There’s no doubt that having a website is important if you want to be successful online. But there are a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether or not your business needs a website. In this blog post, we’ll explore some of those factors and help you make the best decision for your business.
Define what success means for your business
The first question to ask is, “What does success look like to you?“
Once you know what success looks like, you can start to evaluate whether or not a website is the best way to achieve it.
Then you need to ask, “How will a website help your business to achieve this success?“.
- Are you looking to generate leads? How many leads?
- Drive online sales? Grow online sales?
- Get more customers to your brick-and-mortar store?
- Provide potential customers with information about you and your business?
There are a lot of benefits that come with having a website, but they might not all be relevant to your business. For example, if you’re primarily focused on generating leads, then you’ll want to make sure your website is designed for lead capture. On the other hand, if you’re mostly concerned with driving online sales, then you’ll need to design your website with eCommerce in mind.
Consider your audience and what they expect from your business
If your target audience is other businesses (B2B), then they’ll likely expect you to have a professional website. You need to consider why another business would go to your website and the experience they expect.
If you’re targeting consumers (B2C), they might not care as much about whether or not you have a website. For example, if you’re selling products or services that are easily found on Amazon or eBay, then potential customers might just go there instead of coming to your site.
In either case, your website needs to convey the value your customer will experience by working with you and your business.
Another important factor that other businesses and consumers look for is the level of trust your business exhibits online. Having a website is a major factor in building good trust and allows you to display the relationships you have developed to ensure that trust. (Trustpilot, BBB, etc.)
Consider the cost of building and maintaining a website
Building and maintaining a website can be expensive. You’ll need to pay for hosting, domain names, design, development, and ongoing maintenance. If you don’t have the budget for all of that, then it might not make sense to invest in a website.
There are services online that let you put up a one-page website. We recommend that all of our clients set up a Google Business Profile as a first step. Google provides you with a free website as a part of your profile. Setting up the Business Profile ads a lot of credibility to your business. It also provides a place where your clients can leave reviews about their experience in working with you.
If you are providing multiple products and services, a professional website is preferred. This adds a lot more credibility to your business.
Planning for growing your business online
If you are considering a Digital Marketing campaign to grow your customer base, having a website is a key to the success of your marketing efforts.
One of the first things many people do before working with a business online is research. They want to make an educated decision about working with you and your business. They will search your company on Google and look at:
- Reviews left by past or existing customers
- Your physical location
- Your expertise
- The value you will be offering them
- Sometimes they want to see pictures of the real people they will be interacting with at your business
So, if Digital Marketing campaigns are planned for your business, a website will help build a solid foundation of trust and credibility. This will help future customers to feel confident and secure in choosing to work with your business.
Weigh the pros and cons of having a website for your business
There are a lot of factors to consider when deciding whether or not your business needs a website. But ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your business. If you’re still not sure, then why not try starting with just a simple landing page or a Google Business Profile? That way you can test the waters and see if having a website is right for you.
In summary, here are the items to consider when taking this step for your business:
- Businesses need websites because they are essential for driving online sales, generating leads, and increasing foot traffic.
- Websites help create credibility and trust with potential customers
- Websites can be expensive to design and maintain, so small businesses need to weigh the pros and cons before deciding if they need one
- starting with just a simple landing page or a Google Business Profile is a good way to test if having a website is right for your business.
If you would like help in assessing your options, schedule a free discovery call with one of our experts. We will walk you through the process of building your online presence. Our goal is to provide you with a solution that fits your budget and business goals.