If you don’t have a site, this blog is for you, and I’ll provide 10 reasons you need a website.
Every so often, I hear the question: do I really need a website for my business? I’ve gotten this far without one! This blog will not only answer this question (spoiler alert – YES YOU DO!) but give you 10 reasons you need a website.
I always answer the above question the same way: Yes you do need a website! Having a business website is so important because it offers a lot of benefits for small businesses, and contributes to a company’s success! In this day and age, a website is not just necessary but expected.
Your digital strategy relies on having a website and definitely contributes to creating a strong online presence. According to a study by Episerver, consumers visit a brand’s website nine out of ten times before making a purchase.
Another crazy stat? 97% of people searched online to find a local business near them. You can sell the best product or offer the best service in the world, but if no one can find you, your business is not sustainable.
This blog focuses on the top ten reasons why your business needs a website, and why more than ever they are still relevant.
Here is a list of 10 reasons you need a website.
1) A Website Makes You Look Professional
Investing in a website legitimizes your business. It gives your company credibility for a few reasons.
The first of ten reasons you need a website is that it shows that you are willing to invest in your own company. A business without a website says that you don’t take your business seriously. Did you know that 75% of online users judge a company’s credibility based on web design?
Secondly, people only buy from businesses that they know, like, and trust. I have said this over and over, trust is the key to revenue! A good website is a stepping stone toward trust. People can see exactly who you are and what you offer. You can show off your features, create sales using ecommerce, show samples of your portfolio and do hundreds of other things!
Thirdly, it’s how people will find you. Word of mouth is an incredible sales tool, but in this day and age people aren’t asking their neighbors for referrals, they are heading to the internet.
Lastly, building a website builds your authority. Businesses without websites simply are not as trustworthy as businesses with them. A great website builds credibility and promotes your features.
Web development can be a difficult process, but with a great team, you can easily get it up and running! It is important to have a web developer build the site because there is a method to the madness. You can’t just throw anything and everything and hope it converts.
Having a beautiful and user-friendly website is the perfect opportunity to create a great first impression with a potential customer and provides comfort to people by proving you are a real business.
2) Websites Attract Customers
A good business website will help you attract more customers and create leads. Blogs are a very popular way to drive traffic to your website.
Websites are important for customers, that’s why you see them on every piece of advertising businesses do. It’s easy for a customer to pull up your site right there on the spot. Think of your website like a salesman. It shows the customer exactly what your business does, how you can help them, and how to connect with a person if they want to take the conversation further. If you have e-commerce on your website, it can push the customer toward the sale! 
Another way to attract a customer to your site is to offer blogs. Businesses that blog get 55% more web visitors than businesses that don’t.
The more blogs you have, the more value you offer to your visitors. In that same frame, fresh content is the key to driving traffic. Blogs are a great way to introduce products or explain why a certain element or service works. I personally read lots of blogs on marketing, which drives me to many websites!
Not only can you have blogs on the site, but you can have informational videos. Videos are becoming more popular on sites not only because it attracts customers, but because it keeps people on sites for longer, which in turn helps SEO.
On a different note, now more than ever, people are turning to Google to provide information on products and services. Google helps build your brand and drive traffic to your site by serving your site up! This relates to SEO, which is a service I offer.
These two reasons are reason enough to invest in a website, but this article is called 10 reasons why you need a website, so I’ll keep going…
3) Websites Showcase Products and Services
A well-designed website will highlight products and services and create a compelling reason for the website user to click and purchase. SEO will naturally help with bringing in new customers as people looking for your product/service will search by keywords.
A website can display your products and services by using high-quality photographs and videos that display the product from multiple angles or highlight your service.
Detailed descriptions of your product/service on your website that speaks to specifics, such as how it will benefit the customer, or specifications that customers need to know, entice the browser when they are scrolling through your site.
A website also helps market specific products and services because it paints a picture of what exactly you offer, and builds the reputation of your business online and in person. Make it easy for the customer to find exactly what they are looking for on your website.
Another way to level up your website is to add product reviews, which in turn helps with promoting the product or service you provide. It also builds trust with the customer, as they can see how others like it.
Pro-tip: Showcase your products and services on the homepage. Let the user know exactly what you offer as soon as they land on your page!
4) Websites Increase SEO
Can you have effective SEO without a website? Nope!
An SEO strategy makes sure people can easily find your website. The goal of SEO is to get your site to be put on the first page of Google (or any other browsers). SEO uses keywords to determine what your website is about. This is how Google will know what they need to provide searchers.
There are many case studies that display the effectiveness of websites and how you can improve them with a solid SEO strategy. An important factor in strong SEO is the loading time of each site. If your site or any of your pages are not speedy, customers will bounce and you won’t have a chance to convert the clicks into sales.
According to BigCommerce.com, “one second delay in page load time has been shown to cause a 7 percent loss in conversion and 11 percent fewer page views. For an online store earning $50,000 per day, that one-second delay adds up to more than $1 million lost in sales each year!”
Creating links to other sites is another way to get eyes on your site. Getting on the front page for searches is the name of the game when it comes to SEO and search engines.
Pro-tip: Youtube was bought out by Google years ago, so Youtube is one of many SEO tools!
This is just one aspect of SEO. There are many ways to get to page one. For a deeper look into what SEO is, click here for an article and here for a video. If you are looking for SEO help, connect with me and my team can help you!
5) Share Social Proof
With so much competition out there, a way to grab the attention of potential customers is by providing social proof!
Testimonials are incredibly powerful and I would argue one of the most important pieces of copy on a website or landing page. It’s one thing to say you offer an amazing product or service, but a whole other thing if many people agree with you. People who are interested in your business can see for themselves how you are to work with. They will get the full details of a real experience from a previous customer, which can be very impactful.
A strong testimony or review establishes your credibility in front of potential clients/customers. No one really likes to be first in line when purchasing something online, so showing them someone who not only bought it but loved it, reassures them that your product is tried and tested and is safe to purchase.
If Amazon does highlight reviews like crazy, it means something.
This is exactly the thought process behind Amazon pushing reviews for products on their site. People need to know that others also enjoy the product. It’s no secret that buyers are definitely influenced by the decision and actions of others. This is the point of social proof.
Social proof also builds your brand and increases your SEO because you can add keywords to the reviews which help Google understand the services your website will offer.
Reviews, testimonies, and social proof are more necessary now than in the past. In prior years, people would ask their friends and family where they should go for afternoon tea or ask what company is amazing at building decks, or which company should we call to renew their siding. In this day and age, we don’t often ask people for recommendations, especially if you just moved into a new city. There is more of a reliance on online testimony.
We are halfway done and I’m still going strong … five out of 10 reasons you need a website.
6) Beat Your Competition
In every industry there is competition, and it’s important for you to come out on top.
The best way to do this is to brand yourself properly and make your business stand out with a great website! In order to do this you need to identify 
what the goal of your site is, what your customer wants, how you can help them, and create an easy pathway for them to do business with you.
Your website design sets the tone. What are you looking for from your website design? Is your main goal lead generation, brand awareness, or online sales? Once you determine your goal, the next step is to determine what your customer is searching for. Make sure you load up on relevant keywords and pictures that will help your customer find what they need. Pro tip: Do not focus on yourself! Often, websites focus on themselves – their history, vanity images and large graphics that are not relevant to the search.
If you cannot afford to have a professional web developer build your site, there are many template web builders.
Creating a clear pathway is a very important factor in website development. What is the customer to do next? Do you want them to purchase online, connect with you by phone or by filling out an online form, or another step? Whatever you choose, make sure it is crystal clear. Your site has to be user-friendly. Don’t lose your visitor by creating too many offers or by presenting an unclear message. Point them to where you want them to go!
7) Your Website Creates a Strong Brand Message
Having your own website is crucial to having control over your brand and the direction it goes.
For many first-time customers, your website is the face of your brand. What does your website say about you? 
Of course, this goes beyond brand colors and logos. It develops your identity by letting the user understand who you are and what you represent. Beyond aesthetics and functionality, your site needs to provide valuable content. All relevant information needs to be clear on your site. Branding will create people’s perceptions of you and your business. Sadly, this can have the opposite effect if done wrong.
When creating your website, develop it with your target customer in mind. If you provide a positive user experience, you will be creating an even stronger brand! A successful brand isn’t doesn’t only focus on converting leads into customers, but it establishes a personal connection with users and communicates your business values.
8) Your Website is Yours
As much as I love social media, at the end of the day, we are just renting space on the platforms, they are not ours.
What does this mean? A glitch or a company closing down can potentially kill your business. Your website is yours (as long as you pay hosting and
domain charges) which means that it is a lot more reliable than a social platform.
social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram continue to make it harder to get in front of a new audience.
Not only that, we have seen in the past that social media platforms can go down! Facebook was offline a few times in the past few years and businesses suffered for it. Not only that, but we have seen platforms disappear and everyone’s list goes with it! When music.ly shut down, people lost all connections to their audience, which could have a devastating effect on your bottom line.
While social media offers insane benefits and can help grow your customer base, only relying on them is a huge mistake that can cost you dearly in years to come. Without a website, your business becomes invisible to people.
9) A Website Saves You Time
If you are a business owner reading this, you know how precious time is, and probably buy into the old adage – Time is Money!
A website helps save you time by answering the customer’s questions before they ask. Providing information to each customer takes a lot of time you don’t have, whether you are connecting via phone call, email, or a brochure. Through your website, you can provide all the necessary information the customer needs before they make a purchase or call for a service.
Another great way a website can save you tons of time is by providing a FAQ section that covers the most commonly asked questions. Like me, I’m sure you get asked the same questions over and over. This section is a great way to inform the customers without having the same conversation day in and day out.
If customers do get ahold of you and ask questions, you can always point them to your site. Your website is an amazing tool that will help guide your customer and provide the solutions they are looking for.
Something else to consider when designing a website is that a bot or an assistant can be set up to connect with website visitors and answer any of the questions they have. This feature will help save a lot of time and is a great touchpoint for your customer.
Pro Tip: Make sure your company’s products and services are described in full detail on your website. Now onto the last of the 10 reasons you need a website.
10) A Website Improves Customer Service
As business owners, we understand how important customer service is. We live and die on customer satisfaction.
Acquiring a new customer costs way more than keeping the ones you already have, so make sure you treat them right!
Websites can help improve your customer service in a variety of ways. If your site is designed properly, you have already answered their concerns before they even think to reach you.
But if they do need to reach out, websites offer customers various support channels. Some of which are FAQ page of a site, contact page, or additional content that will assist them with their purchase.
A website provides user contact points. If a customer needs your help, wants to return a product or connects for any other number of reasons, your website provides easy access. Your site should have an email or email form, an address, or a phone number. The best-case scenario is your site has a bot that is ready and available to connect with a customer at any given time.
Just like in-person customer service, online customer service is all about listening. Continue to improve your website by listening to what your customers are saying. If they are confused about a certain process, change the process online or add a video to explain how to walk through it. Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.
Conclusion
As mentioned in depth above, I only chose 10 reasons you need a website but certainly, there are a lot more.
To recap 10 reasons you need a website:
- A website makes you look more professional
- Attracts customers
- A website increases SEO
- It will showcase products and services
- Shares social proof
- Compete with your competition
- Creates a strong brand identity
- You own your website
- Saves you time
- Improves customer service
The question you should be asking yourself is not “Do I need a website?” but “can I afford not to have a website? This blog gave you 10 amazing reasons why you need one. Having a business without a website starts you at a deficit, and in this day we need as much help as we can get.
Your customers and your competitors are online, and if you aren’t there, you are losing business daily. More and more, staying in business without a website is becoming more impossible. Websites are essential to a successful business.
Purple Bean Media usually creates websites on WordPress and another website builder, we also take care of web hosting. We also take care of the technological side of things such as registering a domain name, cms, HTML and more tools. We have our preferred webmaster but can work with you if you have one you like.
If you read this and you do not have a website, or you are unhappy with your current site, please connect with me. I’d love to help you launch a new website that will build your business, build your brand and increase your sales.
If this blog was too long, check out this video that summarizes the first 5 reasons why you need a website.
