5 Reasons Websites are Important for Small Businesses

Sometimes my friends and I go to food halls instead of a sit-down restaurant. We all shop around and try different things but it is a lot of standing, waiting, and shuffling around. The variety is amazing but the convenience and comfort is a little less than a restaurant. When we go to a restaurant, we can easily browse all the options they have to offer while having a great experience and enjoying our food.

This isn’t a perfect metaphor, but it is very similar to how customers feel on social media vs. a brand’s website. Social media is a great place to see what’s out there and grab samples of brands and experiences. But a website is the place where customers can spend time and dig into your brand.

While websites can be structured in a variety of ways, it really comes down to some version of a home page, about the brand, products/offerings/services, social proof (reviews, testimonials, etc.), and a way to contact the business.

Here are 5 reasons why having a solid website can do wonders for your small business:

1. It provides a home base for your marketing.

Every time you drive brand awareness, whether through paid ads, organic social media, or IRL (in real life) networking, you need to have a website for customers to visit to learn more and make a conversion. While it is possible to drive people to your socials, your inbox, or third party sites, it is better for their experience and your analytics if you land them on a website. If you run paid campaigns, you are able to retarget users who have been to your website, which is a very valuable audience. You can also have an email collection form on your website so even if users don’t purchase anything, they can stay in touch and continue moving down your funnel.

2. You can create a social media link in bio page.

LinkTree and Koji are both great options when creating a landing page for users directly from your social media pages (#linkinbio, anyone?). Did you know that you can create a page just like that on your website? It is very simple to make but makes a huge difference in the ability to customize and track the traffic on your page. Check out ours and Money with Katie’s (one of my favorite personal finance bloggers) for a little inspiration.

3. It is a way to be available to your customers 24/7.

Most brands (though not all) want to be accessible to their audience. Stellar customer service is more important than ever and a website is a great tool to help your brand with that. There are easy plugins that offer chatbots so you can answer questions immediately from your customers as they are making purchase decisions. You can also create a contact form on your website to gather questions and information from potential customers and craft the perfect response for each situation. Beyond interacting with customers, websites are a great place for an FAQ section to gather and answer the questions you get most. This will save you time and make your customers’ buying process so much more enjoyable.

4. They are great for both new and old customers.

Great marketing toes the line between attending to old customers and gaining new customers, and websites are no different. Your existing customers are very valuable, so creating content such as blogs or listing new products are essential to keep them coming back. New customers, on the other hand, are a little harder to reach but can expand your customer base. They are in the research phase when they hit a brand’s website - What do you offer? Why should they trust your business? Who else buys your products/services? Have they had a good experience? You can create the perfect inflow for new customers on a website by featuring testimonials, reviews, certifications, etc. on landing pages specifically for new customers. Having a website as a one-stop-shop for your customers will make their experience, whether they are old or new, much more enjoyable, and keep them coming back time and time again.

5. Websites are affordable and sustainable.

It can feel really overwhelming reading this list and counting the number of pages, photos, and paragraphs you will need to create a website. I’m not going to lie - A website is an upfront investment, both from a time and money perspective. But this is a one-time investment! Yes, you will need to update your website as time goes on but if it is built properly (and we can help with that!), you can use your website for a long time. The cost of hosting a website and domain can vary depending on where your website is hosted, what capabilities it has, and more. In the grand scheme of business expenses, though, it is one of the most affordable and definitely has one of the highest ROIs.

So if you were considering creating a website, this is a sign to get started.

Or, if you have an existing site that isn’t very functional, it might be worth considering a little makeover.

Building a website is pretty straightforward these days, but if you think you may need some help, reach out to us! We would love to help bring your business to life online.

Whichever way you choose, make sure to keep your customers in mind as you are designing. A websites #1 function is to serve your customers. So put yourself in their shoes and start building!