If you are a business owner, making a website for business might have crossed your mind now and then. But you still don’t have one, so either you are still working on it or you’re not quite convinced yet that it would be something that you need. After all, your business has been running okay without a website, right?
However, if you want your business to grow and scale — not just okay — having a business website is the way to leverage your marketing and sales.
So, What Exactly Does a Website for Business Do?
Here are some of the main things having a website can do for your business.
Branding & Credibility
There is no denying that you have a lot of competitors offering the same products or services as you do. So, what makes your business different? Why should people buy from you instead of others?
A website for business can help your business stand out from the crowd. You can convey your value propositions, vision and mission, brand story, and the people working on your business. This helps humanize your brand and build trust. People can feel connected with your business, thus increasing the trust, the possibility of them making purchases, and even promoting your business to their friends.
Gain Leads
Did you know that 97% of users search online to find information about a local business? Without a website for business, you lower the chance of these people finding your business, hence losing potential customers. This is especially important at the beginning stages of building your brand awareness.
On the contrary, having a good, SEO-optimized website can increase your business visibility. You can even create a delightful customer experience on your website, making sure visitors leave your site with your business in mind, or even with a purchase in hand.
Digital Marketing
With your business up and running, you should have a decent customer base already. Maybe you even actively promote it on social media, which is excellent! However, there are limitations to promoting offline and on social media.
First, social media platforms. Your Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or TikTok accounts are not really yours. Think about it like renting a space in a shopping center. The shopping center can change its policy anytime and your business will have to adjust, right?
This is similar to social media. Any changes made by Facebook affect your business page in some way. It might cause lower reach and impressions, you might even have to completely change your content strategy, etc.
Secondly, the number of searches on Google has no competition to date (approximately 6.2 billion searches every single day). To say the market is huge is an understatement.
Who Needs to Have a Website?
You. Your business.
There are almost 300 million active internet users in the U.S. That alone should be enough reason every business needs a website — unless you don’t want your business to grow or you have zero competition.
When Do You Need to Have a Business Website?
The sooner, the better. The sooner you have a website, the more time you have to do the essential homework such as:
Build your SEO ranking
A/B test your interface
Measure your data
Fix any possible bugs
Learn more about this in our article here.
Wondering How to Make a Website for Your Business?
If you’re not familiar with web design and development, talking to an expert is highly recommended. But if you’re still considering, follow Chykalophia on LinkedIn as we share a lot of bite-sized insights about building a website. And make sure you also subscribe to our monthly newsletter, The Next Draft, for more insights like this!
