In 2018, Your Business Must Have a Website

No matter how big or small your business is, in 2018 it's now vital that your business has a great looking, easy to find, responsive website. With over 3.5 billion searches every day on Google alone, the internet has quickly become the first port of call for the majority of people when looking for a product or business. If your business doesn't have a website, your company will be losing out significantly to your competitors. Not convinced yet? We've put together our top reasons why in 2018, your business must have a website.

By having your website shown on search results, social media platforms and adverts, you'll quickly attract a large number of brand new customers to your business. You'll stand out against your competitors and catch customers who may not have noticed your business offline. Even if you're a small local business, having an easy to find website can help attract more customers in your area.

On holiday? Out of the office? No problem, your website has your back. No matter what you're doing, your website will be live 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to give visitors helpful information about your business. With a well designed, thorough website, customers will be able to quickly find out everything they need - from opening times to services available - and send you a contact message for you to review when you're next available.

Seeing previous examples of your work is almost always essential for customer, so make your portfolio easily accessible online. A portfolio and testimonials from previous clients could be the deal breaker when it comes to clients getting in touch - if they can find your competitors' websites with lots of social proof and helpful information, they're unlikely to take a risk on your business without being able to see any information online. It doesn't matter what industry you're in, every business should have a great looking website packed full of examples and reviews.

Having an online presence in any capacity instantly starts to make your brand look more credible. Facebook, Twitter and Yell are all great places to start, but a website is the cherry on the cake. A professional website presents a great first impression to new potential customers and makes your company look established and reliable. Without a website, potential customers might feel lost and find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what online information about you is correct and up to date.

Your business's offline presence and marketing can only take you so far. Sure, newspaper ads and flyers are great for gaining interest in your immediate area, but are both expensive and short lived. With a website, you can expand your business by reaching out to the right people, with the right interests, at the right time. Targeted online ads allow you to showcase your website and offers to people who are already looking for your services. With this, you'll very soon be looking to take on more staff to cope with the influx of orders and enquiries!

After a number of years in the industry, you'll start to know who your target audience is - but how well do you really know them? Your website will allow you to see an incredible amount of data about your audience, including age, gender, location, preferred device and more, as well as showing you which of your products or services is the most popular. The sheer quantity of data which is instantly available to you is absolutely essential if you're looking to grow your business.

Getting set up with a new website is a lot easier than you might think - and the cost isn't going to make your eyes water either. After an initial cost, your website will almost run itself, and the returns you receive will certainly cover any costs.

At Welford, we listen to our clients and make sure that you receive the perfect website for your business - it's important to us that we're always proud of every website we produce. We've worked with a vast range of industries, including clients from both start up companies and household names. No matter how big or small your company, we'll be able to create the perfect website for you and deliver it with a personalised payment plan to fit any budget.