6 Reasons a Website Benefits Small Businesses
You hear it time and again.
“I didn’t have a website when I started, and I had no problem making 6 figures in 5 days.”
OK, so that’s a bit extreme of an example, but I’m sure you’ve heard something similar. And you know, they’re sorta right. You don’t HAVE to have a website to make money. You don’t need to be online to make money either. This doesn’t mean that you should throw the playbook out the window, though.
Having systems in place will help propel your business forward, which makes you money, and who doesn’t want money? One way to up the ante in business is by creating a website, even if it’s a really simple one on a drag and drop website builder platform like Squarespace or Wix (I go with Squarespace, so I’m not hatin’).
Creating a website is pretty important, and I’d venture to say even more important if your business is solely online. It’s your cornerstone for all things business, your storefront, and yes, even if you offer services like coaching or healing, you still have a storefront. You sell packages and products, right? It helps tremendously in hosting everything in one place.
So, without further ado, the 6 reasons you, as a small business owner/entrepreneur, should have a website:
Believe it or not, having a website actually helps you figure out the little details of your business you may look over on the daily, such as your target audience, business values and mission, why you’re unique in a sea of others doing relatively the same work as you, and more that you’ll uncover in sitting down and getting to know your business inside and out, so you can share it with the world.
Marketing your business is kinda sorta pretty important if you actually want to make money. And all marketing efforts should point back to your website because this is where you host everything your customer needs to know about buying or consuming information from you. The best part, if you’ve created a good website and a good funnel, your website is literally a 24/hour 7/days a week salesperson for your business, and one that works for free!
Blogging has been statistically proven to incredibly benefit the engagement with and sales for your business. (Don’t believe me, check it out on Hubspot.) If you provide well-written content regularly to your blog, you have a better chance of being found organically via search engines. When people find your blog and want to know more, they’re going to look at your website. When they look at your website, you have a real good chance of selling them something you offer. See how marketing efforts benefit you when you point back to your website?
If you don’t have a brick and mortar store, that’s ok. Many are moving business solely online, and there are many benefits to this move. However, if you have a digital business and don’t have a digital basecamp for said business, you lose credibility (despite what the person who made 6k in 30 seconds without a website says). Having a website shows the world you’re serious about helping people. It’s the perfect place to provide proof of what you do and how it helps people through testimonials and well-crafted case studies (I do write these, if you’re interested). A website gives you credibility in a sea of wannabes, and when reputation is important, you want credibility.
Remember when I said you should always point marketing efforts back to your website? One main reason for this is to gain statistics that will help you track the success of your business AND see where your sales funnel needs improvement. It’s easier to track ROI (return on investment) on marketing efforts if your website is programmed to track certain actions, as well as being able to grab cart ditchers with one last persuasive reason to buy something you offer. When you invest money in marketing, you’re going to want to know how it’s performing. A website helps you figure this out.
And lastly, you have total control of everything, from the aesthetics, to the message, even where it’s hosted. Some say having a Facebook business page is good enough, or that you can totally build business through Instagram, without ever needing a site. But, relying on third party sites, such as Facebook, leaves you at the mercy of whatever they decide to change or cancel. You can’t change the interface. You have very limited options for customization. All-in-all, it’s not going to portray your brand and what you stand for as effectively as having a custom website.
So, you can listen to the 1% of business owners who’ve made it big without a website, or you can put something on a tight budget that’s still sleek and represents your business. At the end of the day, it’s better to send someone to ThisIsMyBusiness.com than to Facebook.com/thisismybusiness.