Importance of a Business Website

Window Shopping Isn’t What It Use to Be. By now you should know the importance of online shopping, especially when COVID-19 came in as a surprise visit. For a long period of time, people are no longer able to walk in shopping centers or do any sort of traditional window shopping. The shops are not even open!

A website is the new window. Without a good website for your business is like not having a window display for your shop. Customers have no idea of your existence. If you do not have a website, you are missing out on opportunities for customers to identify who you are and if they want to spend money with you.

A business’s online presence, regardless of industry, can have a massive impact on its success. In this day and age, some businesses still don’t realize that a majority of their customers will visit their website before making a purchase. Use your own self experience as a case study, do you do your own research online before buying a new product and service? Do you look on Google or Yelp for user reviews before buying? Do you look at other people’s recommendation before buying?

Online business trend from 2015 to 2021. Article source Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The quality of your website impacts results. Stop living in the 90s and focus on building a good website. This tightly relates to online marketing (take a look at our past article on Digital Marketing), if you do not have a good website, there is no point to spend on Online Advertising, SEO, Social Media Marketing or the like. You do not want to lead potential clients to a bad website.

The following characteristics are what you want your customer to remember when they see you online:

1. Credibility

One of the main reasons you should have a website for your business is to increase your organization’s credibility. There are many providers out there offering similar service to yours. One way you can stand out is by having a website that looks good and clearly communicates quality information to your consumers.

Without a website, people may question your legitimacy as a business. Having a website is an opportunity to make a great first impression and give people comfort that you’re a real business.

2. Brand

Showcasing your brand to your prospective customers is one of the most important things that you can do. Clearly establishing who you are, what you represent and what you stand for, you increase the chances of your customers buying from you.

This is also something that can set you apart from your competitors. Without a website, it can be incredibly challenging to do this because people can’t easily find quality and reliable information on your business.

3. Leads

One of the most intriguing reasons to have a website for your business is because it can increase your chances of getting leads.

Once people find you online, become interested in your product or service and want to know more, they will know how to contact you using the information on your website. This gives you the opportunity to increase your sales. Even though websites have a cost, when used correctly, they have a positive ROI.

4. Organic Traffic

Once you are online and have an SEO-optimized website, you have a chance of showing up in Google search results. This means that when people are searching for a product or service, there is a chance your website will show up in the results. This gives you the opportunity to drastically increase your customer base.

As mentioned earlier, we live in a world where people Google before they shop, visit online review sites like Yelp before they buy and check-in via Facebook as they go about their days. Because of this, you want your first impression to be the best it can be.

Links:

https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/online-sales-may-2021-supplementary-covid-19-analysis

https://neith.com.au/blog/2021/03/20/how-we-see-digital-marketing/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/importance-business-website-neith