Why your business needs a fast and effective website.

The reasons it’s so important to look good online.

Your small business has competitors, lots of them. They will be more experienced than you and many will have a bigger budget. So it’s important that your business gets the light of day. It needs to be seen, and it needs to be known. It’s not enough to start an Instagram account, post lots of stylish pictures with captions telling people about what you do and hope for the best. You won’t get noticed.

So what’s the answer? A well-designed and effective website is the key. It’s an important investment, and it needs to be right the first time. But do you have time to research and decide what kind of website is right for you?

In this post we’re going to highlight all the benefits of making this super important investment in your business and how we can make it work for you.

We can provide you with a personalised and modern website to be proud of.

• It’s all yours.

You own your website and can control exactly what’s on it. If you provide your customers with relevant and engaging content then Google will show your website more often in searches. You can’t guarantee that with today’s social media algorithms.

• It gives you online credibility.

Your website is you, it’s the place where you can add testimonials and can show off exactly what you do. Customers always feel more comfortable if they know a business has taken the time to present themselves and their services online.

• Customers like to browse and formulate their intent before buying.

Your website is your shop window to the world. Your potential customers will have a look around and want to see what’s on offer before they make a decision about buying. A well crafted website will create a sense of trust and in turn make it more likely you’ll receive an enquiry.

• It’s an easy way for customers to contact you.

We’ve all been there, we’ve tried to find and get in contact with a business that has almost no online presence, what usually happens in that case? We give up. We move on to the next one which has made it easier for us to get in touch. Your website will include all your important contact details and hours of business etc making it super easy for customers to not only find you but buy from you too. Winner!

• Get the ones you want.

Filter out the ones you don’t. You're a small business owner, your time is precious. Do you really want to be wasting time with enquiries which will never turn into revenue? A well designed website will inform and help to funnel only those customers interested in your product or services and it will dismiss those who were never in the market anyway.

Now we’ve highlighted the reasons why your business needs its own great website we’re going to move on to what essential elements it should have as standard.

Let’s take each of these points and look a little closer…

• Speed.

In a 2019 survey by Unbounce, nearly 70% of consumers admitted that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer. It’s generally accepted that a 0-4 second load time is best for conversion rates with particular attention going to mobile loading times.

“40% of consumers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a site”

You may feel like it’s important to load as much as possible onto your site, all the info about what you do, accompanied by plenty of nice images, just in case. But this can harm your loading times, especially if your content hasn’t been optimised for the web.

• Fresh & Well Laid Out Design.

Your website is like a shop, if it’s neat and well presented it will be a pleasure to browse. On the other hand, if it’s a cluttered mess where things are hard to find, your customers won’t be able to get out of there quick enough. Whether you’re creating a brand new site or having a rethink of what you already have, it’s worth getting this right from the start. Having a professional take care of your design will save you so much stress long term, and will also mean you have a website to be proud of.

• Informative & Engaging.

Every good website will give good info, it will enlighten customers and tell them exactly what they need to know before they buy. This is taken to the next level when that info is engaging. This isn’t just what’s being said but also how it’s presented. An effective website will combine excellent writing with an engaging look and feel.

• Optimised for the Internet and Search Engines

It’s not enough to just tell people about what you do and what you sell, these days content has to be crafted and written so it can be seen. So along with being engaging and informative it also has to perform. This is a delicate act. You don’t want to cram your web pages with keywords associated with your business, it won’t read well and will in fact lose you a lot of love with search engines. The key here is to research what customers are looking for and write for their needs. Those keywords have to be woven in naturally and the whole thing still needs to read well. On our websites these elements come as standard, so you can relax knowing your products and services are being showcased in the best way possible.

Don’t just take our word for this, for a closer look at why optimisation is so important check out this great blog by the experts at Moz.com

• Effective Website Design leads the Customer on a Journey to Buy

Your potential customer has done a search and has landed on your site, hurray! But what next? Will they just hover around reading and enjoying the experience, definitely not! We need to be guided. Your informative and engaging pages are just the start, a well designed website will lead your customers and will eventually create an opportunity for them to buy or get in contact with you.

In Conclusion

Every small business should have its own website. Whilst it's tempting to go with a site builder that promises an easy journey and an instant online presence, this is not always the case. If your business is important to you then your website needs to be treated with care, it needs to be effective and it needs to do its job.

Our offer to you is a fully loaded, brand new or refurbished website. One which is modern, fast, looks good and comes complete with landing pages and enough optimised content for you to get going straight away. One Price and Hassle Free.

For more info check out our Services Page or get in contact any time with Dom & Anne for a chat about your new and improved website!

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