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Jan 27, 2023
At this point, you’ve likely noticed that most businesses already have a website. Still, if you’re already running a business, you might argue that you don’t need one anymore since you’re already at the top of your game. Why bother wasting time and money building a site if you’ve achieved success without it?
That’s actually a valid point.
However, times have changed. Now that we’re living in a digital era, investing in a website has never been this crucial. Long gone are the days where promoting your products or services were just as simple as listing them on newspaper ads or distributing print ads.
Sure, your business may be doing exceptionally well today, but think about its future. Do you think it’s going to survive, let alone thrive, in an increasingly competitive market without an online presence? With 97% of consumers searching online to find a local business and 76% checking out a company’s website first before visiting its physical store, it's going to be a steep uphill climb.
Still need more convincing? We’ve come totally prepared! Below are several other reasons why your business needs a website:
One of the best things about having a website is that it’s there to market your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Think of it as your “always-on” advocate during and outside of office hours.
People who are interested to learn more about your brand or your offerings can access your site whenever they want. And, if they enjoy your content or the seamless browsing experience it provides, expect them to return from time to time, which means more web traffic on your part. Who knows, they might even convert right there and then!
In this day and age, pretty much everybody turns to a company’s website to obtain more information about it.
As a matter of fact, 84% of modern consumers find businesses with websites to be more credible than those who only have social media profiles. Another study found that 56% of people don’t trust a business that has no website.
It’s easy to see why. Websites serve as vehicles for businesses to demonstrate their expertise and position themselves in their industry. It’s where you introduce your brand to the world. It’s where you establish yourself as an expert to your target audience.
Social proof, which can be in the form of an online review or testimonial, plays a vital role in attracting new customers.
What customers are saying about your products and/or services can influence how others would perceive your business. The more positive feedback you display on your website, the more likely web visitors will look at you as a brand they can trust, giving them all the more reason to convert.
Additionally, publishing the best customer reviews on your site means you’re creating a permanent archive. You’ll still be able to access them in case third-party review sites close unexpectedly.
Having a website makes it easier for people to reach you. All you have to do is include a “Contact Us” page where visitors are required to fill up a form that contains their basic details along with their inquiries. You might also want to consider placing your contact information in a header or footer so it shows up on every single page of your website.
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If you’re using paid ads to promote your business, your target audience will only see them for as long as you run them. Once these ads are no longer available, you’ll need to pay again to have them displayed. Imagine how much money you’ll end up spending!
This is never the case with a business website. You might even be delighted to learn that it will increase your ROI over time. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t receive returns in the first year, as it tends to be a common occurrence. You have plenty of time to tweak things until you see those returns coming in like crazy.
Besides acting as your 24/7 advertiser and sales assistant, your website can also be a good customer service representative. That’s because it provides all the essential information consumers usually look for pertaining to a company – location, phone number, hours of operation, and of course, a FAQs page.
Here’s a fact: your website is your property. In other words, you have the freedom to include whatever you want to include – photos, videos, blogs, reviews, you name it – and design it however you desire. You get to pick the theme, layout, fonts, and the like.
Plus, you don’t have to worry about experiencing any of the issues social media platforms commonly face. For instance, none of your posts will be taken down, despite how controversial the topic may be.
Keep in mind, however, that just because you own a website doesn’t necessarily mean you own EVERYTHING in it. Let’s discuss this a bit further below.
Whether you’re using the best website builder or hire one of the leading web design agencies you can find, owning every single component of your website just isn’t possible. Yes, ownership means it’s yours forever, but apparently and unfortunately, that’s not the case with these three:
Choosing a domain name may excite you, as it implies that you officially have your very own website. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you should know that it’s not meant to be there forever – you need to pay for it every time your registration is about to expire.
Think of your domain name as your phone number. If you fail to pay your bill or decide to change your number, the provider will more than likely reassign your number to another subscriber. The same goes for your domain name.
A content management system refers to the platform where you create your website. With it, you can easily add new pages and features with minimal technical knowledge, which means you don’t have to learn HTML or other complicated web programming languages. It also comes with improved content organization, enhanced search visibility, and better overall user experience.
The truth is, you won’t ever get to claim your own CMS. You have to choose among systems - Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, Drupal, and whatever else is available today.
If you’re really, really eager to get a content management system just for your website, you might hire someone who’s willing to do it. The catch? It'll cost you a fortune!
Come to think of it, even enterprise level businesses rely on WordPress, Webflow, or Wix, rather than having one created from scratch. That's because these options offer everything they need for a much more affordable price.
One cannot simply connect their website to the internet without the presence of web hosting. The thing with web hosting is, you need to lease space for your site on a hosting server. It’s pretty much like how you deal with your smartphone: you won’t be able to browse online if you’re unable to pay your monthly bill.
So, what are the components that you actually get to consider as permanent property? It depends, really. If you hire an agency to build a site for you, you’ll have to sign an agreement as to who owns what.
Let’s look at your images, for example. If you’re the one responsible for creating them, then the rights solely belong to you. But, if these visuals come from the company, there’s a huge chance that you won’t retain rights to them if you make any changes.
Then there are other visual elements like design and layouts. Don't hesitate to ask the agency if you own these elements as soon as you pay for them. The same goes for your website code. While anyone can build a site using HTML, CSS, PHP Frameworks, and JavaScript, each site will have its own specific code. Be sure to ask the web team whether you have ownership rights or not.
We’re pretty confident that these reasons have convinced you to build a website for your business. However, you must know that creating a website alone won’t be enough to generate all the results you’re hoping for. Your site needs to rank high in relevant search results. Otherwise, none of your prospective customers will find it.
So, what’s the solution here? What can you do to ensure that your professional site makes it to the top of Google’s search results?
Three words: search engine optimization.
SEO for short, it refers to the process of optimizing a website to increase its online visibility. Implementing its strategies the right way is key to driving your ideal audience to your website. If you’re eager to learn more about SEO, give this ultimate guide of ours a read.
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Building a website from scratch will take ages for someone who has zero background in web design and development. How much more if you need to optimize it? You might find yourself throwing in the towel after just a couple of days!
So, why not leave all the heavy lifting to our experts here at Digital Resource while you take care of your business?
As a full-service internet marketing agency with years of experience, we know what it takes to create you a website that attracts your target audience and gets them to convert. Our dedicated web team and SEO specialists will work hand in hand to build you a beautiful, high-performing, and SEO-friendly website.
Book a free consultation with us to learn more about our services!
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