Why Your Business Needs a Website

We live in an online world.

The days of listing your business in the Yellow Pages and calling it a day are over. But now, the internet is the virtual Yellow Pages, on steroids.

One of the first things I do when I hear about a new business is try to find them online. I want to know where they're located, I want to read their reviews, I want to see photos of what they have to offer.

And if I can't find them? But I find a competitor offering the same thing who does have an online presence? Nine times out of ten, that's where I'm headed.

And I'm not unique in that way.

So what goes into starting a successful business? Well, a lot of things. Developing products/services, coming up with a name, branding, time management, marketing, etc. But one major thing that a lot of people don’t think about right away when marketing their business is creating a website.

Even if your business is something that you do on the side for only a few hours a week, your business needs a website. Even if your business is something that you don’t think is popular enough to take off, your business needs a website. Even if you don’t know anything about website development, your business needs a website.

The real question…why?

There are MANY, many reasons why your business needs a website. But for now, here are the top five.

Why Your Business Needs a Website (even if it’s just your side gig)

1. Customers can Google you: We have the internet at our fingertips 24/7. When consumers need advice, they search online. If they want to build a house, they search online. If they are looking for certain products/services, they search online.

Here I am, stating the obvious again, but here goes. Nobody will be able to find you online if you aren’t online.

“But I have a business Facebook, Eden.”

Which is great. And I’m not dissing Facebook whatsoever. But there are downsides to only having a Facebook business page as your web presence. A big one being that nothing stops multiple pages from having the exact same name.

So let’s say you have a fruit stand called “Awesome Fruit Stand.” Pretty generic name, but you think it’s great and you proceed with creating your brand around that name and making a Facebook page with that name. Okay, now: somehow, somebody else thought of that name…what the fruit?!

And now they have a fruit stand with the exact same name as you. Annoying, yes, but it happens. Somebody, somewhere, visits the other Awesome Fruit Stand and gets home only to find that their fruit is rotten on the inside, smells like vom.com AND has a bug in it. THEY ARE FIRED UP and ready to rip Awesome Fruit Stand a new one on social media.

Here’s hoping that they post their nasty review on the correct page and not on yours…and that people searching for your fruit stand later on will find your page and not the other page with the nasty review. So on and so forth.

I've been managing small business social media pages for a decade, and I've truly seen it all.

While it is true that in real life nothing is really stopping anyone from having the same business name as somebody else, one thing that is certain is that nobody will have the same website URL as you. Once you have locked down your unique URL, that’s it. Nobody else can use it. So when you give it to your customers, you know FOR SURE that they are going to find the correct business.

While we’re on this note, let’s segue into my next point…

2. Customer testimonial page: The unfortunate truth is this: angry people are the ones who REALLY like to write reviews. For example, while we were on the search for home builders in our area, every one that I looked at had all bad reviews with the BBB. Admittedly, I started getting a little worried that I wasn’t going to find a quality builder, all because those shitty reviews planted that tiny seed of doubt in my head.

But then I started thinking how many thousands of homes these builders have collectively built, and it dawned on me: the happy people are too busy being happy to sit down and be keyboard warriors. They may be elated with their home, but you wouldn’t know that by doing an internet search…because all the comments online are from the angry folks.

Of course, I am the weird exception, because I LOVE giving somebody props online. I once wrote a review for a Holiday Inn in Eureka, California entitled “I wish I could live here.” Just so you know that I never lie…

Reviews on Google or Facebook are also great, but you have NO control over those. Your website allows you to showcase testimonials from your actual customers who are familiar with your business!

3. Easy way to create an email list: You may think that email is obsolete, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth, friends. Your email list is a DIRECT line of communication between you and your customers. You can post on social media all you want to, but no matter how many followers or likes you have, you are not going to reach every single one of them. Why? Say it with me: the algorithm :\

The algorithm is hot one day and ice cold the next. Making social media NOT a reliable marketing avenue to solely depend on.

Email is, like I said before, I direct link between you and your customers. Research shows that customers are much more likely to pursue a product or service that they heard about via email as opposed to a social media post. Like I said before, this is NOT to say that you should boycott social media. But your website and email list should be your top priority…which is (again) why your business needs a website!

Through your website, you can have various opt-in areas that allow visitors to subscribe to your email list. Posting articles about your business/industry, photos of your work and testimonials will show readers that you’re an expert in your niche and make them more likely to sign up for your email list.

Speaking of, if you want my best marketing advice delivered straight to your inbox every week, join my email list at the bottom of this page! 👇

4. Showcase your work and new products/services: What better place to show off your amazing work than on your very own website? Along with testimonials, photos are extremely important for customers who are researching your business.

Back before I had a "real job," I used to paint, draw, sew, upholster...all kinds of things to bring in some extra cash. The above photo is a snippet from my old website showing some of my work.

No matter what type of website you decide to go with, there will be some type of gallery tool that you can use to display your products and services.

5. Learn who your (potential) customers are: Your website is pretty much the heart of your marketing efforts for your business. This should be where all of your content (photos, testimonials, blog posts) originates, and then if you want to share it to social media from there, that’s great too.

Like the photo gallery, no matter what type of website you create, you will be able to see how many people are viewing your site, what they are looking at, where they are from, how they got to your site and tons of other information. This information is SO important for building your business and keeping it going. You can learn so much about your audience through website stats, and you can use that information to continue growing.

Why Your Business Needs a Website: The Recap

1. So that customers can Google you: Nobody can look you up online if you aren’t online…and they also can’t post nice reviews about you!
   

2. So that you can share reviews from real customers: You can’t control what is posted about you anywhere else, but on your website, you can showcase all of the nice things your customers have said about you.
   

3. So that you can create an email list: Your email list is the ONLY foolproof connection between you and your customers.
   

4. So you can show off your awesome work: Create a gallery of your work to show potential customers what they have to look forward to.
   

5. So you can grow your business with analytics: Use the reports from your website to learn who your audience is, where they are from, what they are interested in, and so much more.
   

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