You know you need a website, especially if you’re trying to sell something or promote something. Everybody tells you that you need one, but perhaps you don’t really know what sort of benefits arise from having your own website or your business having a website.
There are many reasons for having a website, but here are some of the most urgent reasons:
1.) People are using the phone book less and less frequently. This is especially true among young people. As a matter of fact, there is a current shift away from going online on a computer to going online with a mobile device. It makes sense, too. If people are looking for a pizza shop while they’re out having fun, they’ll simply look for one from their smart phone. There is no need to check a phone book since they can do everything from their phone. Of course, what this means for you is that if you do not have a website, then you simply won’t be found by a lot of people who are looking. Your target audience is vastly reduced.
2.) Websites are essential for conveying information about you or your business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have all your business information on the web, along with your contact information, you make it easy for people who are specifically looking for your information to find you. This is especially true if you have your information presented in such a way that makes it easy for the consumer to find what they’re looking for.
3.) Another benefit of having a website is that it gives your business credibility. It is similar to a business having a phone number. Many people won’t think a business is either legitimate or credible if it doesn’t have a phone number. The same is true now for businesses without a website. They won’t be seen by their potential customers as being legitimate or believable if there is no web site.
4.) A website allows a business to make sales or process transactions 24/7 without being open for business, without hiring sales people and allows for people to contact customer service/support in a way that doesn’t necessarily interrupt the flow of your normal business cycle. This of course, means that your site offers a shopping cart or a customer support area. The real advantage to this kind of website for a small business is lower employee and operating costs, and adding a new revenue stream to an already existing revenue stream from the bricks and mortar business.
5.) Finally, related to the statement above, a website has the potential to bring in not only more customers than you would otherwise have, but also new customers that you would never have reached before. This means that your reach becomes world-wide as opposed to being strictly local. Of course, it also means that your site will need to appeal to a larger market which could involve foreign languages, complex scripting on the site and you might have to work out shipping to foreign locations. But, properly planned this could bring in much higher revenue than previously earned with just a local business.