It’s 2022, having a website is mandatory. If you have a business, you should have a website. Period. No question. Without a doubt. Even if you’re not planning on selling online, a website is essential for any individual or brand (whether big or small) that wishes to conduct business in this digital age. There are numerous reasons why you need a website, here are 5 of them:
1. Your Customers Are Online
If you are a business owner, you need to have a means to reach the growing number of internet users.
Statistics show that more than 3 billion people are now using the Internet – this accounts for more than a third of the earth’s population.
- 65% of Nigerian internet users shop online.
- 89% of Nigerian internet users are potential online shoppers.
- 90% of Nigerians that own a smartphone or feature phone have used it to shop online.
Current buying trends show that people purchase everything from books, jewelry, vehicles to live stock and even real estate. Having a website avails you the opportunity to reach millions of people that are searching for your goods/services.
2. Enhance Your Credibility
Consumers expect businesses that are serious about doing business to have a website. Your website is the best way to tell the world about you and your company. Your website gives you the opportunity to let the world know why you deserve their confidence and trust. People use the internet to research before buying products and services. Therefore, a website is a great tool to provide useful information about your business and convince your audience that you offer the best product or service. Here are 4 ways to increase credibility to your website:
- Update your website with pertinent and relevant information on a regular basis
- Offer visitors with quick and flexible answers to their needs
- Post testimonials from satisfied customers
- Provide visitors with a comment section and make sure you respond in a timely manner
A well designed, informative and updated website will add credibility to your business and strengthen your brand.
3. Search Engine Visibility
Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second on average, which translates to over 3.5 billion searches per day and 1.2 trillion searches per year. People are actively using the internet to search for goods and services, having a website makes you visible to these people.
Imagine you’re a makeup artist and there’s a potential customer searching for “Makeup artists in Lagos”, having a website allows you show up as one of the results, thereby making the searcher aware about your business.
A website that is designed to be an effective Internet marketing tool will increase your sales.
4. 24/7 Exposure
Your website can run 24/7 without any supervision or need to lock it up, meaning you can always be there for your customers. A website allows your business to run every day single day of the year – even while you’re asleep. There are millions of people, from all over the world, online at any given time of day, many of whom are looking to source products or services. If you run a conventional brick and mortar business, you can only attract the people who walk or drive past your shop, in any one day.
Having a website allows you to attract new customers and make sales even when your physical store or office is closed.
5. Low barriers of entry
Ever wanted to start a business? Well, now you can do it with virtual space. These days you don’t need a physical store to conduct business. You can make sales operating a store that is entirely online. In fact, by using some free website providers you don’t have to pay a kobo. There’s no excuse to not have a website.
