9 reasons why your business need a website

Introduction

In order to understand why you need a website, it is necessary to explain why people visit a website.

In my blog on “Creating a good web content”, I explained that people visit a website mainly because of they are looking for information which is contained in the webpages that make up the web content.  These may be text, images, sounds, videos and animations. This is what the user/visitor experiences on the website.

This makes up the web content that the user experiences in the website. Other reasons why people might visit your website are that they want to contact you or they want to transact with you. It is good for a website to look, nice, but nobody visits a website because it is beautiful.

Website as online brochure

For a website to be effective, its web content must be very good. A good web content must be rich highly quality information that is able to engage the visitor to stay. In today’s information world, information is critical. The web content of your website must focus on what the visitors want and it must be organized in a way that it makes sense to them. Remember that a website is a means of communication, and it is only successful when its message is received by the intended user. Therefore, the website must contain the information you know and have about yourself and you want to share with the visitors. It may include information about what you can do, how you do them, why you do them, where you do them, performance results and so on. Thus a website is an important platform for creating awareness about an entity. This is the reason why people say that a website is an online brochure.

Benefits of having a website

There are lots of reasons why you should at least consider having a website, and a few of them are set out below to spark ideas for you. In my blog on Classification of websites by ownership, it was stated that a website must be owned by either a person, a business or other organizations and a government/agency. While there may be varying benefits to different categories of entities, it must be noted that a website provides a more cost-effective way of communicating, and widen your horizons to a global community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year . Below are some benefits of having a website for your business.

1.Creating awareness
A websites does not sleep and can be reached by anyone across the whole world every day. Many people surf the internet in the evening and night when most businesses are closed, which is perfectly fine because websites never take a break. A website will allow your business or organization to be open at all times – even weekends and holidays. A website is the cheapest and most flexible means of promote a business and its products (and services) to the whole world at all times. The internet offers a global community and with a website, your business will be visible around the world.
You can use a website to create awareness of products/services, price list (price alteration) and delivery schedule for your customers across the world instantly. All what you customers need to do is to browse the relevant page of the website. A website is available to both your regular and potential customers 24/7/365 providing them with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when your store or office is closed. With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a purchase decision.
Your customers can have a current parts list or delivery schedule or price list for your goods or services at any time, just by looking up the relevant page on your website. Just imagine one price list alteration and the whole world can see it, instantly without reprinting and distribution of catalogues.
Also, a website is a good place to showcase ones works, achievements, testimonies and events of any kind by including a portfolio and image galleries’. This can assist in branding the business uniquely.
2. Advertising
Due to the fact that a website can be used to create awareness, it is a good channel for advertising and marketing. There are lots of ways to advertise your products or services through the internet. A business can advertise its product and services in its owner website. They can also advertise its own website, products and services in another website that has a high traffic. For example, Facebook.com provides Facebook ads, an advertising feature offered through Facebook for other business to advertise their website, product and services. A business can also use the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to boost the ranking of a website which quickly results in increased sales and higher profits.
Whether a business provide products or services, a website will provide an alternative location to sell them. As a retailer, an e-commerce website is a great place to advertise and sell your products to a wider market; even services can be made available globally.

3. Increase number of Customers
It is clear that most business has local popularity and a website can improve the popularity towards potential customers that are beyond the locality. A website can help you generate more customers globally. Having a website significantly improves your customer reach no matter what services or products you offer.

4. Accessibility
A website provides an easy access for your customers and leads to reach you at any time of the day. Customers can still reach you even if you have closed the doors of your office for the day. It will prevent having to turn customers back because it is closing time.
If you have a good website that assist customers to transact business, most people will prefer to visit your website rather than going to your shop because it is more accessible. All that is required is to provide enough information about your products and services, payment and delivery.

5. Improve Customers’ Satisfaction

From 4 above, a website can improve the accessibility of your business by your customer. In deed most online customer and leads will find the website as a more convenient medium to reach you because it makes it easy to get information about you and your product and transact business with you. From a customer’s point of view, it’s better for them if they don’t have to ask anything. They can just find what they’re looking for on your online site. This improves customer’s satisfaction.

6. Competitive advantage

One beauty of websites is that everyone have the same web presence. It does not matter whether your business is big or not. A well designed website of a one man business has the same web presence as a multi-national organization. Also, website reduces the cost of communication, advertising, marketing and printing when compared with other media. All these improve a company’s competitiveness.

7. Improves sales through online transaction

Through your websites, orders can be place and purchases are made through Credit card or debit card purchases. Some online business model, allows customers to print their order slip and backing it with a bank cheque before delivery is made. Website can increase the sales and profitability of a business. Most banks are using internet banking via their websites to improve banking transactions and reduce the queue in the banking hall.

8. Improve communication and use email

From above, a website can improve the communication between customers and your business. Most websites have email feature that is a very effective channel for communication today. Email is an effective communication channel for employees that are providing support services to customer/clients at many remote sites. It is use by many organizations to keep in touch with their sales representatives around ones country and even across the world. Even today, email is encouraging teleworking. Email is the fastest and the cheapest means of communication that does not depend on distance. You can attach electronic documents like software programmes, sound files, photographs and even video files with the email.

9. Receive information

Email is a means of sending and receiving information. Also, one can connect to a website to receive information from the internet. A website will help one to find suppliers, compare prices and get product specifications.

All the above considered, your business needs a website because it will help customers and leads to find you, it could reduce your overhead cost, improves sales and save time, saves you time and so on. Simply put, your business needs a website because online presence will give your business a lot of advantages.
Thank you very much.
Augustus Zekaryah
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Presented below is a list of other articles on websites that might be of interest to you.
1. What is a website?

2. Creating good web content
3. Classification of websites by types of webpages
4. Classification of websites by domain name extension
5. Classification of websites by ownership
As you read them drop a comment because your feedback is very important to us. It will help us to improve. Regards…