Every Business Needs a Website

Gone are the days when it was only large corporations that had their own websites. In this age of 24/7 connectivity, there is a good case for saying that all businesses have to be visible on the internet.

As the internet becomes an increasingly indispensable part of our lives, people of all ages and backgrounds have come to rely on being able to find whatever they need on the web. Rather than driving or walking to local stores during opening hours, we have quickly become used to sitting at our computers at any hour of the day or night, in the comfort of our own homes.

With gasoline prices going up sharply now, people are realising that they can save money as well as time by using the internet. Any retailer, service provider or other business that is not easily located on there is therefore increasingly likely to lose out.

Searching for information about products and services before buying has, in fact, become one of the most popular activities on the web. This applies to purchases that are subsequently made in bricks-and-mortar stores as well as in online stores. A May 2008 survey described in a news release from Nielsen Online (Internet Strategy Essential to Offline Retail, July 22, 2008) found that a full 80 percent of respondents who had bought electronic products from a local physical store recently had visited that store's website beforehand.

The same survey asked consumers to choose their preferred source of information to support their next consumer electronics purchase. The majority (58 percent) said that they would do their product research on the internet, while 25 percent would visit local retailers. A mere 8 percent would rely on reviews in newspapers and magazines, and another 8 percent on recommendations from friends and family.

These findings demonstrate how important it is for retailers and other businesses to use the web to promote themselves and drive offline sales, even if they don't actually sell anything online. An effective business website can function as a 24-hour marketing department and public relations office, and in some cases a sales department too. A website can also be used to collect customer details and send out information such as newsletters, product specifications or availability, and quotations for services.

A good business website does not need to be 100 pages long to be effective. A simple but well laid out site of 3-7 pages is often adequate for a small business or independent operator. Of course, if the company sells physical goods online, it will normally need to display a full product catalog with photographs. The important thing is to provide clear and relevant information and make the site as user-friendly as possible, so that visitors leave with a sense that the company has provided a high level of information and service. This will help ensure that as many visitors as possible become paying customers at a later stage.