attention to search engine optimization and your business could occupy the much-acclaimed top spot which exposes your products and services to the global market. Needless to say, you don’t have to pay coin for such exposure.
Around the Clock Accessibility
Unlike your brick and mortar business that is constrained to operating for certain hours, your website does the heavy lifting when the physical doors close. This gives your customers the flexibility to review your services at any time.
With a great user interface, your customers can schedule appointments, contact you, and even purchase even when you aren’t on your desk.
Great Resource Center for your Business
On top of helping you connect with your customers, updating your website content allows you to revisit and reassess your business goals. That notwithstanding, an orphanage page with internal materials also helps your team know what they are supposed to be doing.
Improves Customer Service
We are living in a fast-paced world. This makes it almost impossible to attend to all the customers on a personal level. However, having a website makes it easier makes it easier to attend to customers. For example, having an FAQ section on your website allows gives them all the valuable tips to answer all their questions.
Allows You to Set and Control the Narrative
You can’t control what people say about your business on social media channels. However, you can influence their perception by telling your story through your business website.
By having a blog section on your website, you get to frame your message and mission to suit your target audience instead of relying on mail brochure and print ads.
As an added bonus, most websites give you the flexibility to share your content on multiple social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Lead Generation and Data Collection
Once you build or commission a web developer to build a website for your business, you help eliminate the hassle of customers writing their emails on a piece of paper. As a result, you have all the customers’ emails stored in a central location in case you have a new product to promote in the future.
Unmetered Entry
If you are looking to start a business on a limited marketing budget, you can choose the virtual stage to promote it. There are multiple free website providers and millions of tutorials on how to create a business website.
Help Showcase what your Business is All About
Having a professional website design displaying your previous work and testimonials also acts as the marketing differentiator that demonstrates how unique your business is.
Cost Effective
Print advertising doesn’t come cheap. With a website, you can reduce the printing cost by offering pdf format marketing paraphernalia.
Final Remarks
The era of window shopping is long gone. This means businesses operating without a website are losing opportunities in terms of customers exposure who would have otherwise spent their dime transacting with them. There are multiple template-based websites on the offing which even have tutorials on how to create a website. This said, if your business has a bad website, it may result into a terrible user experience which is better than having a website at all. Which leaves you with only one option. Paying attention to the overall website development when creating one for your business.
