{"id":15729,"date":"2017-03-20T13:31:54","date_gmt":"2017-03-20T18:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/?p=15729"},"modified":"2019-06-07T12:55:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T17:55:42","slug":"signs-business-needs-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hostgator.com\/blog\/signs-business-needs-website\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Signs Your Business Needs A Website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Signs<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Building a business website costs time and money. If your business has managed all right without one so far, it\u2019s easy to make excuses to put off dealing with it. But could that procrastination be hurting you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re still on the fence about whether or not building a website for your business is worth the time and money, here are a few signs that it\u2019s time to take the plunge and get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"HostGator<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1. Your business exists.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I kid, but only somewhat. The internet is a huge part of how people make purchasing decisions today, and not just when it comes to items you can purchase online. 81% of shoppers<\/a> do research online before buying something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you sell products in a physical store or services, the first place most people go when they\u2019re looking for what you sell is the internet. How many customers have you missed out on because your business was invisible when they went online to look for what you sell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. A customer asks where to find you on the web.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People fully expect that any company they do business with will have a web presence. Even if they already know about your company, a website\u2019s the easiest way to look up your address before heading to the store, or double-check your hours so they don\u2019t head out for no reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers today don\u2019t want to have to pick up a phone to find that information, or go to a phone book to find your number, for that matter. While you can list some of that information on sites like Yelp or in your Google business listing, customers have more confidence that they can trust what they\u2019re seeing on your own business website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been asked by at least one customer where they can find you on the web, it\u2019s time to start working on a satisfying answer to that question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You keep reading about web-only marketing tactics.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you spend any time at all reading articles for entrepreneurs and small business owners, you\u2019ve seen lots of talk about the value of social media marketing<\/a>, content marketing<\/a>, and SEO. Those are all tactics your competitors are probably already benefitting from, but that you can\u2019t even try until you have a website to promote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even more importantly, they tend to be more effective and provide a better ROI<\/a> than other types of advertising. If you\u2019re currently putting all your ad spend toward billboards and radio ads, you\u2019re not getting the biggest bang for your buck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. You realize your grandkids don\u2019t think your business really exists.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kids these days, right?  Their whole life is on the internet. As far as they\u2019re concerned, if it\u2019s not online, it can\u2019t be real. If you overheard them at Thanksgiving this year discussing a complicated conspiracy theory they\u2019ve developed that you\u2019re actually a spy and the business you claim you have is a front, it probably means they\u2019re watching too much TV, but it also definitely<\/em> means it\u2019s time for you to build a website for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kids show us where the future\u2019s going. If your family\u2019s youngest generation thinks it\u2019s weird that your business doesn\u2019t have a website, you should concede that they just might have a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. You realize you don\u2019t want to become obsolete.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The longer you hold out, the more invisible you are to potential customers. Even past customers might wonder if you\u2019ve gone out of business if they can\u2019t find a website people really do take for granted at this point that a website is a necessary part of business. If you don\u2019t have one, it looks unprofessional and means people are less likely to take you seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop procrastinating. You already knew by the time you started reading this post that it\u2019s past time to have a website for your business. Commit to getting it done this year so your business can maintain its legitimacy and maybe even increase profits in the years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Building a business website costs time and money. 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