Did you know that over 80% of consumers search the internet to find local products and services? It’s true! Without a digital presence, your small or local business is missing out on the customers that can make your business a success.

Here are 5 reasons why small businesses need websites!

1. Credibility

It may have taken all the way to 2019, but it is finally more common for businesses to have websites than it is not to. Without a website, your business is in the minority and it is missing out on tons of potential visitors and consumers.

Even worse, since it is now normal for businesses, no matter the size, to have websites, modern consumers expect it and can be turned off by a business that doesn’t have a web presence. Consumers expect a web presence, and not having one can leave a bad impression on your potential customers.

Think about when you have come across businesses without websites, or ones with outdated or just plain bad websites. You probably clicked away every time you encountered one of those ugly websites. That old website doesn’t just fail at bringing in new customers, it actively scares them away!

Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners have ugly, old websites because they don’t have the skills or time to build a beautiful, functioning, CONVERTING website.

2. Brand Development

When people think about a brand, the first thing that pops up is the logo. Yes, there are some extremely iconic logos out there (did you ever notice the arrow between the “E” and “X” in the FedEx logo…now you can’t unsee it!   ) , but branding is more than that. Branding makes a business recognizable from the rest, it expresses personality!

Your businesses’ website is the most relevant and best platform to express personality. There are no longer the limitations of a single word or two in a logo; now, we can use illustrations, design, layout, and content over multiple pages, popups, chatboxes, and more to tell your story.

3. Marketing

Long gone are the days of billboard and advertisements in the phone book.

The world has sold its soul to Google, and we may as well take advantage of it. Like we mentioned at the beginning, 80% of consumers are searching Google (and Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and more) for local businesses and services. The increased business that you can get from being at the top of the search engine rankings is massive! Unfortunately, small businesses usually don’t fare too well on search engine result pages.

But your small business does not have to! Through Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and digital marketing, your small business can rank higher and reap the rewards of all those extra consumers.

4. Competition

Your competition is on the internet. Whether they have a website, social media accounts, Google My Business page, or more, they are online and fighting fiercely for your customers. If you don’t have the same, or better, digital presence, than your business simply can’t compete.

Your consumers are only going to see businesses that have websites. If you don’t, you might as well be in the dark ages.

Additionally, your customers just won’t take your business seriously without a web presence. They think that if you aren’t willing to invest in it, you must not care about your business. If they don’t think you care about your business, then they won’t waste their time and money on your business.

5. Control

When you own your own website, you have all of the control. You get to decide how your business is presented: the design, branding, the story, the marketing.

There is also a lot of data available from your website. Through a quick connection with Google Analytics, you can see how many people visited your website, at what time, from what place, how long they stayed, what they were interested in, and more. This data can be POWERFUL for small business owners.

What Have We Learned?

29% of small businesses still don’t have a website, and therefore don’t have a web presence that is helping their business to succeed. Don’t be part of that 29%. You want your local business to be a success, and we want to help make that happen.

Give your local business every opportunity for it to succeed and grow. And once your website is done, let us manage and protect it for you!