Happy New Year all! After all the hustle, bustle and merriment of the festive period, why not make 2019 the year to get that new website. Is the computer saying no?
Maybe you thought you couldn’t afford a professional website so you got a freebie website and do it yourself or if you’re a startup or small business owner you may think there’s no benefit in having a website especially when you can do everything on social media.
Perhaps the computer says no because it means another learning curve for you because you think you are not tech savvy.
You might be an established business that has never had to advertise and think you are doing quite well as you are.
Admittedly you can do a lot on social media these days, but even if you’ve been in business for several years unless you are about to retire or do not want to grow your business, your business needs a website and preferably one that is professionally designed.
These are the 7 reasons why your computer should be saying yes.
1. IT’S A SOUND INVESTMENT THAT SAVES YOU MONEY IN THE LONG TERM
The cost of designing a website will vary depending on your needs but once it’s up and running, a professional website is more than worth the initial investment, especially if built using a content management system which enables you to regularly make your own changes and updates.
Designing a professional website in 2019 is cheap when compared with the cost of traditional means of advertising, ie newspaper, and radio adverts. When you consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it is a very cost-effective way to promote your business long term to a global and local market.
Even if you continually pay your website designer to maintain and update your website for you, the upkeep costs are far likely to be considerably lower than traditional advertising.
2. CUSTOMERS CAN EASILY BE KEPT INFORMED
Once your website is built you have your own space to promote your business/service or product to the world. You can update information at any time and it is much easier and quicker to update information on your website than if you have printed brochures, flyers or catalogs. Any mistakes that are discovered after you publish a page or post, can be amended in minutes.
A website is an effective way of offering value by posting tips, resources, and useful information through a blog on your website. Whenever you like you have a platform to tell a story about your business and effectively let visitors know about new products, special promotions or upcoming events. You can add videos (which in 2019 greatly increase your SEO and website ranking). Podcasts, Webinars, eBooks can also be available at your website and you can also provide online courses and workshops.
3. YOUR BUSINESS WILL GAIN CREDIBILITY
Having a website tells the world that you are here, you mean business, and that you are in it for the long haul. There is a massive and continually growing market searching for things online. They want to compare prices, obtain information about a store or restaurant before they purchase from them. If you don’t have a website, potential customers will go to your competitors who do. Having a website not only provides visitors with the information they are looking for, but it will give your business credibility.
If you do have a do it yourself, freebie website, ensure that is it providing you with the professional image you desire for your company image? There is nothing less professional than a free website that looks like a free website. Your business will gain much more credibility by having a professional website designer to help you design and build your website. If you have the skill to design your own website then at least use WordPress with the relevant theme and use a reputable hosting company.
4. YOU OWN AND CONTROL YOUR WEBSITE
If, for example, you sell products on Amazon, the primary benefit is instant brand recognition. Many people know Amazon and have purchased from them. This gives you the chance to have access to a large amount of traffic without having to build your own brand. Having access to a huge customer base is an understatement as there are millions of people actively shopping on Amazon and therefore it’s an easy way to begin building a profitable business venture.
Customer service issues are also handled internally so you don’t have to worry about irate customers calling you if something happens to their orders. There are also a host of other benefits but the drawbacks include:
You could become an Amazon market tester. Amazon likes to have third-party vendors stocking and shipping low priority items as it is cheaper for them to allow you to provide this service. If, however, your products sell well, then you have proven to Amazon that there is a market for what you’ve got and if you have not patented your product then you’ll find yourself competing with Amazon which often means going out of business.
It is also difficult to build personal relationships as customers are coming to Amazon to purchase from Amazon. They aren’t coming to purchase from you. You do not own your social media channel and you cannot control what happens with it. The information that you’ve uploaded to your social media channel could be taken down without prior warning for whatever reason and you could also lose your content. The same applies to a freebie website. If you decide to move to a new web host, you can’t always take your website content with you (at least not easily) and you may have to start again from scratch.
Having your own website means that If you want to move to a different web host, you can take everything with you (as long as you have website backups).
5. YOUR WEBSITE IS OPEN 24 HOURS
Unlike a bricks-and-mortar location, which is only open a few hours a day, a website is always open for business. With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a purchase decision. Customers can browse your website in their own time from the comfort of wherever they choose and buy whatever and whenever they like. There is also flexibility for you which allows you to check on stock or sales, analytics or other information in your own time from the comfort of wherever you choose.
6. A WEBSITE ADDS CUSTOMER VALUE
A website is a great way to keep customers coming back to you when they need your products or services. This can be achieved by including an FAQ page or a resources section, regular quality articles or newsletters that answer all your customers’ questions.
If you sell insurance adding a blog could include articles that offer clients valuable advice to help them keep premiums low. You could advise on how to choose the right insurance policy for them or their family’s needs.
You might want to educate new visitors about the importance of life insurance, car insurance, contents insurance and each month could cover a different insurance type.
Offering this information saves customers time which is an important commodity in our ever-increasing fast-paced world. Most people these days don’t have enough time for leisure or pleasure and so having a professionally designed website saves you and your customer time and adds value.
7. A WEBSITE GIVES YOU ACCESS TO A GLOBAL MARKET
The internet is the way forward and people are increasingly gaining access to it, even in remote locations, a website offers you a global audience.
A website enables you to sell your products and services to those who cannot physically get to your bricks and mortar store. If you are offering good enough products and the right services customers will still buy from you regardless of whether or not you have a physical, bricks and mortar presence.
If you’re if you have been convinced that you do, indeed, need to have your own website lets build it in 2019. Get in touch and let’s see how you can be assisted today.