Why Your Business Needs a (New) Website

Your small business needs a website. If it already has one, it may well need a new website.

Small business owners are rightfully absorbed in the daily routine of running the business and they often do not afford themselves the luxury of thinking about a new website. Some think since they launched their website a few years (or, perish the thought, many years) ago that there is no need to give more thought to the website.

A website is not a once-and-done thing. Much like fashion or home décor, website design has ever-evolving trends. Technological advances allow web designers to implement juicy new “eye candy” and effects to attract and retain visitors. These new technologies also allow access to different data and documents in different ways. The internet and its associated capabilities continue to evolve and websites should follow some of that evolution. It is futile to implement every new design trend available to a small business website. But it is possible to do periodic updates like a home renovation or remodeling effort.

Here is a list of one dozen reasons why your company probably needs a new website:

If your small business website design was last updated more than three years ago, it is probably time for a new and improved design. The new technologies will allow for faster load times and impressive presentations of data and concepts.
New content and faster load times will make your small business website more search-engine friendly and thus can contribute to improved rankings on search engine result pages. New content and faster load times will also make the site more attractive to customers!
If your small business is ready to sell products online but your website does not accept orders, then your business definitely needs a new website or, at the very least, e-commerce functions added to the existing site.
While employees seem to want to take time off every day to eat and sleep and have personal lives, your company website will work for you 24×7. Your website does not need a vacation or sick time; it just works. It can announce to the world the goods and services your business offers and can accept orders and payments while the rest of the company employees sleep.
Your website can offload inquiries that would otherwise go to your office receptionist; inquiries such as hours of operation, location, and general offerings. This frees up your staff to address more in-depth calls from more serious customers.
Your website can be configured to allow clients to schedule appointments themselves on your calendar subject, of course, to the availabilities that you establish. They can set appointments or schedule demos or enroll in webinars about your products through your website while leaving your staff available for other, more brain-intensive tasks.
Your website can also make you more accessible to your potential or existing customers, if that is something you want. You can set up online chat and message capabilities. If you are not frequently at your desk near the phone or your computer, you could miss some new opportunities. Adding different communications channels to your website allows customers to reach you or your staff directly by way of text messaging or email or calling.
If your company brand has changed or is changing, it is essential that the website be updated to remain consistent with the new branding. A consistent appearance and message help your potential customers relate to and understand what you can do for them.
As more and more people become accustomed to getting their information from company websites, it is assumed that any business worth interacting with will have a current and useful website. Many sales are lost when a potential customer arrives at an outdated website and then moves on to another, more current and attractive and useful site. If your website presents an old appearance or incomplete or incorrect information about your products and services, you will absolutely lose customers and sales.
If your website does not offer secure HTTPS access (think padlock in the address bar), you need a new website. HTTPS assures site visitors that the site they are visiting is, in fact, the legitimate site they were seeking and not some hacked up version waiting to scam them.
If your website is not mobile-friendly, that is, if it does not render well on smaller screens on mobile devices, you will lose many potential sales and customers. With well over half the world’s population having smartphones and tablets, it is clear the number of mobile users accessing your website is only increasing. In fact, many people are choosing to not even own a computer because they can do everything they need on their smartphone. If they arrive at a website that is not mobile-friendly, they will move on to the next site that is. There is no reason for a website not to be mobile-friendly now.
Of course, to be found in Google searches requires a website. And Google checks the frequency of website updates and load times and the amount of useful information on a site. Google checks for mobile-friendly design and for backlinks to the site from other relevant sites. If you want your company to benefit from the benefit of internet search engines, you need something for them to find: a website.

Landau Consulting is a web development company in New Jersey that has been assisting small businesses with their technology needs since 2004. We can review your website and company needs and make solid recommendations to establish or improve your online presence. You have goods and services to benefit other businesses or consumers. Let us help your customers find you so you can help them. You will be glad to have the online part of your business managed by the web professionals at Landau Consulting and your customers will be glad they found you too.