Not having a business website today is like not having a business phone 30 years ago.
But guess what?
According to several surveys, about 28 percent of small business owners still do not have a company website. Any of those almost half don’t believe a website is necessary.
Uses for a small business website
- Get information about products and services
- Comparison shop
- Informative articles
- Find businesses on search engines
- Participate in forums and discussion boards
- Creates credibility
- Basic business information like location and hours
Here are 5 reasons why small businesses need websites!
1. Credibility
It’s more common for businesses to have websites than it is not to. Because of this, consumers expect an online presence and are generally turned off by companies that don’t have one. This is one of the biggest reasons why small businesses need websites. A website not only puts the business out there and makes itself known; because today’s consumers expect it, it instantly gives a business credibility.
But, even businesses that do have websites can still leave bad impressions on web consumers. Today’s consumers expect an attractive, modern web design.
I’m sure you have seen these sites — old design and layout, poor use of colors and font, spelling errors — a whole gamut of bad. In all likelihood, you move on when you come across these sites and so will your potential customers.
In the digital era, a business website is a wise and practically necessary investment for both big and small businesses alike.
2. Brand Development
When people think of branding, they usually think about a logo. Although a logo is a big part of a company’s image, there is more to it than that. A brand is the entity of a business. It’s what comes – and stays – alive in the minds of consumers. It not only makes a business recognizable from the rest. It’s the business personality that people come to know and trust.
A website is the most relevant and useful platform to make this personality known. Businesses can both illustrate and reflect their brands with design, layout, and content. But most importantly, they can more easily tell their story.
3. Marketing
Whenever a person searches for something online, they get a long list of websites to click on. While this is great news for websites that rank higher, it’s not so good for those that rank lower. And small businesses are usually the ones that don’t fare well on search engine result pages.
With lower visibility, it becomes harder to compete and generate more web traffic. But with SEO (search engine optimization) and digital marketing, small businesses can rank higher.
This is one of the things that affect how a website ranks on search engines. Search engines not only favor websites with more web traffic. They also favor ones that maintain their web traffic.
Websites that implement strategic keywords in their web content tend to rank higher, as well. These keywords are the terms and phrases that web users search for.
4. Competition
Competition is fiercely digital these days. This is a big reason why small businesses need websites. The majority of small businesses have an online presence. Whether they have a website, social media accounts, or both, small businesses, in general, have caught on.
It is very difficult for companies that do not have a website to compete with those that do. Online consumers are only going to see businesses that have websites.
Additionally, consumers don’t take businesses seriously if they don’t have a web presence. To them, if businesses aren’t investing in web presence, they must not care about their performance. To consumers, this might translate into poor business. And they don’t want to waste their time and money on what they may perceive is low-quality products and services.
5. Control
With websites, small business owners are in control. They can drive and control what people see and how they’re perceived.
There is also a lot of data available on a website. It’s easy to see where your audience logs in from, at what time, and what they searched for to get there.
Website owners can see how long their audience stays logged onto a page. They can see which keywords they searched for. They can also see which sites they go to after theirs.
Social media and discussion forums have also made it easier to understand audiences. Business owners can then target their audience with engaging and well-researched content.
With web tools like Google Analytics, it’s possible for small businesses to see where their audience is logging in from.
Understanding Why Small Businesses Need Websites
Remember, about 28% of small businesses don’t have a website. That’s more than a quarter of small businesses still left in the dark, unable to compete and get the recognition they deserve.
Do you own a small business? Are you part of the 28% that still doesn’t have a web presence?
Don’t let your business stay in the dark another day. Get your website up and running today.
Need help setting up a website for your business?
If your small business is looking for a new web presence, Whitaker Web Design offers web design and web development services tailored to your website budget and needs. All of our websites are developed with WordPress. Over 60 million people have chosen WordPress to power the place on the web they call “home”.