A website is the virtual ‘shop window’ to your business, with the potential to reach a global audience.

In a nutshell:

• A web presence increases your business’ credibility
• It enables you to do business virtually 24/7
• Customers and potential customers can be kept thoroughly up to date
• Awareness of your business can be global

The importance of having a good website has never been as important as it as now. With people physically not being able to visit stores and meet face to face to do business over the last few months, they have been turning to the internet to meet their needs. Your business needs to make sure it has an effective web presence to make the most of this increasing trend.

How does having a website help?

The first thing someone will do when hearing about a new business is to search for it on Google and look for its presence online. This provides reassurance to a potential customer that you are a genuine business and gives them a chance to check you out before doing business with you. Particularly in the current climate, if your business does not have a presence on the web, you effectively do not exist, and you are missing out in a big way on potential new business.

In this day and age there is no doubt that your competitors will certainly have a web presence. People are keen to research products and services. If you are not visible on the internet, but your competitors are, you will almost certainly lose out.

What are the benefits of having a website?

• Your business in open 24/7. Even if you are away from your desk, or are unavailable for whatever reason, you are still visible to existing and potential clients through your web presence. If your website is an e-commerce site, it means that transactions can take place and you can be making money whilst you sleep.
• You can reach a much wider, potentially global, audience.
• It can be constantly updated, making it thoroughly up to date and relevant for visitors.

What are the things to consider?

If you want your business to be seen, you need to be found on Google and other search engines. That means having a website that is updated regularly with relevant and current content. There is nothing more off putting to a potential customer than a website which has clearly not been updated for some time. You need to ensure that your website is built for use on mobiles too, as most web content is now consumed via mobile phone.

There are many ‘free’ websites available but be aware that they have their limitations. You will have limited control of your domain name. A good domain name helps build your brand and adds credibility to your business, especially if you are a start up. The templates can be rigid. This can cause problems when you wish to change your website as your business grows. In addition, if something goes wrong with these sites, it can often take days to receive any support, making you invisible to your audience and prospective customers for a significant period.

How to create a great website – what will you need?

Structure
You need to think about the flow of your website. What do you want it to do for you? Are you using it as a “brochure site”, where you are giving potential customers information on the services you offer? Do you need E-commerce? You will need to think about this if you want to sell online.

Content
Content is king when it comes to websites. Google loves websites with relevant content which is regularly updated and not full of repetitive words. Talk about what you know and what your customers want to know.

Imagery
Do not underestimate the importance of good images on your website. Websites with images get more views. Your website home page has about five seconds to grab the attention of a potential new client. If they cannot immediately find what they are looking for on your site, they will quickly move on. Well labelled images on websites are loved by Google and other search engines. They will use them to improve your SEO and get you up those all-important rankings.

Call to action
Your website needs to include a call to action for your customers. Make it easy for them to contact you, find out more or buy your product or service. The less click throughs to get the customer where you want them to be, the better. Time is precious. They want to know who you are and what you can do for them. Are you going to be able to solve their problem, and quickly? Buttons on each page, clickable links to other pages on the site and backlinks all help Google to find your site and show it to your potential customers.

If you would like to chat about how we can help you create a Cunningly Good Website, please get in touch on 01738 658187.