If you are planning on starting your own small business, you must keep aside everything and focus on building your website first. And, keep in mind that creating and developing your website isn’t a cakewalk. There are a lot of things that you need to keep a check on. From looking at the list of the best web hosts for small businesses to deciding the best layout for your website, there are a lot of things that you need to keep an eye out for.
You’d be surprised to know that only 51% of the small business owners invest in their websites despite how important they are. So, if you are planning on starting your own small business, here’s why you need a website.
Get your target audience
The first and one of the most important reasons why small businesses need a website is to find their customers. The majority of your consumers are online, which means that if your business isn’t online, you are missing out on a lot of your customers already. Having a website with properly optimized content helps you get access to your audience a lot more easily than how you’d get using your offline business.
Enhance your branding and credibility
Having a website with updated content and product listing of your small business creates better credibility for your business. If you are limiting your business to the periphery of just social media, chances are that your potential customers will still side-eye your credibility on the platform. On the contrary, having a website makes the process a lot more seamless and helps bring in new customers to your business.
Grow your business
If you are planning on growing your business, you must build your online website for your small business from scratch. Having a website helps you bring in more customers from multiple sources and not just the social media platforms or the forums. However, when you are creating your website from scratch, you must look for the best website hosting for small businesses. Having an e-commerce website for your small business helps you sell your items online directly without having to be reliant on other resources.
Be superior to your competitors
Another reason why your small business needs a website today is that it gives you a superior hand over your competitors. Keep in mind that the majority of your consumers are looking and enquiring on the internet before making their purchase. So, if your business doesn’t have a website and your competitor does, chances are that their name would pop up before yours does on the internet. So, making a website is crucial.
Your business is never closed
This is another reason why every small business that is limited to social media marketing needs to have a website of its own. Unlike your IG handle which is operational only when you are online, a website is available 24×7, which means that you can drive potential sales even when you are sleeping. This is especially important for the businesses that ship their products internationally and have a range of potential customers outside of their time zones. You want to drive sales even when you aren’t available online and a website helps with that.
Save time and money
Answering individual queries on your social media handle is extremely time-consuming, not to mention that it takes a lot of time to arrange your customers’ orders and have everything in one place. Having a website gets rid of that issue. With a website, you are going to invest your time once to get all the queries and FAQs listed out with detailed product descriptions and updates to make it easier for your potential customers to get all the information and then potentially place their order without any further hassle.
Compete with Bigger Competitors
As a small business, one of the biggest business goals is to drive better sales, something that potentially helps you compete in the big game. Bigger companies and MNCs indeed have better access to the bigger resources, however, a well-designed and SEO-optimized website can make all the difference in that business goal. A website helps place you on the big map with your competitors and leaving the decision in the hands of the customers to choose their or your services.
Switch to a Bigger Market
While there’s nothing wrong with having a limited audience to your social media handles, this is not the kind of business goal one should have. Try to aim bigger with your business and that is exactly what having a website would do. It helps hone your exposure to a bigger spectrum of audiences, helping you branch out.
If you have been skeptical about starting your website for your small business till now, we hope this article gives you all the input that you need to make a certain decision for the growth of your business. Always ensure that you keep your website clean and easy to understand and navigate for superior results.