
Do you know that nearly half of Google searches are for local small businesses? In 2018, only 20% of small businesses had a website and in just a short period of four years, an estimated 71% of small businesses now have a website for their business. If you are in the 28% of small businesses that don’t have a website, this should be a sign that you are missing out on the opportunity to improve your business and attract more business opportunities.
Whether you are planning to expand your business internationally or simply operating locally, having a professional website that projects what your business offers have a tremendous impact on your credibility. One major reason small businesses fail to adopt web design into their business strategy (if they have one), maybe a lack of awareness and access to the right agency to help them build an online presence.
In this article, I will cover the top seven benefits of why you should have a professional website for your small business or startup and the steps to take if you don’t have one in order to bring your business to the spotlight and reap the benefits in the long run.
Welcome to the Digital Economy, where technology and business strategy win the gigs.
Why is a Web Site Important?
Without a website, a business is at a severe disadvantage in making money. WhatsApp and social media have been very effective in transforming so many businesses and helping them reach more potential customers, but this cannot be competitive enough in reaching a wider audience. According to Salesforce (The world’s No 1 customer relationship management (CRM) platform built on cloud technology), 72% of buyers start their purchasing journey on Google. In order to take advantage of this trend, small business needs to position themselves in front of their potential customers through a website that ranks in Google.
Now that I have succeeded in giving insight into what your business may be missing, let me now feed you in on what your business stand to gain with a website:
1. Build your online presence 24/7
This should be one of the very obvious reasons for having a website for your business. An online presence means customers are able to find you any day and any time of the day even outside business hours. Which in turn translates into more order and revenue for your business or company.
2. Showcase your products and service to the world
An online presence extends beyond just being online and of course, you are able to showcase what your business has to offer to a much wider audience. You are no longer limited to your locality but can extend your offer to potential customers miles away.
3. Credibility
You increase a sense of trust in the mind of potential customers when they know you have a website they can go to and get valuable information about your business, products, and services. A website can build trustworthiness, and legitimacy and instill confidence in your business.
4. Improved Brand Visibility
There are actually two ways to get people to know about your business when marketing, either through the product or service that you offer or through a brand that you build, and a website is a perfect medium to showcase your brand.
5. Competitor’s advantage
The business world is fierce and corporations are putting every ounce of digital technology into the game in other to gain huge market share including Artificial intelligence, big data e.t.c. A website gives an edge in this competition with the big boys in a way you may never imagine. In your own niche, this is a lot of advantages.
In Conclusion
In this age of disruptive technology and innovative business solutions, a small and medium-sized businesses can position themselves to compete favorably with corporations by adopting digital strategy into their business processes and one effective way to do this is by designing a professional website that helps them reach out to a wider audience, attract more clients and gain brand visibility in this noisy business world. This too can support any digital marketing tactics that is been deployed.
Give your business the awareness it deserves
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Emmanuel Okaiwele is a Freelance Web Developer with Experience in Front End and Back Website Development, Linux Servers Administration, and Digital Strategy.