It is better to have no web site than one put together with no real thought or design ?
A website creates an impression of your business. A messy, difficult to navigate website with spelling mistakes and poor creation will have more of a detrimental effect on your business than not having a site. A simple, but perfectly formed site is preferable over one that is messy, confusing and jam-packed with useless information.
I have a Facebook Page, that’s enough for what I need, right ?
Why you most definitely SHOULD have a website even though you are a small business:
When was the last time you did a web search for a company you needed on Facebook ? How many people actually ‘Like’ your facebook page ? Read this report on how effective Facebook advertising and promotion really is.
How much information can you really put on Facebook, and when was the last time you really read the information on any of the Pages you browse through the Social Network site ? If you want to be taken seriously in business, you need to invest in your future and show people you are serious.
People expect EVERY business to have a website.
Potential customers will be surfing the net looking for a product or service just like yours. If you are amongst many similar businesses, you need to stand out from the crowd. If your website is not visible you are missing a trick.
You can also bet that your competitors are out there already. If you don’t have a listed website then you are not competing for these potential new customers.
Potential customers will check out your website as part of a process
Someone may have heard about your company (maybe via a friend), what do they do next? Before they make direct contact they want to find out more detail – maybe what your customers say about you or to see your products or services, or your prices? Once they have been reassured by your site they will then progress to the next step in the process – ring or email you or call in to the premises.
To really stand out you need your website to be appearing high up in all the major search engines. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is built into all our websites as standard and we are constantly monitoring your site for ways to improve the search rankings.
It’s a point of contact or reference.
It may be as simple as they want your telephone number. Make it easy for them to find it!
Having a web site is cost effective marketing.
The benefits of having a website is you can have pages upon pages of information about your products, services and the company. Imagine how much this would cost using more traditional marketing media? You can get a website up and running for a few hundred pounds. It is great value for money.
A web site is working for you 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
We are all so busy nowadays that people will search the web in the evening and on weekends. A fully functioning, professional website advantage is that your virtual ‘shop window’ is now open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Add to that the advances in mobile web browsing and the ever-increasing amount of people with Smart Phones, it really makes sense to capitalise on all the new technology at your finger tips without having to know about any of it.
Integrated maps, tap-to-call functions, fully functioning mobile Apps, all of these will make your business truly stand out in today’s ever increasing market place.
Customers seek out reviews.
We all love hearing what other people think and say and often a good review will help convince us to make the purchase. Your web site is a great opportunity to showcase testimonials and reviews from your happy chatty customers.
In Summary
You need a website to stay competitive, so people can find you, understand your products, read and view lots of excellent reviews and understand that you are an authority in your field.
A small business or lone-trader can have as much presence online as a huge company – what are you waiting for?
We are happy to assist with any consultation on updating your existing website or quoting for entire new builds… you will be surprised at just how cost effective it is.
