Why You Need a Website for Your Business

Are you planning to start a business, or maybe you already have one but are still wondering whether it’s worth having a website? Maybe social media alone will suffice? Maybe Google will find you on its own and inform potential customers about your business?
We live in times when a company’s market presence is also defined by its online presence. I’ve repeatedly heard expressions like “If you’re not on Facebook – you don’t exist,” and unfortunately, despite the surprise behind such statements, it’s hard to argue with them. In this article, I’ll try to outline and describe the pros and cons of having your own website and present the challenges and costs associated with maintaining it. Let’s dive in!

Who needs a website?

The answer I often hear to this question is “it depends.” Personally, however, I believe that without a shadow of a doubt, EVERYONE can benefit from a website – regardless of industry or business purpose.

1. If you’re a baker – you can promote your baked goods by creating a website with recipes,
2. If you run a currency exchange – a website with exchange rates, current prices, and industry insights,
3. If you love photography – share your portfolio with others and showcase it on a photo website. The possibilities are endless, but this only confirms the belief that virtually anyone can benefit from a website.

What are the ADVANTAGES of having a website?

It’s undeniable that having a website has its pros and cons. It can be quite problematic and generates certain costs. Nevertheless, it has many advantages!
With a website, you can:

1. BUILD YOUR IMAGE AND BRAND RECOGNITION When asked how to reach a wider audience, I always say – take care of your website! It’s through Google search that the vast majority of potential customers learn about a business. This means that a website as a business card is far more credible – and consequently brings significantly more customers than, say, a Facebook Fan Page. Additionally, a website can be connected to your Google Business Profile, allowing customers to not only see your business online and on maps, but also read reviews, view achievements, and browse past projects. This is a powerful boost of additional visitors, i.e., potential customers.
2. YOU’LL BE VISIBLE 24/7! People without a website take phone calls, present their offer at their business location, but they only do all this during specific hours. What if a potential customer is looking for your service after work? In the evening? Or at night?
   This is where a website comes to the rescue. A website and the information published on it serve as an ideal business card and presentation of your capabilities regardless of whether you’re traveling, on a business trip, or sleeping. On your website, you can tell the customer what you do, how to find you, and what experience you have without having to pick up the phone and explain everything once again. Plus, you can embed a chatbot on your site – an automated chat that answers a range of basic customer questions without your involvement. Isn’t that wonderful?
3. YOU’LL INCREASE SALES Isn’t that the ideal vision? Year after year, online shopping is claiming an ever-larger share of the market. There are businesses that operate exclusively online – and it works. By having your own online store, you can promote your products, present them, inform potential customers about your offer, and much, much more. All from one place. Your website with an online store will be the command center for your sales. You’ll gain customers, track website traffic, prepare advertising campaigns, and run sales on Facebook and Instagram. Having an online store doesn’t require a physical location. Through online sales, you’ll quickly reach customers and drive your business to success.
4. YOU’LL CREATE YOUR BUSINESS CARD When running a Facebook fan page, you must adapt to the look and functionality offered by that platform. Wouldn’t it be more convenient and better to become the moderator of your own content? To have the ability to choose the visual design? To be responsible for functionality and design every element on the page? Sounds like a good plan? All these possibilities are available on your own website! The old saying goes “first impressions matter,” so take care of your image and build a business card that works!

What else should we know about having our own website?

Enough with the praise. Since I mentioned that having your own website has both pros and cons, let’s also look at the problems and difficulties that come with owning a website.

1. COSTS

Unfortunately, nothing is free. The same goes for a website. Owning one involves two types of costs. We’ve written more about this topic as well. I’ll briefly mention what it costs to have your own website. The first type of costs are one-time expenses. This includes paying an agency or individual to design and implement your website according to your requirements (interested parties are welcome to contact us: Contact). This cost can vary greatly and depends primarily on the graphic and functional complexity of the desired website. We design and build websites and online stores and have encountered many different cases, so no requirement intimidates us. Every website build is preceded by graphic design and market research to fully understand the client… But we’ll tell you more about that during our conversation. Back to the topic… There are also ongoing costs of doing business. These are fees that must be paid regardless of your website’s design or project. They include SSL certificates (more here), hosting (keeping your site active and running), and domain (the website name you choose). We’ll be happy to guide you through all these costs and help you optimally match expenses to your capabilities and needs.

2. SEO AND MARKETING

With a fan page, you just post content. You don’t have to worry about whether anyone will see it or whether the page hosting it is visible in Google. With your own website, it’s different. What would be the point of having a website if it’s not visible anywhere? Reaching high positions in Google and establishing a presence among existing websites requires some optimization and positioning work. If you have the time and resources, you can do this work yourself. However, if you don’t want to, can’t, or don’t have time to fight for your company’s position online – contact a specialist. We’ll be happy to help and tailor an SEO strategy to your needs.
Regardless of the pros and cons of having a website, one thing remains certain:

You can’t run a business without an online presence! Potential customers are increasingly looking for answers to all their questions online!

Fan Page

You have a fan page and wonder if social media marketing is enough? Surely running an active Facebook profile means customers will come on their own… Isn’t that true?
Unfortunately, we often fall under the impression that everyone knows about our Facebook profile and page, that the information posted there will reach every interested buyer and customer. This isn’t true. When using social media to promote your services, you should always keep in mind that reaching your audience requires capital. You need to actively maintain not just your Facebook profile, but also advertising campaigns so that the content you create reaches audiences and generates views and contacts. Think about how you’ve recently searched for information online. Do you search fan pages, or do you type an interesting phrase into Google and check the first results? Exactly. Nobody looking for a bakery checks social media for interesting, well-run profiles. But almost everyone types their search query into a browser. If you want to reach customers, you absolutely need a responsive, well-designed website!