Why a Website is the Key to Showcasing Your Business
A business’s online presence is one of the keys to success. And it should be plain obvious when most customers rely mainly on the Internet while making their purchase decisions. But if you seek clear, comprehensive reasons why you should invest in a thoughtfully crafted website – you’ll find them below.
A website is your brand’s best business card…
Which company’s services would you intuitively trust more – the one with an established website or the one without it? According to research conducted a few years ago by Squarespace and YouGov, almost 4 out of 5 British people agree that a well-designed website is far more credible than other forms of online presence – like businesses’ profiles in social media.
And it’s a matter of fact – customers seem to be more prone to question a company’s legitimacy if it doesn’t have its own website (we can all agree to make the exception for that one family-run pizzeria a few blocks away). A website gives people comfort that they are dealing with a well-established business. It’s a similar case to that of billboards – even if they do not always have an instant impact on customers’ behavior, they usually convey the message “We’re real… and can afford to rent ad space”. A good website has a similar effect… but it goes a few steps further.
Just like an elegant business card, or a well-designed brick-and-mortar store, an appealing site reflects and elevates your brand. A strong UX/UI design plays a major role in shaping this perception (check differences and similarities between UX and UI). With your content, you can establish who you are, what your brand stands for, and what it has to offer from the start. The website’s visual aesthetic cultivates your business’s distinct identity. And then there’s the overall user experience – the site’s structure, interface design, and page load times. If done flawlessly, it demonstrates that you truly value your customers’ time and prioritize their satisfaction.
Also, let’s not forget about social proof. Your website is a perfect place to show off your customers’ testimonials, case studies, or even awards that your business has won – which is another way to ensure your potential clients that your brand equals quality.
All of these factors greatly influence the customers’ buying decisions, consciously or not. With a high-quality website, you have the power to make an impact on them as well.
… while acting as your 24/7 salesman and customer support
The website never sleeps – it’s always available for your current and potential clients. Whether they are looking for contact info, searching for content that answers their questions or they simply want to make an order – if you have your own site, they can do it without any constraints.
There’s not that much to say about the salesman part – we all know how e-commerce works and that it doesn’t shut down after 5 p.m.; on the other hand, the customer support part often gets overlooked. If you’ve ever worked directly with a client, you know how crucial the business-customer communication is… but also, how difficult it is to maintain it. A content-rich website will, in most instances, do that for you. Do you know what questions your customers tend to ask? What doubts do they have about your products and services? Make sure to provide the answers on your site, and you’ll see how much easier doing business can get.
It’s your ultimate marketing hub
Nowadays, digital marketing is the way to increase leads and grow your business. And your site should be a central hub for all your brand’s online endeavors.
- It’ll be the finish line for all the traffic you gather from other sources, like Facebook, Instagram, Google Ads and e-mail campaigns.
- It’ll give you total control over your content – without social media platforms’ confines and algorithms’ whims – which will let you roll out your brand’s story in its purest form.
- It’s also the only place where you can showcase your products/services in their glory.
- It’ll make it easier to keep your customers and partners up to date with your company’s next moves.
It provides you with priceless insights about your customers
Another overlooked aspect of having your website is how much data about sales trends and customer preferences it helps you collect.
Every single interaction, from clicks to conversions, is a valuable nugget of information that can help you better understand your audience’s preferences, pain points, and shopping behavior. With a bit of help from analytical tools, you’ll be able to trace traffic sources, identify content trends, and monitor your customers’ journey.
And that will be the key to making more informed business decisions. Tailoring your approach based on these insights lets your brand pivot and always remain on top of customer needs while improving their engagement and strengthening brand loyalty.
It builds your brand’s online presence
Take a look at these two numbers:
- over 63% of all traffic on the internet comes from Google search results (according to SparkToro);
- 80% of U.S. customers use search engines to find local businesses weekly (these are the findings of Consumer Behavior Index (CBI) research by SOCi).
No matter what the scale of your business is, if you want to reach a relevant audience that truly needs your products or services, you want it to show up in Google search results. And there’s no better way to do it than by owning a fully established website. We know about Google My Business – it’s extremely convenient, especially for small, local businesses – but it won’t tell your customers the whole story about your brand.
The best time to start building your business’s website is today
A well-crafted site is essential for business success – it raises brand awareness, provides a 24/7 communication channel and acts as a perfect hub for all your marketing campaigns.
