74% of small businesses have websites. That number has grown substantially in the last decade due mostly to the fact that the benefits of owning a site have become clear and barriers to ownership have lowered.
If you’re one of the 26% of small business owners that are getting on without a web presence that you have 100% control over, you’re missing out on a lot. Our hope when you read this post is that we can convince you to hop on the company website bandwagon.
Below, we break down some of the most compelling reasons why you should make the adoption of a website a corporate priority.
1. eCommerce is Growing
Brick-and-mortar sales have always made up the majority of consumer purchases. While that’s still the case, the paradigm shifts more every year.
In 2020, we’ve seen a particular momentum shift given many people’s inability to leave their houses. As people develop more comfort with doing their shopping online, your business is going to find it harder to meet its annual goals solely by selling to foot traffic.
Having a company website allows you to cash in on and accommodate shifting consumer tastes.
2. Websites Are Easy to Build
One of the biggest barriers to entry into the website ownership pool used to be web building difficulties. That’s no longer a valid excuse.
Today, building a website is as easy as taking a quick tutorial on how to use WordPress, installing it onto your web hosting account, and launching.
If that still sounds intimidating to you, there are tens of thousands of people that can help you get the job done which brings us to our next point.
3. Website Creation and Maintenance Is Cheap
It doesn’t take a lot of expertise to get a content management system driven website up and running. Given that fact, costs for hiring help to launch your site are extraordinarily low compared to what they used to be when sites had to be built by hand.
After your website is launched, you’ll find that the website maintenance cost you’re presented with is low as well. You’ll just have to pay your annual web hosting and domain fees.
4. Less Stress on Your Support Team
The last thing you want is customers calling your 800-number every time they have a question. A company website can serve as a resource where your customers can self-help which will reduce the stress that lands on your support team’s lap and can cut your payroll expenses.
All you have to do is add a help section to your site, list a few frequently asked questions, and provide helpful answers.
5. Share Positive Social Proof
For better or for worse, you don’t need a website for people to see online reviews regarding your business. Sites like Yelp and Google let people comment on the quality of your business without you choosing to participate in the process.
If you’d like more control over your feedback narrative though, a website lets you have your own review section where you can display your most supportive feedback. That way, rather than people seeing a potentially mixed bag of pros and cons regarding your business, they can be more fully immersed in what makes your company special which may heighten their chances of working with you.
6. Additional Awareness Through Search Engines
Having a website gives search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! the chance to find out about your company and share information about it with the world.
Billions of people conduct Google searches every day. That’s billions of chances for your company to pull someone’s attention who could then choose to become a customer.
7. Share How You’re Adapting
2020 has been a challenging year for most businesses. With regulations outlining how one can and can’t serve customers, it’s important that you can keep the people who want to do business with you informed as to how you’re adapting to all the changes happening in the marketplace.
Your website is the perfect place to do that.
We’ve seen companies post on websites how they’re protecting the health and safety of customers. We’ve also seen them alert their customers to temporary closures and openings.
The more in the loop you can keep the people that power your business during these challenging times, the more revenue you’ll be able to pull in.
8. Brand Control
A website is a platform that you control. It’s not like Yelp or Facebook where you need to live within another company’s rules as far as how your brand is represented.
By owning your own site, you’re in control of your message which is important when you’re trying to build a brand that cuts through the clutter.
9. Websites Make You Look Professional
At the end of the day, modern consumers expect you to have a website. If you violate that expectation, you’re going to look unprofessional.
Make professionalism a priority and get started crafting your site today!
A Company Website Goes a Long Way
As we hope we’ve managed to prove throughout this post, investing in a company website can go a long way for your business. What’s best is that investment isn’t as big as some people think.
If you’re eager to get started on your web journey as soon as possible, we recommend reading more. With a little bit of research, you’ll be a site expert in no time!
Want to learn more? If you are, we invite you to explore the newest posts we have available on our blog!
