In today’s world a website is one of the most important parts of a business. With it you can make more money, stand out from your competitors, get free advertisement and connect with your customers. Building one doesn’t cost much, especially if you do it yourself.
Why it’s important to have a website
Every business should consider having a website. Let’s look at the reasons why.
1. You can make more money
Time ago, when you needed a service or a product, you would rely on your knowledge of what’s available. Maybe you would search in the Yellow Pages. Sometimes you would ask a family member or a friend for recommendations. But in today’s world people are increasingly using the Internet to find and get information about businesses.
Here’s a typical scenario: John Doe is looking to buy shoes and your business sells some of the best custom made shoes. He searches on the Internet for “custom made shoes” and he finds the websites of your competitors. There’s no trace of your business online, so he has no idea that your business even exists. You just lost a customer, and the opportunity to make a sale.
How many John Does are out there?
2. It gives you a chance to stand out
A website gives you a chance to tell your customers what your business does and what differentiates you from the competition. It’s your business card in the internet world. If you don’t have an online presence, new customers will tend to prefer your competitors that have presence.
3. It’s free advertisement
A carefully built website brings new customers directly to you, at no extra cost. You don’t have to pay to be included in search engines. Search engines will find you if you are online. And that doesn’t cost anything.
You can choose to pay a search engine and be included in the “sponsored results”, but that costs money and people tend to prefer the “unsponsored results” anyway.
Your website can be the center point for all your marketing. The details such as your promotions, product information and business details should be put on your website first. Then you can create marketing campaigns that bring people to it.
4. It connects you with your customers
On a website people usually look for information about your products and services, for a phone number or for directions. But that’s not all. They can also find the information they need to reach you via e-mail if they have questions or suggestions. By having a newsletter you can keep your existing customers involved with discounts or promotions, sent electronically at no cost. Combine that with social media websites like Facebook and Twitter: not only you keep in touch with your customers, but your customers will start promoting and recommending your business among their friends!
5. It’s a must have for all businesses
There’s this false belief that websites are only for large national companies or corporations, with big audiences, but reality is that websites are beneficial for all businesses, especially small ones.
70 percent of U.S. households now use the Internet when shopping locally for products and services.
When people search online for “furniture stores near me”, having a website allows you to appear in the search results if the user is physically located near your store.
6. It’s outright affordable
Gone are the days when a website would necessarily cost thousands of dollars to setup and maintain. Nowadays $5 / month hosting plans are common, and new platforms have lowered the difficulty required to create a website.
How much does it cost to build one?
If you hire a professional to build the website, the cost starts around $250. Read our How To Create a Business Website tutorial for detailed information on how to create a website.
Where can I find somebody to make me a website?
At MasseranoLabs creating websites is one of our specialties. Get in touch and we’ll help you build it.