Why Do Small Businesses Need a Website?

It blows our minds that there are still businesses out there that don’t have an established online presence, especially as nowadays most customers shop online. Therefore, there has never been a better or more important time to invest in a website for your business, no matter how small it may be. In this blog, we answer the question ‘do small businesses need a website?’ and outline the reasons why having a website is an income-providing asset to your business, no matter the size of the company!

Lack of skills, time & money

One of the number one reasons business owners don’t get websites built is their lack of skills, time, and money. The truth is that you don’t need all three to get online. We can now offer low-cost solutions to start-up and small-time businesses if the lack of available funds is an issue for you, and with our 15+ years of experience, we have the proven skills to get the job done. Our web projects can take up to 6 weeks from the initial contact to the completion signature, which includes implementing, deploying and testing phases.

They don’t see the value in them

Business owners often don’t see the requirement for a website because they’ve never been shown the value it provides to their business. Your website should be an asset to your business, providing a point of contact and a portal for you to receive payment details from customers. In 2019, 75% of people based business credibility on whether or not they had a website, which shows that there is total value in investing in a website.

“My customers aren’t online”

Many businesses we have come across tell us that their target market isn’t online, which in most cases is never true. Most niches have made their way online over the last decade, which means you can literally buy and sell anything online.

1. Gain credibility & trust

Businesses with websites look more professional and more certified, and subconsciously the customer will be more likely to purchase your products or use your services. So, it’s important as a business today that you build a good relationship with your customers, which means that first impressions count.

2. Get more incoming sales

When wondering ‘how effective is a website for small businesses?’, the answer is simple: sales. Due to the vast number of searches conducted daily across all search engines, it’s obvious that having a website increases the number of sales your business is likely to receive, especially if you’re an e-commerce store. Online sales rose during the pandemic and haven’t slowed down since. Whether you use your website to supplement your income or you’re planning to move mainly online, we can guarantee that having a professional website will result in more sales.

3. Build your brand

You can establish a brand through the theme and layout of your website, as well as the colour schemes and website copy. By having your own website, you can take full control of how your customers perceive you instead of relying on third parties. As a result, your website will become one of your best digital marketing efforts, providing you with a healthy return on investment and an established, recognisable brand.

4. It saves you time in the long haul

Your business acts as an extra employee, helping you manage and grow your business through promotion and visibility, in turn, helping you save time and effort. In addition, businesses that started selling online whilst continuing to operate through traditional methods have proven that there is more initial growth to be experienced when you take to the internet.

5. The ability to understand your customers

You may think you already understand your business, and so may be wondering, ‘why do small businesses need a website?’. With a website, you can understand your customers in more depth than ever before. Every fine detail is trackable now via Google analytics, which means that by investing in a website, you are also investing in the data points that are similar between your customers. In short, this means you are getting a 2-for-1 deal when you purchase a website. We’ve created a blog all about the uses of customer information to help you better understand how to utilise this data.

6. Improve search visibility

On average, more than 40,000 search queries are made every second, which equates to 1.2 trillion searches per year. If you have an established website, you expose your business to a worldwide selection of customers. Matched with excellent SEO and an integrated marketing campaign, you could be reaching thousands more people every day, resulting in more visits to your website and more leads. Be warned; the customers won’t come flowing in instantly. To be found organically through the web, you will need to invest in on-page or off-page SEO or potentially some paid media advertisements. Websites usually take some time to settle into their environment and for search engines to start ranking them.

7. Always available to consumers

Unlike traditional selling methods, e-commerce has no limits on your profitability. For example, an e-commerce store will remain open 24/7, always receiving orders and acting as the point of contact whilst you rest, as opposed to traditional retail methods, which are only open from 9-5. In addition, your website can provide you with an income either through the direct sale of your products or through allowing related businesses to advertise on your website.

8. Excellent return on investment

Compared to traditional marketing methods, such as billboard advertising and television adverts, websites provide a much bigger return on investment. This is mainly because a search engine will rank your site based on relevance and quality, so the customers are already in the buying process before they’ve found your site.

9. Display reviews and testimonials

To further establish yourself as a company that visitors can trust, displaying excellent reviews and testimonials is a great method. Personal testimonials help establish social trust, making consumers more likely to buy from your website. Furthermore, if your website has appeared in any press, such as a digital newspaper article or magazine, a website is an excellent place to showcase that coverage. This provides further reasoning for a consumer to choose from you and behaves as a permanent archive, should the original post be deleted.

10. Showcase your products and services professionally

Having a website gives you freedom over how you express your brand. You can curate a brand that expresses your company’s personality through imagery. By displaying images of products or services on your website, this shows potential customers what they should expect when buying from or working with you. In addition, high-quality imagery makes you appear professional and trustworthy, meaning consumers are more likely to want to buy from you.

B2B vs B2C

B2B businesses need websites just as much as B2C, and there is a vast marketplace for both types of websites. Unfortunately, B2B websites are often neglected due to a failure to even recognise that it would be a worthwhile investment. Each type of business requires a different design approach that will provide the best return on investment. If you don’t know what will work best for your business, no worries - we do!

At Welford media, we offer two options:

Custom design project

You can have your entire system hardcoded by our developers, who have years of experience coding in some of the most intricate programming languages available. This solution is more costly, but it will be more reliable and last the lifetime of your business.

CMS websites

We can build your website through a content management system which is much better for reducing costs, especially for small businesses. Moreover, it will be user-friendly for the business admins as it collates all of your orders, customer information etc.

We can help you with every step needed to get a website up and running, from the very beginning right through to the very end. We can do it all, from web development to web design to craft CMS. So, whether you need us to take full control of your web development, or you simply require a helping hand, we can offer custom solutions to fit your very needs. Whether you already know your goals or are simply looking for inspiration, we can help you in your endeavour in taking the first step towards creating a successful website.

Hopefully, by now, ‘do small businesses need a website?’ shouldn’t even be a question. When considering all of the major benefits of owning a website, the answer is obvious. A business website is one of the best investments a company could ever make, and we’re here to help.