Why a Good Website is So Important if You're a Small Business Owner
In this day and age, do you really need a business website or is a good social media following enough? Honestly, it’s not and more and more, we’re working with female entrepreneurs to make sure that they have the best website possible for their small businesses. Want to know why a good website is so important for your business growth? Read on!
Even if you have the best social media accounts and followings, it is so important to remember that your audience is not your own. In fact, if LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok or any other platform you might be on were to crash, your client information is gone. Equally, if you lose your accounts for whatever reason - your following is no longer yours and it could take you months, even years to build your audience back to where it was.
So, what’s the solution to safeguarding your online brand visibility?
Getting yourself a really good website along with an email list. But today we are focusing on how getting clients to your website can revolutionise your business growth.
What’s the point of A Website if I’m a Small Business Owner?
Granted, a lot of what we do as small business owners comes from referrals and from social media these days. But trust us when we say any small business could benefit from a website. Here are just some of the reasons why:
✦ Your website acts as your shopfront.
Running a small business often means you won’t have a traditional bricks-and-mortar shopfront, and so for lots of us your website is the first place your potential clients may visit. In fact, for many customers or clients, a website is the first touchpoint in their customer journey. This is why its absolutely crucial that your website reflects you as a female founder and your brand. It’s also incredibly useful when you’re at a networking event and you can direct people straight to your website to find out more.
See how we worked together to update Drew Shannon’s Website
✦ A professional website can boost your credibility
Like it or not, most people expect to see a professional-looking website for the businesses they buy from or work with these days. That doesn’t mean you have to spend £££££ to have a totally customised website made for you, but doing the basics like buying your own domain name (i.e. having a .com or .co.uk website) is one of the first steps we recommend if you’re looking to start your own business. You can use websites like SquareSpace, WordPress or Shopify to build your website, and lots of them have simple, intuitive website editors that even beginners can use! But I have to say this is definitely not my strength, but I work with experts to help clients make their website stand out by being very authentic and having functionality to grow with their vision for the future. If you want to have something totally unique and customised for your business, you can work with industry experts like our client Drew Shannon did. She worked with Culpepper & Co to create this stunning business website! This is a service I have added in the last year as it is all part of our visibility planning, this has now enabled Drew to showcase her expertise, have a suite of resources, link to her google page and collate email addresses. She has started a monthly blog to work alongside her newsletters, she has elevated her service as a result, I don’t believe it is a coincidence that she hadd her best ever quarter in 11 years.
✦ your website can work 24/7 so you don’t have to
One of the things we hear the most, and also know from our own experience, is that when you’re a female business owner, you are constantly working on something. This is why a good, informative, easy-to-use website can work as the front desk for you and your business. Make sure you include easy-to-read information on how clients can work with you, what services you offer, and how best to contact you so that when people do land on your website, they are more likely to convert into new clients! (mine is about to have a refresh, as my best selling offers need to be featured!)
✦ you can use your website for so much more!
Websites don’t have to just be a passive series of click-through options anymore. Why not launch a business blog and showcase your expertise in long-form content? Or use a mailer service like MailerLite or Flodesk to integrate with your website to build your email list and start a monthly or weekly newsletter! If you’re selling products, digital or physical - make the most of your website and sell your products from your website!
✦ Your Website can help you get discovered by new clients
If done right, a well-written website can make the difference between finding new clients organically or not. How, you ask? By using the best SEO practice and making sure that your website is fully-optimised for prospective new clients to find you. This can help on a local level if you also set up a Google Business Listing, but can also help you reach new global audiences. For us, as an agency that works with female founders in Manchester, London, Chicago, Germany and other global destinations, prioritising SEO has never been more important to reaching global clients. Not sure where to start with your SEO? Read top tips from two SEO experts, Diary Of An SEO and DanniMeetsWorld when they appeared on our blog.
Top Tips for ensuring your website is working as hard as you are
A few quick tips for female business owners who want to make sure that their website is doing all it can to help bring in new clients and audiences.
Make sure your site is mobile-responsive. Most people now access websites from their phones or tablets so make sure your website will change accordingly. Most website builders like SquareSpace will be able to do this automatically but if you have a custom-built site, make sure it’s capable of being mobile-responsive.
Check your site speed. Google likes websites that load properly so try not to include too many super-high quality images or plugins that will take forever to load. Similarly, with any photos you do add, make sure you include alt text to help make your website accessible. More on this in our SEO tips blog.
Make sure your branding is cohesive. Branding is essential to making your business stand out in a competitive market so ensure that your branding is cohesive across social media and your website, and anywhere else you might show up! It’ll help make your brand more recognisable!
Keep it up-to-date. This takes time but keeping your website up-to-date with price changes, service changes or even brand imagery can make a real difference to how your brand is perceived online. Equally if you’ve worked with clients or large national companies, showcase that on your website - just make sure it is up-to-date!
If you really don’t know what you’re doing, ask for help. If you’re going to outsource any area of your business, this may be one of the best places to start. You don’t have to pay thousands for a website - some website creators will be able to show you how to use popular templates on platforms like WordPress or SquareSpace rather than building you a custom site if you would prefer. Having a good, working website is essential though so be sure to prioritise it. I am by no means an expert in websites but I only work with trusted industry experts and can help you navigate the process.
Having a good website is an essential part of running a business in today’s digital world so make sure you include it in your business strategy. Whether you sell physical products, digital courses or services, or work with clients in-person, most clients will start their journey with you online on your social media or website. That’s why it’s crucial your online presence is exactly what you want it to be and that your website is a powerful tool for growing your business visibility.
Not sure where to start with building your business website and want some guidance on how to navigate the process? Get in touch and let us connect you with our network of industry experts.
