Benefits of having a website for your business

Why have a website?

In order to have a successful business, you must have an Internet presence. With the availability of the internet at your fingertips, the majority of people look towards the internet as their main source of information. Placing your business on the Internet, gives your business the potential for global exposure, and if you’re a local business, the opportunity for potential clients to visit you, without leaving their homes.

 

Website Advantages

• Exposure to potential customers

  • This is one of the most important reasons to have a business website. People are searching for someone that offers what you offer. When they search, will your business appear? If you’re not there, how will they hire you?

• Promotion of your services

  • People will not buy your products or services unless they know that they actually exist. You can tell your potential audience much more through a website, than you could possibly do via any print advertisements, Yellow Pages listings, or TV/radio commercials. You can also display any portfolios, samples, reviews and anything else that will convince customers you are the right solution for them. There are no limitations as far as space, time, nationality and residency are concerned. You can say as many things as you want, to as many people as you wish.

• Convey your credibility

  • If someone is considering hiring you, they’ll want to know about you, your background, and your experience. With a website you also display that you are in fact an established business, and customers can rely on you to deliver.

• Availability , Cost Cutting and Time Saving

  • Your website is always there, 24/7. If anyone has any questions regarding your pricing, availability, services offered, portfolios and anything else you are often asked about – you have your website which can answer all of those questions, without you having to worry about missing potential customers, because your were not present to answer their enquires. – This will also save you a lot of time, and let you concentrate on running your business and doing the work you need to do.

  • Having a website is a lot more value for money, than having to print ads, brochures, coupons, flyers, specials, newsletters or mailing.

  • Using google ads requires you to have a website, and makes google place you on top of every search related to your business. This costs – starting from around $1.50 a day. Where else will you find that sort of value for money?

• Hub for your social media

  • If you are not yet using facebook, google plus and twitter, you should be. Social media is a great way to ensure that information about your business and services can be shared online, making it easier for people to find out about you and how you can help them. Your website then becomes the glue that holds it all together. From your website, you can post your news or blogs directly to social media outlets, and of course link back to any of your online business pages from your website.

• Gather information and gather members

  • How great would it be to have access to a list of people who are interested in your services and who have voluntarily given you permission to contact them about how you can help them? You can do this with newsletter signup form on your website and a contact form to provide comments and reviews.

Having a website doesn’t mean that you will immediately rake in all the benefits, especially if you do not have the right website for your needs. There are plenty of websites out there that do not look good or professional, or a wrong type for that sort of business. This is why it is important to plan everything you want out of the website before it gets published.

 

Note on Free Websites and free web hosting.

There are plenty of “free” website providers out there, to name a few – weebly, wix, webs, im creator, etc. These are great if you are planning to use these providers in the future, or just want to have a rough idea on how you want your website to look and what you want to display. BUT, all the free website providers strive for you to sign up with them on their “professional” monthly plans, otherwise they won’t make their money. Without the plans, you won’t be able to remove their advertisements, their logos, and your website name, will still have the name of their company in it (e.g www.yourname.weebly.com), other restrictions on how much you can publish can also apply.

For some this may not seem like a big issue, but many people might not take your business seriously, and may skip it, especially if you don’t have a .com.au domain. You just have to consider your searching habits, and whether you think you would pick a business that appears to have an established website and name, or a free one with another companies name in it.

As you can see the benefits of a website are quite numerous. Nevertheless, every once in a while I still come across a small business owner, usually a solo service professional, who still doesn’t have a website. Usually they know that they need one, but just haven’t gotten around to getting one set up. If you do want a website, contact me and we can discuss your needs. Have a look at my pricing and information pages.