Benefits of a Website for Small Businesses
In an era of social media, sometimes business owners may think that having a website is unnecessary, but that couldn’t be further away from the truth. It is easier to create a new social media profile such as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Linkedin.
However, it is incredibly important to have a “base” from which all your social accounts can link back to.
As a matter of fact: VeriSign found that 84% of surveyed customers said they believed a business with a website is more credible than one with only a social media page.
Since the outbreak of social media and new apps getting viral day by day such as Tiktok or Snapchat, online marketing plays an important role. Small business owners may start to think that a website is not necessary for the healthy growth of their business but that couldn’t be further away from the reality.
But, It is more important to have a homepage of your own – aka your own personal URL hosting your business’ website.
This website serves as a home base for your company and lets the prospect find you online.
We are aware of the fact that small businesses might not be able to afford web development at initial stages, but it is better if you get hold of it as soon as possible.
Don’t worry about it, our low budget web development agency will help you achieve your goal at starting days.
According to a fact: Surveys concluded that 84% of the customers in a survey said they believed a business with a website is more credible than the one with only social media pages.
What is the importance of a website for businesses?
In 2016, It was also found out that only around 60% of businesses had a website.
Hence, by only having a website could give you a push start compared to your competition.
Simply a website is one more way to get potential customers, increased revenue and add overall value to your business.
If your online presence is zero, just imagine how many customers are you missing out on.
Need a website? We are happy to help.
Zrafted provides professional website development service to help new start ups, small businesses and companies grow.
Top Ways A Website Benefits A Company
Why should you have a website for your business?
1. 24/7 Online Presence
A website enables your customers to find you 24/7/365. There are no restrictions or timings on when or where can they find you.
Your customer might be sitting on the other continent while searching for you.
Who knows? Nobody. Thus your online presence must be built as soon as you establish a business.
Your website help your prospects to find you even outside the business hours or days. You will be able to score new clients even on a holiday. It offers convenience to the user as they are able to access the information whenever they want – anytime, anywhere.
Imagine you own a retail shop and have an e-commerce website that displays all your products with prices and an option to order online. Do you know how convenient it is for your customer to order whatever products they like from the comfort of their home? Who does not love getting things done without getting out of their bed on a Sunday morning?
With the advancement in technology and the evolution of the world post Covid-19, running a business without a website seems like you are running a business in an area with no chance of getting a customer.
Research Results regarding Online Presence:
If your competition is online, you are loosing out on a lot of sales and prospects to your competitors by staying offline.
The following research seems to be persuasive. The data shows that the web & internet is almost everywhere in the world.
- According to a 2015 study: about 43% of the entire planet’s population, over 3 billion people, have internet access.
- In the US: a study from March 2018 found that only 11% of Americans do not use the internet. That means that most Americans have internet access, across all demographics (including income).
Even having a fundamental website is helpful. For many people, if they can’t find it online, they will automatically create a negative image about your business in their mind.
Being on the web means being able to reach people where they are. That includes smartphones:
- Another study from 2015 found that 64% of American adults own a smartphone.
- In a 2013 study, about half of smartphone owners were using their devices to shop online.
Most websites these days can automatically alter themselves to fit both smartphones and desktop computers.
If most of your customers seem to always have a smartphone in their hand, then it is a good idea to be able to reach them directly. Thus, E-commerce had a rapid boost in the previous years which led us to get hold of some amazing technologies and platforms that include Shopify and Woo commerce.
Shopify is a web hosting platform which allows you to sell your products online without any hassle of handling and running a physical store. Woo commerce is similar to Shopify with the same purpose but different functionality
2. Improving Brand Identity and Credibility
Just like a physical address tells your customers about your office or retail shop location, a URL indicates your website name and is unique. A URL registered by yourself for your business is yours 100%. Nobody else can have a duplicate URL and it creates your brand identity.
A website also helps your potential customers to find out your contact information such as phone number, address or email address to reach out to you.
Creating a website for your business also lets you get a brand orientated email address which is only useable by you and your company. For example: contact@yourbusinessname.com or hello@yourbusinessname.com.
These email addresses increase your company’s credibility and trust factor for prospects. 65% of customers said they considered a company-branded email as more credible than a business using a generic email account.
Many website development or creation companies will include custom email addresses as part of their web development service.
How can you implement this?
A user friendly and professional website will consist of multiple pages which are divided into different categories for the type of content that has to be displayed on each.
About us page contains information and media regarding everything about the brand. The contact page contains contact info and address or phone number. Home page is the main page which contains everything about your brand. There is no limit on the number of pages that a website can have, but keep them precise and to the point to maintain your visitor’s focus.
If you are still looking for more information about a website for your brand, feel free to contact our team for free consultation.
3. Exchange of Information
Website for your business provides a platform to communicate between you and your buyers without meeting each other in person.
A website will let you display everything about your business such as operating hours, upcoming news, upcoming offers and discounts, contact information, completed projects, portfolios, testimonials and feedback etc.
You can even upload day to day updates regarding your business on your social media pages and on the website to inform your customers beforehand.
This will engage your customers and enable you to get more economical and cost effective sales. Potential customers may find you while they are searching for something related to your industry or services.
This can only be possible if your website is optimized for search engines. If you are not aware about that, have a quick read about the benefits of search engine optimization for business websites here.
4. Improve SEO rankings
SEO is the short form for Search Engine Optimization.
The website has to be optimized for the search engines.
People around the world tend to search for their needs and enquires on search engines such as Google, Yandex, Bing or Yahoo! to get an answer to their questions.
If your website is one of the website which contains an answer to a certain query, be glad that you will be a potential website that the user might go.
The same user might end up buying something from your website which could be a service or a one time product. It could be anything. But this can only happen if you are able to apply SEO techniques on your website and rank it on your relevant keywords.
This must be your #1 priority since SEO is the core of digital marketing which plays a major role in driving traffic to your website.
5. Advertising and Lead Generation
Are you aiming for website visitors or customers? I’m sure the latter.
When you have a website, you are able to advertise it worldwide on different platforms such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Tiktok and other platforms such as forums etc.
These websites and tactics will help you get organic and paid traffic on your website.
In order to gain organic traffic, you must work on the optimization of your website.
Once the website starts getting visitors. Go ahead and add a contact form on your website for people to sign up to your newsletter and turn your website into a lead generating machine. All these leads are your potential clients and you can advertise your services to them rather than advertising it openly to all types of audiences.
According to a research, email marketing is 40% more effective in attaining new customers than social media.
6. Run an environment friendly business – Save Money and Resources on Printing
Hundreds of thousands of trees are cut every year to meet up the increasing demand of paper due to increased demand in printing.
Paper catalogues, Menus, Brochures and other printed material are of no use once there is any change made on them. Moreover, they are only beneficial in physical stores.
How about having all the information on your website that you want to convey to your customers? This can be altered, deleted or added anytime and from anywhere. The latter is much cheaper and eco-friendly to revise and edit than getting printed media for your business.
For all your website development and maintenance related services, you will need a professional web development agency.
In the long run, you will be doing good to your planet as well as to your company.
A business will save at least $2000 per annum if printed media is completely eliminated from the roots and starts using their website for all sort of information exchange. Running and maintaining a website from a web development agency will only cost few hundred dollars per year.
7. Stay aside your customers – Be where they are – They are on the Web
Majority of customers will search for your online presence before they make a purchase with you.
This is the normal trend around the globe now.
Over 64% people search for your online presence and consider a business with a website more credible than a business without a website.
8. Consumer Insights & Analytics
There are multiple tools and analytics services that let you know everything about the customer that visited your website.
These tools let you know how did they find you, what they like, their location, country, zip code, what page did they spend the most time on.
Such demographics and analytics let you understand what type of customers are looking for you and what do they like.
The vast amount of data helps you to understand how can you handle social media pages and what things must be highlighted to enhance sales.
9. Competitors building their online presence
If you are not sensible enough to have a website for your business even today, you are loosing your potential customers to your competitors.
This is effecting your business negatively while affecting your competitor’s business positively. You are missing out on gaining new prospects, new customers and increased revenue – all of this is being cashed out by your competitors.
It is crucial that there shall be no opportunity missed by you and gained by your competitor.
10. Online Customer Support Service
You can save yourself on time and cost at a large scale by utilizing your website as a customer support service.
Your website can serve as a source of information that customers must be looking for. This can be frequently asked questions, policies and terms, how do you work and standard operating procedures.
Your customers will be able to get an instant reply to their queries without the hassle of searching for it.
Websites tend to provide a much better and economical customer support compared to physical customer support.
A happy customer is more likely to be the best form of advertisement. Word of mouth is still the most effective way of gaining new customers. Therefore you shall focus on satisfying each and every customer in order to grow and expand in the longer run.
11. Attract new job applicants
A ‘careers’ or ‘job opportunities’ page can help you reach out to potential applicants for your vacancies.
You will be able to save money on marketing your recruitment offer and let the potential candidates reach out to you themselves.
12. Online Portfolio & Showroom – Running 24/7
Did you win an award recently? Did you complete a mega project for an enterprise last week? Were you able to win an industry award? Make sure it is mentioned and highlighted on the website to create a positive impression on your visitors!
Upload and highlight your testimonials, feedbacks and reviews on your website which is visible to your upcoming visitors. This creates a sense of trust.
Your website could be your 24/7 running showroom without the huge running costs. Display your work, products and services on your website. Let the customers browse through them anytime they want and from anywhere they want.
Advantages of a Website:
A website offers numerous advantages for individuals, businesses, and organizations. Some key advantages include:
Online Presence: A website provides a digital presence that is accessible to a global audience 24/7. It allows businesses to showcase their products, services, and brand identity to potential customers worldwide.
Increased Credibility: Having a professional website instills trust and credibility in the eyes of customers. It demonstrates that a business is legitimate and committed to establishing a strong online presence.
Branding and Brand Visibility: A website is an effective tool for branding. It allows businesses to showcase their unique value proposition, brand identity, and messaging. With consistent branding elements such as logos, colors, and fonts, a website helps businesses create a strong brand presence and recognition.
Expanded Reach and Market Expansion: A website enables businesses to expand their reach beyond local markets. It provides an opportunity to target and attract customers from different geographical locations, opening doors for market expansion and growth.
Customer Engagement and Communication: A website serves as a platform for businesses to engage with their customers. Through contact forms, live chat features, and social media integration, businesses can facilitate communication, address customer inquiries, and build relationships.
Do businesses do better with a website?
Yes, businesses tend to perform better with a website for several reasons:
Increased Visibility: In today’s digital age, customers often turn to the internet to research products and services. Having a website ensures that your business is visible and discoverable by potential customers during their online searches.
Competitive Advantage: A website gives businesses a competitive edge. In a saturated market, having a well-designed and user-friendly website sets a business apart from competitors who may not have an online presence or a strong web presence.
Marketing and Lead Generation: A website serves as a powerful marketing tool. It allows businesses to showcase their offerings, share valuable content, and capture leads through contact forms or newsletter sign-ups. It provides an avenue for businesses to attract and convert potential customers into paying customers.
Accessible Information: A website provides a central hub where businesses can share important information about their products, services, pricing, promotions, and company details. It ensures that accurate and up-to-date information is readily available to customers at all times.
E-commerce Opportunities: With an e-commerce website, businesses can sell products or services online, expanding their customer base and generating revenue beyond physical store locations. This opens doors to new market opportunities and revenue streams.
What is the main purpose of the website in business?
The main purpose of a website in business can be summarized as follows:
Establishing an Online Presence: A website serves as a digital representation of a business, allowing it to establish an online presence and showcase its offerings to a wide audience. It provides a platform to share information about products, services, and company values.
Building Brand Awareness and Reputation: A website helps businesses build brand awareness by conveying their unique value proposition, brand identity, and messaging. It creates an opportunity to leave a positive impression on visitors and build a strong reputation in the industry.
Generating Leads and Sales: A website is an effective tool for lead generation and sales conversion. Through well-designed landing pages, contact forms, and call-to-action buttons, businesses can capture leads and convert them into paying customers.
Providing Customer Support and Engagement: A website allows businesses to engage with customers, address inquiries, provide customer support, and offer resources such as FAQs, knowledge bases, and live chat features. It enhances customer experience and fosters long-term relationships.
Enhancing Credibility and Trust: A well-designed and informative website enhances a business’s credibility and establishes trust among potential customers. It provides a platform to showcase testimonials, case studies, and customer reviews, reinforcing the business’s reputation.
Expanding Market Reach: With a website, businesses can expand their market reach beyond physical locations. It enables them to target a wider audience, including potential customers from different geographic locations or demographics.
Supporting Marketing and Advertising Efforts: A website complements marketing and advertising campaigns. It provides a central hub where businesses can share content, promotions, and updates, and drive traffic from various marketing channels.
In summary, the main purpose of a website in business is to establish an online presence, build brand awareness, generate leads and sales, provide customer support, enhance credibility, expand market reach, and support marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Those were just ‘some’ of the benefits of a website for small businesses or companies. If you think you have
The benefits were explained precisely and only some of them were mentioned. Are looking for consultancy to take your business online? We are Zrafted are here to help you build a website for your business. We are only a call or an email away, feel free to contact us.
