The Internet is here, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and as such you and your business need to get hip to the party. Even if you think your business has no business on the web, your business still needs a website. Gone are the days of cumbersome, expensive, risky websites.

These days they are so much simpler and user friendly. The fact that you can open your business up to a whole other market should be reason enough for you to embrace the web present.

Your website will attract customers

What do you do, as a customer, when you are in a new area or looking for an unfamiliar type of business? You Google it. Google holds all of the World Wide Web’s information and with a few keystrokes it will share whatever you are looking for.

With all the time spent jockeying for position, how does your business get in on that? Without your own business web address you can’t be a genuine part of the web results, right? Or, maybe worse, you can be a part of what people are talking about but you will have no sway over the course of the discussion.

Branded

Business is like cattle. With your own website you can fashion yourself into cuts of filet mignon, top-tier burgers, plush leather interiors or whatever else. Without a website you’re branded by others like a steer on the ranch. You might as well let Yelp dictate your sales numbers forever.

The Internet is a breeding ground for truth and ideas but it’s also a marketers dream! If people could pick the winners and losers simply by looking at the card, the game would lose its pizzazz. By adding your own voice to the discussion you’re helping to shape the direction of the conversation about you and your business. Imagine that.

Your website allows you:

• To have more control
• Gives you a home online
• Gives you a platform to tell potential clients about your business
  • What you do
  • Who you are
  • Why you do it

Your own website allows you to shape your own business narrative.

Credible

Websites also make businesses feel more legitimate and trustworthy. Websites allow business owners to offer things like:

• Photos
• Text about products or services
• Testimonials from customers
• Contact information
• Personal information

These are not things just shared with the world in a blanket fashion. By taking the time to share this with your potential clients, you’re showing them the level of commitment you have for your business.
Your existing clients also will appreciate the website phenomenon. Having a website gives them a base to reach you 24 out of 24 hours in the day. You never know when someone’s going to be in dire need of your services. Without a website, you lose potential business from people who already know and support you.

Maybe you’re a specialty retailer who your customers have come to know and love. But you’re location inside a corporate park means you don’t get a lot of weekend business. If you have a website then your shop can be open 365 days a year; dissuading the forgetful or last-minute shoppers from going to a big-box retailer for item’s they’ve forgotten. If you like to work and interact with customers after-hours, you open up all sorts of revenue streams.

If you consider it a downside to have a low-hassle way of attracting new customers and keeping in touch with old ones, then having a website is bad news. For everyone else, though, having a website isn’t just a great tool for your business, it is closer to a necessity. Start building your new website today.