You may think, I have had my business for so long and never had a website, why do I need one
now? Well times are changing; trends are evolving and there is a very good chance that your
competitor has a website making them stand out from you.
Here are 10 reasons why every business needs a website.
- Establish your brand – design your website with your brand in mind. Your brand is
essentially what identifies your business and makes it different from others. What are
some colors, fonts and designs that you use for the majority of your marketing efforts?
Those are the things that make customers say, “oh hey, that must be (business name
here),” because they have seen that look before associated with you logo. Keeping your
brand in mind as you design your website will not only establish it but will set you up for
success in the long run!
- Makes you look professional – having a website will show that you are serious about
your business. Showcasing what you have to offer, contact information and hours are all
great things to add. I know when I am somewhere new, we always look up the place
before we go to see what we can expect. If they have a website, it’s more appealing and
inviting. We always go straight for the reviews or testimonials; this is just one awesome
feature a website can have!
- Simple to create – these days, a website is easy to create if you have the right direction.
You can make your website as simple as you would like or so unique that you have
never seen anything like it. Web design is one of the many services that Barnhouse Media
offers. Barnhouse Media can sit down with you and make your website dreams come true!
- Attract new customers – when someone has never been to your business or heard
about you, they most likely will look you up online. We always do this and once we find their
website, which is normally the first thing to show up, we immediately dive in and browse.
If we like what we see, then chances are we will go to that place and become a new customer.
This is called passive marketing, where you do not have to work to gain customers
physically.
- Easy outlet for customers to contact you – a website is a great place to put your
updated hours, events, and contact information. Normally businesses add a “Contact
Us” page where customers can go and fill out a questionnaire to later be contacted by
the business. Sometimes it is a live chat feature or even a button that directly takes you
to their phone number. Any of these ways of contact make it easy for the customer by
just clicking a couple buttons.
- Marketing your product(s) – with a website you can easily add a way for customers to
shop your products and integrate with your point of sales. Add photos, descriptions and
measurements, all of these details can help a customer decide to buy an item or not.
This may intrigue them to then physically stop at your business and take a better look at
the product(s).
- Customer Reviews – most websites have a “Customer Reviews” or “Testimonials” tab or
area. This is where a business can showcase what customers have said about their
service and products. A good review can go a long way, we always look at reviews. If the reviews are good, then we will plan to stop at that business or buy that certain product we had in mind.
- Share your story – if you add an “About Us” page to your website, you are showing
customers how personal you are. The more information and details that you add, the
more inviting your business will look. Share your story of how the business started, if
you have a long history then add a timeline with photos. These are all great ways to
show how much you care about your business.
- Stay on trend – like I mentioned before, trends are changing constantly. Thankfully,
websites can be changed as much as you would like. Now keep in mind to always stay
on brand and not change too much, but you can always add or delete content/pages as
you wish.
- Easy to maintain – when you have a website, you have what customers see and then
what you (the business owner) can see. This is the back end of the website where you
can add products with all the little details and change pictures out as your business
grows. This is something that Barnhouse Media, as the web designer, will go over with you and be on standby if you ever needed help.
Okay… now that you have read all 10 reasons why your business should have a website, what
are you thinking? Are you wanting to hear more? If so, let us know! We would love to chat with
you about your hopes and dreams for your business website. Creating unique and fresh, custom, on-trend websites is just one of the many services that we offer!
