When Is The Best Time To Get A Website?
If you are a small business owner, the last thing that may be on your mind is getting a website as you probably have heard they can be expensive, time consuming or difficult to setup. You may think that “later on, once I have more money, then I’ll get a website“. On the other hand, you may also wonder how a website would help your business. As the owner of a business, your focus is on building your company, not a website.
If you are reading this as a web developer or designer, you’ve probably heard from many potential clients “It’s not in my budget”, “I’m focusing on advertising right now”, or “I’ve just started but maybe later when I need a website I’ll contact you”.
This raises the question though, When is the best time to get a website? To answer this better, we must first understand the following:
- What is an online presence? How does it help?
- What can a website do for you?
- How does a website benefit your business?
When you better understand these 3 aspects of a website, it will help you better understand when is the best time to get a website.
What is an online presence? How does it help?
Before we delve further, it’s best to understand first what an online presence is.
An online presence is your digital footprint for your business in the form of a website, social media accounts (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram etc), or a business listing on platforms such as Google Business, Yelp, or some other online directory.
Getting an online presence for your business is essential for any new or small company in this ever growing digital world. It’s a way for you to advertise to the world what you do and the services you offer.
Having just a basic online presence like a social media account can help you to get your business on Google and other search engines. For some, a basic online presence is enough, but just because it works for some people doesn’t mean it’s enough for everyone.
So each of you must ask yourself: “Am I getting the results I want from my online presence? ”
You may find that you need to step up your game.
What can a website do for you?
Today, it seems as if social media platforms provide all the functionality that you need, from posting images and information to providing a way for clients to get in touch with you and even a way to book your services. With all this functionality, one may wonder why do I need a website and what can a website do for me?
Believe it or not, not everyone has a social media account or uses them to hire professionals. If you’re like me you may have tried Facebook ads in the past but had little or no success. This is why having a website is important.
The functionality of a website can go beyond that of just having an account on Facebook or Twitter. Besides being able to share in more detail the services you provide or a portfolio of your work, a website adds a level of professionalism that you simply do not get from social media.
It’s important to understand what type of person your clientele is. For example, if you’re an up and coming lawyer who just established your law firm in a town or city, your potential clients are not likely going to be searching for you on Instagram or Twitter. They will most likely do a Google search and look for a website or look on maps for your office.
It may seem like I am bashing social media, but I am not. The truth is these are all part of your digital footprint, and the larger your footprint is, the easier it is to find you. For many professions however, relying solely on social media is not enough, and it does not portray the level of professionalism they need. Often times, when a business has social media accounts, their posts often lead you back to their website to get more information, make a purchase, or schedule an appointment.
Having a website will also allow you to tell the story of you and your business in a way that simply cannot be achieved by other means. With tools such as WordPress, it can be incredibly easy to add tons of functionality while adding your own style to the look and feel of the website.
This leads us nicely to our last point. How does a website benefit your business?
How does a website benefit your business?
Imagine that you discover a new retail store where you live, you’ve never been inside because you’ve never heard of it before. Upon entering the store you ask one of the employees how long they’ve been open. They tell you they’ve been around for a couple of years. This amazes you because you’ve been looking for a store that offers the products they sell for awhile but never heard of this one.
What was the issue? A lack of advertisement. Because this store never had good advertising you never learned of it until a long time later. A common misconception many believe is that having a website is not part of advertising.
There are many ways a website can benefit your business. One way it benefits your business is by working along with your marketing strategy. The first thing people think when they hear advertising is printing up flyers, making business cards, posting signs around the city/town, tv or radio ads, and using word of mouth to get the word out about the company.
While these are all great ways to advertise, if you incorporate a website into these forms of marketing, it can be an excellent way to boost sales or generate new potential leads.
Not only is a website a great tool to Incorporate with physical advertising strategy, but it will also act as a form of virtual advertisement. Regardless if you have a local store front, an office, a service area or have a home office where you conduct business, having a website will benefit your business if you include it with your virtual advertising strategy as well. This could include Facebook or Google ads, a Google Business listing, networking at virtual conferences, etc.
The benefits of having a website though are not limited to advertising. A website gives you a way to generate and capture new leads, take bookings, show off your portfolio and can act as a passive way to generate income.
The benefits of having a website are nearly endless, but waiting too long to get one can negatively effect your business.
When Is The Best Time To Get A Website?
Now that you have a better understanding of the following:
- What is an online presence? How does it help?
- What can a website do for you?
- How does a website benefit your business?
We can better answer ‘When is the best time to get a website? ’
Simply put, as soon as possible. For some, it isn’t in the budget to get one right away, but you should build up to it. Think of a website as a powerful tool to incorporate into your advertising strategy. It can be used in physical advertising like on business cards, flyers, posters etc or with virtual advertising, Facebook or Google ads, a Google Business listing, Yelp and more.
If you’re starting out and need a website why not schedule a call with Sparrow Web Services? We specialize in offering small businesses, start-ups and bloggers with affordable websites and web services such as hosting, maintenance, emails and more.
