9 Reasons You Need a Website in 2020
Websites are still a crucial component for every business – this year more so than ever.
Your Customers Are Online
If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on sales. That’s simply a fact. More than 200 million customers shopped online in 2016, and that number has only increased since then. In 2020, a poll conducted by Supermarket News shows that 52% of shoppers had purchased groceries online at least once in the past year, with 49% saying they were moving to online grocery shopping or were increasing their online ordering. The bottom line is that many customers are not in physical stores—they’re online, some exclusively. This means if you don’t have a website, you’re not reaching these customers.
Social Media Can’t Replace a Website
A strong social media presence isn’t as effective as a website. These sites were set up to share information and make it easier to connect to customers, not create online stores. While Facebook and others have begun integrating selling platforms, they are fairly limited. You can’t create a custom online storefront on social media. With a website, though, there are hundreds of tools out there that will let you create your own online store that meets all of your needs. You can integrate multiple payment options, categorize all of your products according to your own system, and more. Social media sites help can drive customers your way, but they can’t replace a website as your online selling platform.
Also remember that because most social media websites are free to use, every business is going to have a profile. You’re competing with everyone from huge corporations to sole proprietorships and home-based businesses. However, since a website does involve some investment, it’s likely that newer and very small companies don’t have them. Even some larger companies may have decided that they don’t need a website. This gives you the edge over those companies.
Customers Expect You to Have a Website
With smartphones putting the internet literally in customers’ pockets, every business is expected to have a website. People are going to look for you online, especially if they are first-time customers who want to learn more about your company. If your business has no online presence, potential customers may even decide to give their money to one of your competitors that is online. It also means customers can’t find you when they want to learn more about your company and what you offer.
It Makes You Available 24/7/365
A website is 24/7 marketing. It’s always there whenever your customers want it, regardless of the time or day of the week. Your customers can make purchases in the middle of the night, on Christmas morning, and on weekends. Yes, you could do this by hiring employees to man a phone line or even be in your brick and mortar store, but the cost there is staggering. Your website is much more cost-effective. Even taking into account the cost to hire a website designer, rent server space, and other costs, you’re likely to find that your website operates for pennies per hour.
It’s a Platform for Telling Your Story in Your Own Words
Your website is your platform to the world. You can use it to discuss anything you want without worrying about the restrictions that often come with social media sites – but make sure your content is relevant to your business. You can include dozens of photos and videos of your projects and your employees. You can post testimonials, blogs, instruction manuals, portfolio items, and anything else you want to share with your customers and the world.
On social media and review sites such as Yelp, others can discuss their experiences with your company and influence your online narrative. Often, that influence is positive. However, that’s not always the case. There are also times when you want to make a statement without input from anyone else. Your website is the place to do that.
It Makes Your Company More Credible
Having a website helps reinforce your company’s credibility. It shows that you are serious about your business and have taken the time to invest in your website. By putting together a professional site and taking the time to create a good SEO strategy to improve search results, you’re showing potential customers that you’re a brand they can trust.
Do note, however, that a poorly designed website can hurt your business’s credibility and increase your bounce rate. Sites that have poor navigation, many broken links and missing pages, or that have a lot of third-party ads on them will send the wrong message to customers. These websites can make customers think that you quickly put together a website without any thought to it or have failed to maintain your website. A bad website can do more harm than no website at all in some regards. Keep this is mind when you’re considering whether or not to hire a website designer. If you’ve never designed a website before, you may want to bring in a professional rather than risk losing customers.
You Can Easily Share Information with Customers
If you make changes to a product’s user manual, learn about issues with the product, or have new frequently asked questions you want to share with all of your customers, a website is the place to post that information. Unlike social media where important posts slowly get pushed down the page over time, you can create pages on your website for this information that will always be easily accessible. This is especially useful for companies that produce computer software since information about updates can be easily available for customers. Having this information online can help increase conversions because customers will find value in the information and further consider your product or service.
Your website can be integrated with online marketplace software and be easily updated with new product information, new pricing, and new catalogues as needed. Customers won’t have to come to your store or contact you to learn about these items. Many of their questions may also be answered by visiting your website. This cuts down the number of calls or customer service interactions, freeing up your employees to help those who have concerns or questions of higher priority.
Potential Customers Can Find You in a Search
Marketing to your current customer base can only get you so far. These people are already loyal customers and may buy from you often. With a website that has proper SEO, however, you can reach out to people who have never heard of you before. Over 80 percent of customers in 2017 said they researched products online before they made a purhcase, a trend that has increased every year. If these customers can’t find your products or information about you online, they may never even consider buying from you.
This is one area where SEO is vital, though, because most users only look at the first page of search results. If your website isn’t there, they likely won’t visit it because they will have found what they were looking for in the first few results. You will want to work with a website designer who understands SEO in order to avoid being lost in the thousands of results most searches return.
You Can Be on Equal Footing with Bigger Businesses
If you’re a small business, you likely can’t match large corporations dollar-for-dollar as far as marketing goes. However, websites are very affordable, and SEO is SEO regardless of how much you pay to have it done. Working with a website designer that meets your budget can help you grow your business just as quickly as hiring a dozen SEO experts and paying them all six-figure salaries. It’s very possible for a small business to be the top search result over much larger competitors.
Being on equal footing allows your business to be competitive. You can draw in customers from all over the world. If you’re an individual artist, writer, or performer, you can use your website to showcase your talents. It can lead to art commissions, gallery shows, publishing opportunities, and more. Individuals may even want to build a website that acts as an online resume, giving them the chance to share themselves and their brand with the world.
Don’t Lose Out To Competitors
Without a website, the bottom line is that you’re going to lose business to your competitors. Fortunately, website design services are available for individuals and companies of all sizes. Rather than risk losing business, start thinking about what your website needs in order to help your business grow in 2020 and beyond.
