7 Reasons Why You Need a Website to Take Your Small Business to the Next Level

Growing your brand and drumming up new business can be tough without the right marketing in place. Learn why you need a website to grow your small business.

If you don't have a website going into 2019, you're not just stuck in olden times. You're missing out on massive amounts of traffic and opportunities. Every click on a website is a chance to land a potential customer.

Having one also opens entirely new paths for your business's growth.

You need a website to take control of your brand and how people see you. By having a website, you can vie to be the first business a person sees when they need something. Companies need websites to stay competitive in their industry.

They also express the two things every business should hold dear: commitment and credibility. Those virtues are the things customers look for the most when deciding who to do business with. You need a website to demonstrate that you meet their expectations of what good business is.

There are thousands of reasons why you need to invest in a website. Keep reading below for seven of the most crucial ones!

1. Websites Show Commitment and Credibility

You can always tell when a business isn't committed to themselves, their customers, or their products. People can tell it in the way the business treats itself: its equipment may be damaged and neglected, or missing altogether. Imagine what you would think about a business if its entire storefront was missing.

By not having a website, you are essentially a business without a storefront. Websites function as digital storefronts people can visit for information and guidance. Without them, people have nowhere to go to learn about you, and will only assume the worst.

When you invest in a website, you're not investing in a gimmick or a marketing strategy. You're investing in your overall business, which is a form of commitment. It's a way to express that you care about what you do and who you work with, and people will pick up on that.

2. You Need a Website to Market Your Brand

Of course, having a website is just the first step in demonstrating to people that you run a good business. While just having a website may catch people who are already interested in you and your services, it does nothing for those who don't know you. Just having one won't reel in any new customers.

To do that, you need a brand. However, you should know that you already have one.

Your brand is simply your reputation: it's what people think about when they think about you. By having a website, you get to control the things you're business is associated with. For example, if you want to make community service a part of your brand, all you need to do is feature things about community service on your website.

You can even drive people to your website through channels associated with specific things. Over time, people will associate you with whatever you associate your website with. You'll earn the attention of people who are also interested in the things your brand is associated with.

3. Websites Give You a Platform to Talk With Customers

One of the most important parts of any business is customer service. And the most fundamental part of any effective customer service is communication. Your customers need a way to reach you, and you should actively reach out to customers.

The best way to do this by creating a 'contact us' page on your website. For most businesses, this page includes a simple form that people can fill out to reach you with any comment or question. However, the 'contact us' page can have so much more.

You can feature different social media profiles on the website. These can be for the business as a whole, or you can feature your staff on the page with personal social media links. Either way, having a clear way for customers to contact you will show you stand by your work.

4. Websites Don't Need to Be Public-Facing

While most people think about websites as something that anyone can access, it doesn't need to be that way. You can establish certain pages on your website that only employees have access to. And you can do anything you want with them.

These pages can include anything from instructional material to a chat room. By creating orphan pages, you'll do more than just create a hub of internal web pages to help the company. You'll also be forming solid lines of communication between people in it.

5. Businesses Need a Website to Stay Competitive

One of the most pressing reasons to get a website is one simple fact: everyone else has one. Business is about competition, so how can you claim to be competitive if everyone has a website but you?

With a website, competitors can earn traffic from Google search results, if they have a decent SEO strategy. From that traffic, they can get customers - your customers. To be competitive, you need to reach the same people your competition is.

6. A Website Will Bring You and Your Community to the Modern Times

If you're a small local business, you don't just owe yourself a website. You owe your community a website as well.

You're not just representing yourself online if you only serve a specific region. You're representing the region itself since you're a part of it, and it deserves to be put on the map. By having a website, you'll also be able to ensure your community is seen the best light possible.

7. In Modern Business, Having a Website Is Fundamental

Going without one in 2019 is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make. You need a website to reach a massive online market. Most digital systems are already set up in your favor, too.

Google often returns local results when people search for a specific kind of business. There are tools that can help you measure the effectiveness of your website. To succeed with a website, all you need to do is set one up.

No matter how you decide to get one though, it will take time. If you run a business, time is likely something you simply don't have.

Contact us and we will build a website that works for you. Our team of trained design professionals will make sure it does more than just reach customers. It will be a digital storefront, where you can reach new people, monitor your brand, and keep serving your customers!