Do you need a website? Online presence is essential for big companies and huge organizations. But is it necessary for a small business or a startup? This question has led to debates ever since the availability of the Internet. An online business needs online presence; that’s pretty obvious. If you are an online retailer or an online service, you need to have a website. It is your primary tool of business. It is the channel via which you conduct your business.
Does your business need a website?
Does an offline business need a website? Surprisingly, the answer is yes! Even if your startup is completely offline, you need to have an online presence. What is the reason behind this? Let’s explore the details a little.
According to the Internet World Stats, 2,405,518,376 people use the Internet regularly. If the statistics are to be believed, more than 2 billion individuals use online resources to look up products and services.
If you are not on the web, you miss the opportunity to get noticed by the huge online crowd. If you are on the web, but not in the right manner, the same happens. It is important to be on the web and with the right attitude.
Website characteristics
Let’s explore the characteristics that make a website befit your business. Suppose you have a store, not in the virtual world but in the real world, that sells baby products. If you have a website with all the details about babies and baby products, people would find relevant information from there.
If the website only provides information about the products you sell, it is still relevant. However, if it has a lot of information on a completely different topic, for example, on beauty care, it makes no sense.
Not all websites need to provide tools for online transactions. You don’t need to have a website via which you sell the baby products. Your website may showcase the location, accessibility and the products in your store. But it needs to have appropriate information.
It needs to be relevant
Relevance is, therefore, an important point to focus on. Your website is just the beginning; you need to utilize other online sources too. If you are an established business, you are sure to have a good base of loyal customers. You can use this base to generate favorable feedback about your business in the Social Media platforms.
What if yours is a new business?
- Use the online platforms to create a buzz about it
- Join a discussion forum, enlist on a business directory
- Comment on something relevant and take other steps to make this a success.
Online platforms can give you the ideal place to meet people and turn them into contacts. This can later translate into a potential customer base. But keep in mind that too much of something is not good. Pay attention to the online platforms that matter.
Variety
Variety, with regard to the online platforms you focus on, is significant too. How do your customers buy the baby products? They can visit your store to do this. The problem is – it is only open for a certain part of the day; and then there are the holidays and the off-days. There is no way the customers can access your products at these times.
How can a customer know about the products you sell? Well, they can visit the shop. However, again there is the question of time limits. A website can solve this problem with ease. It is like a shop window that a shopper can visit any time!
A properly designed website offers all information that consumers look for; if they want to know the exact location of your store, they can check out the Location and Accessibility page; if they want to view the products, they can check out the Products page.
Think local before you go global
Accessibility is, again, another important trait that a website needs. Suppose your store is located in the Kensington neighborhood in San Diego, California. Do you really need to have an online presence to impress the Internet users worldwide? The answer is simple – No.
It is important to concentrate on the local target market before you think national, let alone international. Conduct adequate research about the local market before you create your website; this would help you attend to their needs, wants and demands.
An interactive website works best. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to transact business online. Make sure your website has a section that makes it possible for the visitors to contact you.
With a little thought, you can do it on your own. However, it is not always a good idea to try your hand at things you are not proficient at. Appoint a professional to create and design your website; it may be a little more expensive than a DIY but it would be worth it.
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Images: ”Crane building a website in a form of www letters on a computer keyboard / Shutterstock.com“
