Perhaps you have a Google Business Profile, a Facebook Business Page, and regularly tweet, pin, and post updates across other social media platforms. With that much online exposure, you may wonder, do I need a website for my small business? 

Yes, a thousand times, yes! While social media and public directories are excellent tools, a personalized URL is still a major must-have, whether you’re a solo entrepreneur or leading a sizable company.

But if you’re still debating whether carving out a customized corner of cyberspace is worth the investment, we’ve rounded up a few extra nudges of incentive showing the importance of a website for small business success.

Why You Need a Small Business Website 

Consumers want to feel good about every purchase, especially during economic instability. They’re more likely to shop around, vetting all their options for quality and value. A well-crafted website speaks volumes during this process. Not only does a polished web presence show that you’re an established company, but even a small virtual site helps potential customers view your business as legitimate and trustworthy.

Besides a professional appearance, you’ll also have far more control over the content displayed on your website compared to social media. This allows you to show your audience who you are, what you offer, and why you’re the obvious choice. And you can do this all on your own terms. A business website also opens important communication channels, forging better customer relationships. 

Surprising Small Business Website Statistics

Still unsure why you need a small business website or online store? We’ve gathered a pile of incredible statistics that show just how powerful websites are for small businesses, along with some helpful tips to improve your own.

1. No Website is a Confidence-Killer for Customers

Have you ever come up empty after searching for a business website? There’s that awkward moment of questioning why they didn’t bother to create one, and whether you’re better off looking for what you need elsewhere. 

Having an online business website shows that you’re serious about what you do. Neglecting this essential piece of professionalism can harm your brand image. Over 1 in 4 small businesses doesn’t have a website, according to findings from Top Design Firms. That’s a high percentage of business owners letting potential customers walk away empty-handed.

What Should You Do?

If you don’t have a website, it’s time to team up with modern expectations. Having an online presence is no longer optional to stay competitive. Register a domain that matches your business and find a reliable web host and website builder to get your site up and running without delay.

2. Keep Your Customers from Bouncing Away

Now that you’ve got em, you want to keep em, right? Unfortunately, if your website loads like an image on dial-up, your viewers might bounce out of there before getting what they need. Your competitors know this, and they’re setting up camp right next door to capture those easy sales.

Unbounce conducted an extensive page speed survey and their results reinforced the importance of loading online assets in the blink of an eye. Nearly 70% of consumers reported that the speed of a website affects their eagerness to buy from an online retailer.

What Should You Do?

Optimize every aspect of your website for speed—without losing its crisp clarity. You’ll want to ensure your web developer’s code is tidy, with well-designed pages that aren’t weighed down with over-sized media components. If your site isn’t the problem, make sure you’re using a reliable web host with the right amount of bandwidth for your business.

3. Prioritize Your Online Image with Consistent Branding

Unless you’ve intentionally themed your website to match a specific historic era, you don’t want users to wonder if they stumbled into a time machine on the way there. Consumers often look for brands that understand current trends and deliver goods and services that match today’s most desirable wishlist items, all wrapped up in an attractive package. 

Therefore, having a delightful website matters a great deal. Your brand should be memorable, with a consistent look and messaging, whether online, in print, or in person. A Marq survey found that website conversions rose by 33% when consistent branding was apparent.

What Should You Do?

Crafting the tone expressed by your brand is crucial for local businesses. Consistency, clarity, and cohesion across all media will make your brand memorable. Customers often trust brands they recognize, so choose a style that works across mediums and apply it to your website too.

4. Mobile Matters More Than Ever Before

How often do you access a website on your phone or on a tablet? Statcounter has charted worldwide web traffic and found that nearly 60% of users are accessing the internet with mobile devices. Ignoring such a large percentage of web surfers can be a costly mistake, and those numbers are likely to continue trending upward.

Many consumers use multiple devices based on their present location, and mobile is especially popular for users on the go. Some of these potential customers are planning their next move curbside, right in your neighborhood. Does your mobile site inspire fresh faces to drop in, or pass by?

What Should You Do?

Make sure your local business website is fully functional and looks amazing on both desktop and mobile. Strive for a fluid, responsive layout that adjusts to a wide variety of screen resolutions without cutting off any menu items, images, or other meaningful content.

5. Clean Web Designs Create the Best User Experience

Websites with too much happening on the screen at the same time can be a real headache. You can’t expect potential customers to maintain focus when overwhelmed by a vast array of content. Instead of an engaging experience, websites can discourage users from sticking around when the path isn’t clear.

A GoodFirms survey found that over 84% of web designers cite busy webpages as the most frequent mistake found on small business websites. You don’t need to fall into this unattractive, try-hard trap. Instead, your website should feel like a breath of fresh air.

What Should You Do?

Avoid stuffing too much onto a single page, and invite visitors to linger with a clean, well-organized design with plenty of negative space between items. Think about how you can do more with less, but don’t skimp on personality or functionality in the process.

6. Good SEO Gets Your Site to the Right Audience

Google reports that 76% of smartphone users searching for something nearby visit that location within a day, with 28% of those local searches resulting in a purchase. This is a pretty good reason to make sure your business has high visibility on search engines.

If you’re not keeping your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) up-to-date to match the latest algorithm changes, you’re probably losing potential visitors. Even smaller local audiences can create an impactful splash if your web pages are optimized for top positions on the search engine results page (SERP).

What Should You Do?

Keep an eye out for Google’s major updates and perform regular audits of your web content. Make sure your existing content is accurate and optimized while looking for opportunities to add new bits of information that search engine users seek.

7. A Smooth Customer Experience is Essential

You’ve inevitably had some lousy experiences visiting business websites, whether it was difficult finding what you needed in a maze of menus, or not enough information to seal the deal. People crave simplicity, making ease of use nonnegotiable within today’s online landscape.

A pleasant customer experience keeps your viewers on the page, leading them toward the next step without friction. UserGuiding noted that almost 90% of website users will turn to a competitor after struggling with a negative website experience, so these stumbles are significant.

What Should You Do?

Think like new customers and perform a thorough audit of your website. Was it a slick customer experience or a tedious chore to accomplish goals such as finding information, searching for items, contacting the business, and so forth? Eradicate any problems encountered and reorient your customers in the right direction.

8. Create a No Fuss to Get in Touch Experience

Despite noble efforts to anticipate customer needs, your website visitors will inevitably have questions that require personalized answers. And those potential customers won’t want to waste time navigating a labyrinth of webpages to uncover viable contact information.

Simple, user-friendly communication that’s easy to locate is essential. In a survey conducted by multiple marketing companies, over half of users said they’re more likely to distrust and abandon a vendor website that lacks thorough contact information. 

What Should You Do?

Consider using Webchat, a live chat service provided through Podium that allows your visitors to speak directly to your support team or leave a message for later. Providing an email address and phone number will also boost the confidence of inquisitive viewers.

You Don’t Need to Do All of This Alone

Are you ready to take your professional website to the next level to captivate your customers and gain more conversions? You won’t want to miss our useful guide for small business owners like you. It’s overflowing with even more excellent insight and info that will help you prep your own website for existing customers and brand new customers alike.