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Why do I need a website?

What your business does, directly impacts on the kind of website that your business needs... but are there occasions where you might not need one at all? Read on, and find out.

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Hi everyone! Zarte here again! And no, you won’t be able to get rid of me via an election!

Today I’m going to be answering a very common question – one that we get asked possibly more frequently than any other. And that question is “Why do I even NEED a website?”

Well, first of all, we’re going to acknowledge that there are a few situations, where actually you might be right – you might not need one. These situations are very few and far between, but we can think of a couple. Firstly, if your business almost exclusively deals with the older generations, directly, then perhaps it’s reasonable to assume that most of your customers wouldn’t be online, and therefore it’s more prudent to spend your time and money on other methods of self-promotion. Although this does come with a caveat that as the Internet gets older, more and more people are now using it as an older generation who’ve had it from their working years as standard, and this number will only increase as time goes on.

Additionally, perhaps your business is incredibly local. If you’re the handyman for your village for instance, and you have a constant stream of business coming in, just from the 100 or so houses around, then perhaps there’s no worth in you having a website, as everyone knows who you are and what you do already.

However beyond that, realistically at this time, you will need a website to optimise your business’ potential. As websites becoming increasingly commonplace, part of what the average person thinks of as the fundaments of a business, is an online presence. A company that has a website will often be seen to be more professional, or at least more established and stable than one that doesn’t. This isn’t necessarily true, however people’s perceptions of what is and isn’t important, often aren't true, however you still have to cater to them.

As an additional point to this, if someone sees your business card or an advert in their day to day life, and then does an Internet search which you appear prominently, this improves the image of you as a solid, dependable business. There are more aspects to this that aren’t for this blog, but the basics are something to bear in mind.

Websites are also a valuable tool in taking a lead, and a discussion as a result of that lead, towards making a sale. If you have a conversation with someone who has found you in a phone book, or through other media, they may well have spoken to others as well as you. What can be useful when weighing up options, in order to make a final decision is to look at a website, both to a) make sure that nothing you’ve made a note of from a conversation appears to be untrue, or misunderstood and b) to allow someone to go from simply hearing about what you might be able to offer them, but actually being able to look at a page of images of your previous work for instance. The more information someone has available to them to make a decision, the more likely they are to make that decision in your favour. It’s just basic common sense really.

So, perhaps now is the time to reconsider your web presence, whether it’s improving what you already have, or potentially even starting from scratch. The financial outlay is far outweighed by the potential you have, once you’re able to reach new audiences.

Of course, if you have any queries, or thoughts on this, or any of the rest of our content, you’re always welcome to give us a call, or drop us an e-mail – you’ll find the details all over the website – appropriate, huh?

Until next time,

Zarte