5 Reasons Your Small Business Needs a Website

One of the things that makes small businesses so appealing to customers is the fact that they’re anything but a large chain. Customers don’t feel like nameless, faceless dollar signs walking through the door. In a small business, the owner often gets to know customers by name, understanding their needs, likes, and dislikes. There’s something special and unique about the service a small business can offer compared to their franchise counterparts. But, at the end of the day, big or small, business is business, which means there are certain elements that all successful businesses must have. These include quality products, top notch customer service, and a website.

Whether your business sells products or offers a service, you need to have a website. You might be thinking, “But what would I even put on my website?” or “I’m not good with computer design. I don’t even know where to start”. The good news is, your website doesn’t need to be high-tech or complex. It just needs to exist and provide customers with some basic information. In order to keep up with the times, here are five reasons every small business needs a website.

Customers Expect It

With nearly 28 million businesses running in the United States, nearly all of them have a website. Why? Because customers expect it. The first place most people look when researching a new business is the internet. They want to see your online presence. They may also want to read reviews of your products and services. If you’re in the food service business, include your menu and pricing on the website. It helps customers make a decision before visiting your establishment. Without a website, your business seems behind the times. Customers will likely wonder why you don’t have one. And another great reason to create a website for your small business is that chances are, your competition has one. And which business do you think customers will patronize if choosing between you and your competitor with a built out website?

Perfect Platform for Promoting Yourself

One of the best parts about designing your website is that you’re in complete control of the content. That means you can promote your business and your brand exactly the way you want. Bad reviews are inevitable. Even if you do everything right as a small business owner, you can’t make everyone happy. The best way to combat negativity surrounding your company is to showcase positive promotion on your website. Here you can develop a blog and pages that help promote your mission statement, values, and personality. Include links to your social media feeds here you include photographs, events, and other helpful information for customers. Having a website puts you in the driver’s seat by allowing you to create brand awareness exactly the way you want.

It’s Easy and Effective

Don’t be intimidated by the thought of creating a website for your business. Even if you don’t consider yourself tech savvy, you really don’t need to be in order to build out a basic and effective website. Programs like WordPress make the process simple and user-friendly. Your website should have some basic elements including clearly displayed contact information, an “about us” section, letting customers know a little bit about your history, a products or services page and other pages that help customers get to know who you are and what you’re about. You can find countless resources online for basic website design, which will help you create a user-friendly site. Ensure that navigating your website is easy and that information is clear and easy to find. Your website’s bounce rate will tell you a lot about if your design and content are effective.

Help Offer Extended Help and Hours

Another great thing about your business website is that it runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. That means if you offer products for sale online, you’re able to make money while you sleep. This also means cutting down on payroll and operating expenses. Your website can help customers when your physical establishment is closed. Even if your business doesn’t offer products for sale on its website, it can still offer customers information. They can plan their purchases, research your business hours, and find out other useful information outside of your regular operating hours. This may just result in a visit to your store and convert to a sale for you.

Customers can Google You

This point goes hand in hand with the fact that most small businesses have websites. If you’re not on Google, you may as well not exist. 81% of customers Google a business before patronizing it. Whether they’re looking for your contact information, location, or simply want to scope you out, if they can’t find you on Google, they likely won’t look much further. Once you’ve created a website, you need to optimize it so that customers can actually find you. This means taking SEO (search engine optimization) into account. Things like quality content, high ranking keywords, and detailed meta descriptions are just a few ways to help boost your website’s SEO and rocket it to the top of the SERP (search engine results page).

Don’t be fooled into thinking just because you’re a small business that you don’t need a website. The world revolves around the internet and if you want to attract new and return customers, you need some type of online presence. And the best place to start is by designing a basic, user-friendly website.