If you own a business, you may ask yourself: “Does my small business need a website?” After all you can market your brand through networking, social media, and Google Business. But the truth is, your website is your hardest-working marketing tool whatever your sector or the size of your business.
Why is a website so important (even for a small business)?
First and foremost – a website gives you total control over how your brand is marketed. Unlike social media, your website is entirely yours.
Remember how management missteps at Tumblr, and the near-shut down of TikTok in the USA left content creators panicking about their profits and their visibility? With a website, you have full control. Of the design, the message and how customers interact with your brand. Plus, it can set you apart from competitors particularly those who rely purely on social media platforms to inform people about their business and services.
Beyond this, your website supports every area of the marketing funnel, working tirelessly behind the scenes to help people find you, trust you and buy from you.
- Exposure – SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
A website which works well and is optimised for Search Engines will help you show up in search results to potential customers and can attract organic traffic consistently.
- Discovery and consideration
Your website is often the first place that potential customers will visit to research and learn more about your business before they commit to buy. Be sure to include reviews, a portfolio and key details about your services to help potential customers learn more. Your website should help a potential customer distinguish the difference between you and a competitor.
- Conversion – turning visitors into customers
Your website can help a customer to take action – booking, buying or contacting you. By integrating an online shop, booking system, donate buttons or contact forms you’ll make it easier for customers to convert.
- Customer relationship and support
Your website can deliver a great customer experience and help build strong customer relationships. Think: FAQ pages, email sign-ups and customer support chat options which help to save you time and keep customers in the loop.
- Retention and reengagement
A happy customer is likely to visit your site again to make another purchase, book a follow-up service, or recommend you to a friend. A well-designed website makes it easy for customers to find you again and to share with others.
Is it a bad idea to build my own website?
If you really and truly can’t afford a web designer, there are some cheaper, intuitive DIY options out there. Drag-and-drop website builders like Wix and Squarespace are ok if you have no budget and just need something simple to get things off the ground. For e-commerce websites and online shops, Shopify is a good DIY option.
However these platforms do come with limitations for personalisation.
This is especially true if your business grows and you need more customisation in the future.
When should you invest in a professional website?
Professionally built websites are just that – professional. Done right, they can help to build trust with potential clients and provide a killer first impression which turns a visitor to your site into a customer!
I do recommend investing in a professionally designed website if you can afford an upfront cost. Mine was a little over £500 plus a monthly maintenance fee of around £50.
The cost is one thing – but the value it provides is another. A well-built professional website will be faster, more secure, offer superior functionality and be better optimised for search engines: all things that the DIY builder platforms struggle with. The investment will pay for itself many times over.
There are so many web designers out there, how do I choose?
If you’re new to all this and looking to get some quotes from a talented and trustworthy web designer, it always feel safest to go off a recommendation. This can help you to avoid any web building disasters and make sure your hard earned money is going to be put in a trusted pair of hands – I’ve listed my go to providers below.
The wonderful Ben Bellamy at Shoutable created and manages my website – he did a great job of applying my branding and personality to the website and I love the way Ben designed my portfolio pages to really showcase some of the projects I’ve worked on. Highly Recommend!
Gareth, Amanda, and the team at We Are Digital are a fantastic Cumbria based marketing agency who are fantastic at what they do! They are experts in E-commerce websites, SEO and more complex website builds. Gareth has been a great mentor to me during my freelance work and I’ve recommended several clients to him for website builds – all of which have been really happy with the results.
Disclaimer – if you do go ahead with either of these companies I do receive a small incentive for referrals as a “thank you” if you mention me on enquiry – However please rest assured I would never recommend anyone I haven’t worked with before.
Have a look at websites from a similar industry to you and find some designs you like and that work well. Send an email to the company and ask who designed their website and if they are happy with the provider and the functionality. If they are you could reach out to them for a quote.
What will a web designer do vs. what do you need to do?
A website that lacks key functionality like booking links and contact forms won’t convert customers. Likewise, slow loading speeds and poor SEO can hinder growth.
Using a web designer can help you avoid common pitfalls and ensure your website is built and designed to convert. They will handle the technical aspects of your website design – building, optimising and ensuring functionality.
This doesn’t mean you do nothing though – your web designer will still need you to supply the content for your site.
Here’s 3 things they will need from you:
- High-quality images – Professional photos of your products or services make a big difference. Jenny Jones Photography is my go to if you’re looking for a great photographer.
- Videos – Short-form videos can help to showcase your work better than text alone – it’s worth hiring a professional videographer to help with this. Adrian Naik from Naik Media is wonderful. I did some training with him to help improve my smart phone videography for Social Media and he was amazing.
- Copy (text content) – Clear and engaging copy which describes who you are, what you do and the solutions you provide for potential customers. Hiring a copy writer could really help you get your messaging spot on.
My web design checklist – important questions to ask a web designer
When you’re investing in a professional website, make sure that you’re clear on what the web designer will provide as part of the quote, especially in terms of support, tracking and access.
- How will you transition my current site over to the new one? Make sure they have a plan in place for a smooth transition so your traffic doesn’t plumet and your existing website links that are live with google have redirects set up to your new site.
- What’s included in your monthly maintenance fee? Ensure you know what’s covered: updates, security, backups, uploading fresh content to blogs etc.
- Will they set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console? Analytics help keep track your website’s performance and monitor, maintain and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results.
- How much access will you have to the website? Can you pop on to update events, text, images or blogs yourself if needed?
So in answer to the question… “Does Your Small Business Need a Website?” Yes, yes and yes!
If you’re in need of more Marketing tips for your small business, I can help! Book a one-to-one session with me to get personalised advice and support, to help you gain clarity and move forwards with focus.
