There are so many options to market your business in this day and age you may be wondering, do I really need a business website? Well, at Unity Websites we feel the answer is a resounding, YES! And here’s why. 

No matter the size of your business a professionally developed website will enhance credibility in your sector. This is true for whatever you are hoping to achieve. Be it to attract new clients, generate sales or increase your brand’s web presence.

However, you would expect a web design company such as Unity to promote the benefits of website ownership. But only you, the owner truly knows if your business would benefit from a having its own business website. You may be happy with your current situation. You may be living comfortably without the added workload that more customers would bring. If so, then we suggest you read no more. And we wish you the best of luck.

So, we guess if you are still reading this post you don’t fall into the above category. We’ll assume that you are hungry to expand, keen to grow and eager to launch yourself into cyberspace.

So let’s begin.

The internet is no secret. As of 2020, there are currently 4,574,150,134 of us connected in some way to the worldwide web. It would seem that everyone is now online. Even indigenous villages living in the remotest parts of the Amazon now have smartphones. 

So it’s clear that if you own a business or brand a great way to connect with new customers is by taking it online. Then you can reap the same rewards your competitors have been, probably for some time now.

Why Your High Street Business Should Be Online

Most business owners would say that a shopfront is their main goal. And we certainly aren’t about to say otherwise. But owning a virtual equivalent of your business has many advantages too. One of the biggest being accessibility.

Due to your shop’s opening hours, trade can be restricted. However, with a website customers can make orders whatever time of the day or night. Sometimes these orders are placed by customers that would never have visited your premises due to their location being across the Atlantic. Or anywhere else in the world.

It’s true that the high street still attracts more revenue than online. Though digital consumerism is growing rapidly each year. As of 2020, £1.00 in every £5.00 spent in UK shops was spent online. This figure is up from 2013 by almost double when £1.00 in every £10.00 pound was spent online. 

But it isn’t just the UK whose online spending habits are growing. Looking at countries with citizens that spend the most on average via eCommerce, US-based optimisation experts Invesp reported the following figures annually per shopper; USA ($1,804), UK ($1,629), Sweden ($1,446), France ($1,228), Germany ($1,064), Japan ($968), Spain ($849), China ($626), Russia ($396), and Brazil ($350).

There’s A Website For Every Type Of Business

You may feel the service you provide doesn’t warrant owning a website. You may be a tradesperson that doesn’t sell physical products. Or perhaps you are a corporate entity whose business is conducted face to face and away from the online universe.

In that case, consider a website not as an online shop but as a digital showcase with individual web pages featuring information such as contact details, testimonies by former clients, portfolios of past work and content detailing your profession. Just how many pages your website has is entirely up to you.

According to various sources, 97 per cent of consumers go online to research products and services before using them. So that is a lot of potential customers you are already missing out on.

By now we hope it’s clear that it doesn’t matter what line of work or profession you are in. Or what brand or product you are looking to market. There will be a website category available and tailored to your business’ needs.

Let us tell more about the different categories of websites and how they may suit your business. 

1. eCommerce

If you have ever purchased a product online using a digital shopping cart and a credit card then it would have been through eCommerce. These websites are for business owners wishing to take orders and sell products via an online store.

2. Business

A Business website will be the digital representation of your business. It would usually incorporate the features which make up many of the other categories we have mentioned such as eCommerce, Brochure and Blog. These sites could represent a restaurant, nightclub, theatre, band, personality or a sports team. 

3. Brochure

A Brochure Website is ideal for promoting a service or business without the need to continuously update with new content. They are essentially a one-stop-shop to promote a service online.

4. Educational 

The term Educational Website may lead you to believe that such sites focus on school-aged users. But this is wrong. They are simply websites offering educational content to visitors and offer a place to learn. Whether that be for adults or children. 

5. Blog or Weblog

Blogs are traditionally web-based platforms that a user, or blogger, would use as a way to regularly write and discuss particular topics. However, the term Blog is now more loosely used and isn’t quite as personal. Most companies now include a Blog section on their business website as a way to offer an ongoing source of information about its service.

6. Magazine or News 

Magazine or News sites are exactly that. They could be an original online-only publication or a digital extension of an already established brand such as a newspaper or magazine. The majority of such outlets earn money either by donations, subscriptions or web-based advertising. 

7. Entertainment or Media

An Entertainment or Media site offers content which is regularly updated concerning a variety of current affairs centred content. Similar to certain Magazine or News sites, Entertainment or Media sites would usually be exclusive to online readerships. They offer opinions and news sometimes in satirical fashion via a range of sources such as text, videos and images.

8. Social Media

A social media site or social networking service is a multi-faceted platform in which users typically build digital relationships with friends or other users of the platform. Social Media is also used to share thoughts, images and content via way of a post.

However, whilst social media websites are undoubtedly the most popular and visited category of any website. Unless you see yourself as the next Silicon Valley entrepreneur with a revolutionary multi-million platform concept. The chances are you will have little need to develop a social media website.

9. Portfolio 

Portfolio sites are used as a way to promote a person’s work. Similar to a blog in some aspects, portfolio sites are used by artists and designers over writers. Though writers can certainly use portfolios as a way to showcase previous work and articles. Portfolios can be used in a similar fashion to a resume. Only usually they are more creative and interactive.

What Do I Need To Launch A Website?

Firstly you need to know what it is you want to gain from your website and set clear goals for yourself to achieve this. Whether that means to increase sales of a product, raise awareness of your brand or simply to share your thoughts and opinions with the world.

At Unity, we start by researching your competitors and industry. The next phase is for us to formulate an idea of what you want by way branding, layout and feel. Once we have an idea of how you would like your website to look then you could begin to collate images and content. This will help the web designer you have employed to begin creating a stylescape. A stylescape is the method in which your designer will present their visual ideas and concepts they have for your website.

The next steps would be securing an SSL certificate authorised domain name and an email address to accompany your business plus a great logo to boot. Which may sound straight forward but can prove time-consuming. Bare in mind that the best names are usually the simplest making them easy to pronounce and remember. 

Another important factor when naming your website is to avoid the potential of brand or trademark infringement. This will not only cause your customers potentially to confuse your brand with another but could also land you in a legal dispute.

Most importantly you will need a host for your website. A website host is essentially where your website is accessed from online. There are four types of web hosts; Shared Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Hosting and Free Hosting. Depending on how fast your website grows and how much traffic it will attract will determine the cost and which type of host you may require.

My Business Already Has A Social Media Page? 

The popularity of social media has led many business owners to believe that all they need in 2020 is a Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account. But whilst platforms such as these can help, they certainly shouldn’t represent your businesses’ entire web presence. 

From a social media PPC (Pay-Per-Click) perspective, companies are forever switching their algorithms, layouts and general rules of usage. And so a particular strategy you may be investing in that was once effective soon could not, and could just as soon become detrimental to your efforts. 

Almost half of the marketers questioned by SmartInsights believed their return on investment (ROI) is no longer significant enough to invest heavily in.

Recently, also, more and more of us have become weary of the social media giants. This could be down to certain platforms’ dubious links with data mining companies or the growing opinion that continuous usage of social media is bad for your mental and physical health. 

Some of the biggest social media platforms are now also seen as outdated and “uncool” by younger generations. In turn, this suggests the younger demographics aren’t engaging as much on the likes of facebook and twitter as previous generations have done.

The last point we outlined we feel is particularly important, as studies from as far back as 2015 showed a growing trend in teens no longer using more traditional social media platforms. The same teens that are now reaching their early 20s and could make up a considerable portion of your consumer base.

It Would Seem, I Do Need A Website

We’re not here to say “we told you so”. We are just a passionate Shropshire (UK) based web design agency who love to design, develop and maintain websites. Though by now you would have probably already guessed as such. 

If you would like to know more about what Unity Websites can do for your business, brand or company then get in touch.

You can contact us either online via email, facebook or twitter or by contacting us directly.

By Daniel Smith

Dan is the lead Content Creator & Social Media Manager at Unity Websites and has an unyielding passion for all things digital, coffee and cake.

By Daniel Smith

Dan is the lead Content Creator & Social Media Manager at Unity Websites and has an unyielding passion for all things digital, coffee and cake.