Brick-and-mortar businesses work to provide customers with quality products and services in a memorable and dependable environment. This physical presence in the community is important. However, small business owners can see a variety of benefits from developing an online presence for their brick-and-mortar businesses because, with each passing year, our society becomes more reliant on technology.
Benefits of Having a Website for Your Small Business
You put in a great deal of work building your business and your brand. Your inventory, employees, location, and decor were all carefully chosen to create positive experiences for your customers. The same level of care can be used to create a quality website for your business.
Having a website for your small business brings a variety of benefits, including:
- Attracting new customers;
- Increasing sales;
- Improving brand awareness.
An online presence can complement the in-person experience your customers find when they walk through your door and help you reach your business goals.
Allows Customers to Find You Easily
Since the late 1990s, search engines and social media have become key sources of information for people around the planet. We plan our days with input from the internet, and building a website for your business can help bring people to your door with minimal stress.
Your business’ website should include accurate business information, such as:
- Location: The website can include your address, written directions, and a map to your business location.
- Hours: Nobody wants to arrive at a “Closed” sign on the door. Providing your business hours can help ensure that your customers always find an open door.
- Contact information: Providing a phone number and email address is a great way to encourage communication and show your willingness to answer questions.
Including this information helps customers to find and visit your business with ease.
Attracts New Customers and Increases Sales
82% of consumers in the U.K. shop online and 78% of business owners have a website for their business. This digital shift has been happening for years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the prevalence of online businesses and remote workers.
Small businesses are prioritising their digital presence because of the ways that websites can attract new customers and increase sales. Websites can:
- Showcase products or services: Your products and services are unique, and your website is a fantastic place to showcase your offerings to potential customers. You can include photographs, client testimonials, and product descriptions to help your website’s visitors see the best of what you have to offer.
- Offer promotions or discounts: Your website is the perfect place to advertise an upcoming promotion being offered in-store or introduce a new discount for online purchases.
- Bring potential customers to the physical store: Providing directions to your store’s location and information about upcoming events on your website can help new customers find their way to your door.
Your business sells what your potential customers need and your website can help them to find you.
Improves Brand Awareness and Credibility
For many customers, their first impression of your business won’t be what they see when they walk through the door. Instead, their initial understanding of your brand will come from your website. A professional website gives visitors an understanding of what you offer, your credibility, and your strengths in comparison to your competitors.
In 2022, 73% of consumers showed loyalty to specific brands when shopping. In 2023, this loyalty dropped to 64% in the U.K. Your website is a fantastic place to build credibility and loyalty through social proof. Including customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies on your site helps to build trust and credibility among site visitors.
When making a website, focus on credibility and consistent branding. Your business’ physical presence and digital presence should be connected through similar aesthetics, values, and storytelling. Your business is unique and it offers something no one else does, so use your website as a tool to help customers connect with your brand and develop trust in what you can offer them.
How Can Hosting Services Help?
Websites are hosted on servers. Servers are the hardware and software that processes and delivers web content to internet users. As small businesses create their own websites, hosting services provide the support and tools that are necessary for those sites’ success.
Hosting services can offer easy website-building tools, reliable performance and security, and affordable options that help business owners create amazing websites, no matter their technological knowledge.
Easy Website Building Tools
The user-friendly tools offered by hosting services help business owners build their own websites without technical expertise. Hosting companies that can support sites built through WordPress ensure that you will be able to build a quality site, even if you do not know how to code.
Small business owners and resellers can create their own websites and reach their professional goals with the help and support of these website-building tools.
Reliable Performance and Security
Reliable website performance and security are incredibly important for small businesses. These websites offer opportunities to connect with potential customers, sell goods and services, and build a strong brand online.
Hosting services ensure that their websites are able to provide these benefits for small business owners. Quality software and hardware limit website performance issues, and technicians can assist individual business owners who are worried about their website’s performance and security.
Affordable Options
Small businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Each business has different goals, different numbers of employees, different revenue, and different budgets set aside for website creation and management.
Hosting services and dedicated servers can be incredibly affordable, offering even micro-businesses the tools they need to reach new goals and connect with new customers. Businesses can start small and grow their web presence over time as their budget allows.
Websites are amazing investments for small business owners. Your business can reach new people and connect with your community in ways you never imagined through these powerful digital tools.
