What constitutes a good business website and does my business need it?

Websites are nothing new – they are workhorse of any small or medium business owner and have been for decades. A website should serve as a business’ central hub, to where all other marketing efforts lead a potential customer. The main advantage of having your own business website, using an open source content management system (CMS) like WordPress or Drupal, is that you will always have full control over how your website looks and what information is on it. When a business depends on customers being able to find it, a business owner cannot afford to have a website hosted by a service which can change or disappear at any time. Like your business, if properly “watered”, your website will grow and bring more customers to your doorstep over time. A well-designed website is not only the face of a business but also a way for people looking for your product or service, or even products and services like yours to find you. Making sure your website is designed with your audience in mind is imperative to making a good impression on a potential customer and can make or break a sale. The cost of having and maintaining your own business website is generally low compared to most other marketing initiatives. With a user-friendly CMS like WordPress and Drupal, and a few hours per month, technically managing your own website has never been easier. Unless your business requires advanced features, hiring someone to set it up for you and show you the ropes is enough to last you for a long time. There is simply no reason to not have at least a basic, mobile-friendly, fast, responsive website for your business.

37% of consumers are more likely to purchase on a mobile-optimized site. (ExactTarget, 2014 Mobile Behavior Report)

Having a website opens up many new possibilities for creative ways of reaching your customer online. One such possibility is: you can easily set up landing pages, which will serve as the first thing a potential customer sees when they visit your website, with special offers and interesting information which a potential customer may find useful. Another possibility is hosting a blog, which is – for many businesses – an undervalued marketing tool. You might have a writer in you dying to come out, and there is no better place to blog about topics which interest your potential customer than on your business website. Examples of the types of clients which often see success with this digital marketing tool: every type of business can benefit from having an attractive, informative, fast, responsive, mobile-friendly, easy-to-navigate website