5 reasons you need a Website
“I am present on all social media platforms already and my business is doing fine. So, why exactly is a website necessary?”
Most times, businesses refuse to grow beyond the phase they are currently in, beyond the now.
‘Websites are meant for bigger cooperation alone, perhaps when I dominate my space, I’ll create one”
For a long time now, several businesses have been leaving money on the table with their reluctance of getting a website for their business.
Why exactly is it important?
If your business is not on the internet, your business will soon be out of business — Bill Gate
Table of Content
- Improve Your Credibility
- Gain more visibility
3. Showcase Your Product/Service Best Way Possible
4.Providing Accessibility round the clock
5. You own and control your website
Improving your credibility:
Emmanuel Joseph stumbled on a luxury product he has been searching for for a long time. He saw their platform on Facebook and like most people would have done, he decided to check out their website before proceeding to make payment. But lo and behold! He didn't find them.
When I asked him why he later didn't patronize them, he simply said, “If they are so trustworthy and good as they say they are, why don't they have a website?”.
We are in a digital age where your customers ask similar questions. ‘ If you are truly good, why don't you have a professional website?”.
Having a website is a way to gain the credibility of your audience and potential clients. If Emmanuel had found the website, he would have seen them as an authoritative figure, trust them, and even do more business with them.
Having an interactive website that keeps your audience engaged helps build an initial level of trust that proves you are credible.
Gain More Visibility:
People can hardly patronize you if they’ve never heard or don’t know about you. The more you put yourself out there, the more chances your customers get to see you.
The truth is that a brand without a website is nothing but a small boutique. No matter how good products you sell or how efficient the services you offer — not many people will be able to know about it.
Having a website opens up a better chance of reaching a wider audience through Google searches.
If we have a product on our mind to get, we ask families or friends about it and how their experience is. But the story has changed since then. These days, your customers are googling their problems and solution(which you have) and if at that moment, you don't appear when they're searching, you are missing out. It's not just about creating any website, it's about getting an SEO-optimized site.
Providing accessibility through the clock
If you make your products available for sale on your website, then consumers can even make purchases around the clock. By making it easy for consumers to browse and buy your products online, you’re making it as convenient as possible for leads to convert to customers.
And the best part is — you don’t physically have to be there to still reap the benefits of the sale. Your website serves as your own personal digital sales person. Your site gives the consumer what they need to know about the product, makes the sale, and collects their payment information online
Showcase Your Product/Service Best Way Possible
There’s no greater freedom of designing your own website to your taste. No matter what we tell ourselves, people still judge based on perception, and what better way to shape their perception about you than owning a platform you can customize.
Upload eye-catching images, short tutorial videos, or any other ways to help provide additional value to your audience.
You own and control your website:
Relying heavily on Social media platforms for retaining and getting customers is the biggest mistake a business can make. Social media platforms change their policy all the time and you end up not being in control.
They can suddenly decide to put down a post of yours or close down your account because you violated one of their numerous policies.
The customers you've spent a lot of time having will go poof in a twinkle of an eye. Let's not talk about how some of your content might be removed outrightly without your consent.
Social media is more of like renting a store for your business, the owner can come one day and decide to ask you to vacate.
Social media platforms are good for businesses starting out but it's rather inadvisable to depend on it throughout the journey.
Social media can serve as a way to get traffic to your website or share content from your website.
With a professional website, one that is self-hosted (apart from the fact that you are renting space for your web address) but everything contained within your online space is yours. If you ever want or feel the need to move to a different web-host, you can take everything with you (provided you have backups and/or do so before your account expires).
I’ve always maintained the importance of having a web presence that you own, and this is definitely a valid point to consider when determining whether your business needs a professional website or not.
If you’re going to do one thing today to help your business be more successful, it’s to make getting a website your top priority.
