The online page is a blank canvas on which to paint the picture of your business, and the attention to detail that is given to it will have a huge impact on its success. You want it to look fantastic but equally you need it to be technically charged for successful ranking in the search engines results pages. There are many balls to juggle, but a website is critical to the success of a small business.
Cost effective
The returns on your investment in the development and creation of your website is second to none. With a brick and mortar store you have spiralling costs: business rates, insurance, heating, electricity and staffing costs to consider; an online store means that you avoid these extra costs and it is possible to run a successful online business solo. You can even collaborate with web designers for a fixed monthly fee that gives you ongoing support for your website so that no large initial payment is required so that cash flow is not affected. Our pay monthly web service allows you to get online at a fraction of the cost!
24/7 Opening
A website allows your business to take orders 24/7. Your store front never shuts. Your products and services are available to customers every hour and every day of the week. If you are savvy with the content that you provide on your site (FAQs, How to Guides etc) you will even be able to reduce the amount of direct communication you have with customers and clients. They will be able to act on impulse there and then without having to wait for you to reply to calls or e-mails.
Competitive Edge
The great thing about a website is that it levels out the playing field between the big companies and the smaller competing businesses. There is no big flashy department store competing with a small corner shop – David and Goliath are the same size, but only if it is done well. Having a website gives you the opportunity to become a serious competitor to market leaders, no matter how big they are. Your online marketing strategy can be developed to make your site visible to a global market, or if you prefer, a more local customer base.
Credibility
Nowadays consumers tend to check out businesses online before they contact them. It gives the customer the opportunity to see if they like the look and sound of the business, and to check out reviews. An aesthetically beautiful designed website instils a sense of trust in a visitor. A technically well-designed site that is rich in SEO ensures that the site ranks highly on search engine results pages, which emphasises to a visitor that a site is credible if Google rates it on its first pages.
It’s a big step having a website, but we live in a digital age and by failing to develop and master your online presence you are missing out on real business opportunities. You don’t have to go it alone, there are a wealth of resources that can be used to benefit your business and you must take advantage of these innovations.