22 Benefits of a Website for Small Business in 2023

Having a website for your business opens up your business to new opportunities and customers. An online presence allows you to market to and sell to anyone, anywhere.

Without a website, you are limited to in-person sales and word-of-mouth marketing. But with a website your potential reach is exponentially bigger.

Here are some of the ways a website helps you gain new customers:

1. Showcases your business online - Customers can find and learn about your business 24/7 through search engines, social media, and other channels.
2. Expanded reach - You are no longer limited by geography. Customers across your city, state, or even globally can find you.
3. Lead generation - Collect leads through call-to-actions, contact forms, emails, live chats etc. Nurture leads into customers.
4. Sell anytime - Make sales or bookings directly through your site with ecommerce or online booking. No need to be limited to in-store hours.

For example, a local plumber could attract many more customers by having a website that showcases their services instead of relying only on word-of-mouth referrals. With a good website, they can rank in local search results and be found by homeowners looking for plumbing services in their neighborhood.

In the digital age, not building a website hurts your credibility. Consumers expect and demand businesses have a website.

Without one, you lose trust and come across as less professional or established.

Here are some stats on how websites build credibility:

• 72% of customers say a business website makes a company seem more credible.
• 75% form judgements on how trustworthy a business is based on their website design alone.
• 46% of people say they would not shop with a business that had a poorly designed website.

A well-designed website signals you are a legitimate, established business ready to serve customers. It builds authority in your industry.

A website helps level the playing field between small businesses and major corporations. It allows you to effectively compete for customers by showcasing your unique value proposition.

Larger competitors may have bigger marketing budgets. But a good website helps you to:

• Promote what differentiates you from larger competitors. Play up your personal touch, niche expertise, customer service etc.
• Optimize for keywords specific larger companies ignore to get found by ideal customers.
• Craft messaging and content tailored to your target customer - not just generic, mass-market content.
• Build a memorable brand identity through design, content, visuals and tone.

For example, a local plant nursery could better compete with major home good chains by having an engaging website showcasing their rare exotic plants and superior customer service.

Websites are crucial for getting found locally by customers searching on Google, Yelp and other sites.

75% of consumers use search engines to find local businesses. If you don't have a website, it's impossible to show up when they search for businesses like yours in their area.

With a good website optimized for SEO you can rank high in local search results on:

• Google Maps
• Google Local pack
• Yelp
• Other relevant directories

This is Free targeted traffic and leads!

Your website lets customers learn about your business and make informed decisions.

You can share things like:

• Your company story
• Founders/Team bios
• Mission and values
• Awards and achievements
• Credentials - licenses, memberships etc.
• Press features
• Case studies
• FAQs

Without this information, customers can't get to know your brand and build trust.

Sharing things like credentials and credentials builds authority and improves conversion rates.

A website presents a place to showcase your offerings visually. This is essential both for service businesses and product companies.

For service businesses like graphic designers or lawyers, use your website to clearly explain your services, pricing, and processes.

For product companies, build an online catalog to showcase everything you sell. Well-shot photography, pricing, descriptions, and categorization make it easy for customers to evaluate your products.

You can also use your website to:

• Share product/service specifications
• Add customer testimonials and reviews
• Compare product lines or service packages
• Show options - size, color, materials etc.

The goal is to provide all the information customers need to make informed purchasing decisions.

A website helps customers to easily contact you and get information.

Without one, the only way to reach you is by phone, email, or in person. Important questions may go unanswered.

Here are some ways a website facilitates contact:

1. Contact forms - Allow visitors to send messages or inquiries which go directly to your email. Great for lead gen.
2. Live chat - Chat with visitors in real-time to answer questions and qualify leads.
3. Click to call - Add a call button to enable one-click calling from mobiles.
4. Email newsletter sign up - Collect emails through opt-in forms to build an audience.
5. Social media links - Direct visitors to your social profiles to contact you.
6. Contact info - List phone number, business email, address and customer service options.

Enabling multiple contact options is important to convert visitors into leads and sales. Follow up quickly!

A website presents a place to build memorable brand identity through:

• Logo
• Colors
• Images
• Tone and voice
• Typography
• Page layout

This branding builds recognition, differentiates you, and connects emotionally with customers.

Your website is often the first impression customers have of your brand. A positive, seamless UX is essential.

Key elements of good UX:

• Clean, uncluttered design
• Easy navigation
• Intuitive IA - organized into logical sections
• Fast load speed - under 2 seconds
• Mobile friendliness - responsive across devices
• Readability - good font size, colors, and contrast

Good UX leaves a lasting positive impression and builds customer loyalty.

A key purpose of your site is to generate qualified leads and convert visitors into customers.

Optimize each page with relevant calls-to-action to drive conversions:

• Request a quote
• Book an appointment
• Start a free trial
• Subscribe to a newsletter
• Purchase a product
• Learn more about a service

Place CTAs strategically at the top, middle and bottom of pages. Make them highly visible through color, size and placement.

Your website facilitates ongoing engagement and interactions with prospects and customers.

Some ways you can engage visitors:

• Educational blog content
• Email newsletters with valuable info
• Free tools and resources
• Webinars and videos
• User forums and discussions

This engagement builds relationships, trust, and authority over time.

A website presents a place to collect feedback and reviews from customers.

Positive customer testimonials, reviews, ratings, and case studies build trust and credibility for your brand.

Make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews. Survey customers to get feedback on their experience.

Your website offers a platform to create, publish and share content like:

• Blog posts
• Articles
• Videos
• Podcasts
• eBooks, guides and more

Valuable "magnet content" attracts visitors, builds authority, and converts readers into leads.

For example, an accountant could publish tax guides on their website to attract clients.

Websites allow you to optimize pages for search engine optimization. This helps people find you via Google and Bing.

By including relevant keywords in titles, URLs, headers, content, image names and more - you can increase search visibility and traffic.

Using analytics tools like Google Analytics, websites allow you to understand:

• Number of visitors
• Visitor sources - social, search, referral etc
• Most visited pages
• Bounce rate
• Pages per visit
• Conversion rates

These insights help you optimize your content and website performance over time.

With a website, your marketing works around the clock - not just during business hours.

Visitors can learn about your business, browse products, and contact you any time of day.

You can attract visitors through:

1. Search engines - Get found 24/7 through Google and Bing.
2. Social media - Market on social platforms day and night.
3. Email marketing - Send emails regardless of hour.
4. Retargeting ads - Remarket around the web after hours.
5. SEO content - Helpful blogs and resources attract visitors.

This allows you to generate leads and make sales day and night without being actively involved.

Having a website is a great way to expand your business reach beyond just local, physical customers. 

With a well-designed website hosted on a reliable platform, you may bring in web traffic from across your state, country, or even globally. This geographic freedom provided by your online business opens up new opportunities and markets. 

Even location-based businesses like restaurants can utilize their website and Google Business Profile to attract web traffic from their wider metro area.

Ultimately, a business website allows you to sell products and services without geographic restrictions. The traffic to your website and expanded reach enables growth for your business.

Websites offer a very cost-effective way to promote your business 24/7.

Platform costs are low. After your site is built, ongoing expenses for hosting, domain registration, and software are minimal compared to other marketing options.

Content creation like blogs and videos has high ROI. You write or produce the content once, then get continual traffic over time.

SEO, email marketing, and social promotion are largely free ways to attract visitors. It just requires some time and effort.

Today, over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices. Having a mobile-friendly, responsive website is a must.

If your site is poorly optimized for mobile, you will lose visitors and sales.

Responsive web design seamlessly adapts sites for optimal viewing and use across:

• Smartphones
• Tablets
• Laptops
• Desktops

Mobile responsiveness ensures customers can engage on any device.

Your website unlocks the ability to easily accept online payments from customers.

Options like Stripe, PayPal, Square and Braintree allow you to securely process credit cards and other electronic payments.

This enables 24/7 ecommerce sales. Customers can purchase your products or services any time through your site.

For service businesses, customers can prepay for appointments.

Accepting online payments significantly boosts customer convenience and your sales potential.

Websites allow you to integrate and connect with other software essential for running your business:

1. CRM - Capture leads and interactions automatically from your site into your CRM.
2. Email marketing - Integrate email opt-ins with your newsletter tool.
3. Accounting - Sync online transactions and sales data.
4. Scheduling - Allow bookings and appointments directly through your site calendar.
5. Chat - Connect live chat software to engage visitors in real-time.

Integrations help you save time, boost productivity, and streamline operations.

Lastly, a website helps future-proof your business as digital adoption grows.

eCommerce sales are projected to grow 56% by 2024. Local consumer searches are going increasingly digital.

As technology progresses, acquiring customers and selling without a website will only get harder.

Having a website prepares your business for the future so you don't get left behind as more commerce moves online.

It shows customers you are modern, tech-savvy and keeping up with how people search for and engage with businesses.

Investing in a website now ensures your business remains relevant for many years to come and can evolve with emerging technologies.

Here is a conclusion to wrap up the blog post:

As we've explored, having a professional website delivers invaluable benefits for today's small businesses and startups seeking to grow online.

From increasing credibility to competing with larger companies, showcasing your offerings to accepting payments - a website unlocks opportunities and capabilities that your business needs to succeed.

While creating a website does require an investment of time and budget, the long-term ROI makes it well worth it. The continual leads, sales and marketing capabilities a good site provides are priceless.

No matter what industry you are in or what stage you are at - having a website levels the playing field and gives your small business a real chance to realize its potential.

I hope this overview has shown why a website can be a real game-changer for establishing and growing your business in the digital age.

Ready to get your business online? Our team of experts specializes in crafting beautiful, results-driven websites tailored for small businesses across all industries.