According to a 2013 article published by Forbes, only about 50% of businesses have a website. Many small businesses without a professional web design will attribute it to not having enough time, not having business website development experience, or it being too expensive to develop a website.
Unfortunately, many small businesses without a website are losing potential customers to competitors that have websites. In today’s marketplace, nearly all consumers use the internet to shop for goods and services. Consumers use the internet to seek information about companies and compare available offerings. Companies without a website will lose credibility in the eyes of consumers.
Many small business owners may feel overwhelmed at the thought of website development. With so many available features that can be included in websites, it can be tough to select the appropriate features to include that will be appealing to your target market.
Clear Product/Service Description – Every small business website should include a clear description of the product or service that the firm is offering. For many consumers, your website is the first interaction that they will have with your company. The consumer should be able to easily determine what your firm is offering.
Contact Information – Most customers are seeking information when searching the internet. While it can be very difficult to anticipate every question that potential customers will have in order to include that information on the website, having clearly visible contact information on the website allows customers to contact you directly whenever they are ready. This can help generate leads which can help increase sales.
Chat – In addition to contact information a chat feature is a very important tool in web development. We live in the age of instant gratification. Consumers with questions want immediate answers. Customers may not have the time or may be unwilling to call you directly or wait for an email response. A chat feature allows customers to ask you questions immediately as they think of them. Furthermore, it provides companies the opportunity to up sell to other products or to let clients know about upcoming specials.
Social Media Integration – Your business website development should only be a part of a larger marketing plan that the company is using to create awareness and generate leads. Integrating your marketing communications is very important to delivering a consistent brand message that captures your customer’s attentions. When working on your website development be sure to include links to your social media accounts. This allows to interact with customers across multiple platforms in an effort to increase customer engagement.
Custom business web design can get a little complicated for persons without any prior experience. Many companies offer affordable business website development services. Simply having a website, however, is not enough, successful companies have attractive and professional looking websites that they use to generate leads and increase sales.