Does My Small Business Need A Website?

The World Wide Web has grown significantly since its introduction to the public in the early 90s and has changed the way we live and work forever with almost 80% of us having access to the internet on a daily basis. So just how important is it for your business to have a website?

In a recent study 2 out of 3 people will search for a company via the internet before using them. This is to look at the website, read any reviews or customer feedback that may be posted and to look at your competition. A good website enables you to interact with your customers via feedback, surveys and competitions etc.

Using a website and or adding social media has now become as important for your business if not more so than having a telephone!

Having a website is a cost effective way of marketing your business and if you get it right it can massively increase the interest your business gets. Your website is basically an additional shop window- open all hours and with minimum effort from you. It benefits your small business as you can attract custom from all over and not just in the local area and will make your business look much more professional.

Depending on the nature of your business you can include online sales which inevitably make up for quite a large % of your turnover, and in fact Britain’s are the biggest online shoppers with around 6 in 10 of us using the internet to purchase goods from food to holidays and clothing. This also means that a new business idea no longer has to have a retail unit and is a convenient way to introduce or test a product works before investing in a premises to trade from. Some successful entrepreneurs invest by buying several ecommerce businesses and never even have to leave the house.

Building a website can be reality cheap and easy whether you want to produce it by yourself or hire in a hosting company to do it for you.

Either way you need to keep your website up to date and easy to use, ensure you have call to action selections easily visible whether it’s for making a booking at your restaurant or adding a product to basket, if this isn’t easy to find you may not convert your customer.

Ecommerce is an imperative addition to any business, old or new.