Importance of Having a Website

These days, almost any small business should have a website. With costs being extremely low at the entry level, it’s becoming difficult to imagine a reason for any company of any size not to have a website. Many user-friendly, free and open-source content-management systems are available to assist with Web design, so it is even possible to build a basic small business website without a professional Web designer.

 Low-cost advertising

The Web has a far wider reach than any other form of advertising. While it takes time to build up enough traffic to your website to make a worthwhile impact on your company’s marketing campaign, it costs next to nothing to do so. Your website will be the center of your company’s online presence; through it, you advertise your business around the Web on social networking sites, forums and through pay-per-click advertising programs.

Visibility

Increasing visibility is one major factor that makes having a website important. Even if people have heard about your company, they may want to carry out research online first, before leaving the house. Provide a map and directions to your company’s shops or offices on your website so that visitors are less likely to have trouble finding the place.

Accessibility

A website is online and accessible 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Because of this, your customers and potential customers can visit your site for support or information about new and upcoming products and services whenever it is convenient for them. Your website will act as an invaluable and always-available resource for information which would otherwise only be accessible during your company’s business hours.

It will enable you to keep your customers informed

Think of your website as being your online brochure or catalogue. It is much easier and quicker to update information about your products and services on your website than in print material, making it an effective way of letting your customers know about the arrival of new products, upcoming events, special promotions, or any new services you now offer. Unlike print ads which quickly become outdated, your website can provide current information and news.

Sales

Your website can sell products at any time. Potential customers are not restricted to business hours. Instead, they can go online and purchase products whenever they want. A website with an online shop can provide a dramatic boost in sales.

It  improves  customer  services

Maybe you sell environmentally friendly products and would like to share tips on how to recycle, or perhaps you’re an accountant and want to give your clients advice on how to simplify their bookkeeping practices. By including a FAQ page, adding articles or uploading newsletters to answer all your customers’ questions you can keep them up-to-date. What better way to provide them with value added service than by sharing information on your website.

Lasting value

The great part about a website is that once you invest in it, you have it forever and it continues to work for your forever. What other advertising methods are there that once you pay for it once it continues to work for your business for ever? Not many. When you pay for a newspaper ad you get that one ad and any benefit that one ad generates but after that ad it is done. That money you spent on the newspaper ad is gone and you can never get it back. If you don’t get a return on investment from it, you never can. The same is true for Google Ad words, Facebook Ads, Linkedin Ads, a yellow page listing, magazine ads etc. Where as with a website, if you don’t make a positive ROI in the first year, no worries because you have from now until the end of time to get a return on your investment.

Opportunities abroad

By getting a website it makes it possible for anyone in the world to find your business. If you have a product that can be easily sold online you can dramatically increase your customer base by selling on line. To read more about how to do this read my article Expand Customer Base By Selling Online. Or maybe you can’t sell your services online but by having a website you can gain customers that are outside the geographic reach or your marketing efforts.

Easily accessible data center

Your website can also act as a data center for both your own employees, customers and your prospects

A website is possible to target  a wider market

Whether you provide products or services, your website will provide an alternative location to sell them. As a retailer, a website (E-Commerce) is a great place to sell your products to a wider market; even services can be made available globally. Don’t think you’ll be able to sell your products or services online? Don’t forget, even cars and houses sell online!

A  website saves you time

Providing information to your customers takes time, whether it’s on the phone, face-to-face, in a brochure, or in emails. With an online catalogue you can provide lots of information about your products and services. Once your website is up and running, it is available to your customers indefinitely, saving you time. And what is time? Time is money!