“Why is having a website important?” – How to increase leads, sales and your bottom line

When considering including a website in your business strategy, it’s important to think about:

• Why is a website important?
• How can I create a good experience?
• What is a domain?
• Where do I start?

Having a website is essential to increasing brand exposure, nurturing relationships with your customers and improving your bottom line. When you get it right, your website will generate more leads, more sales and most importantly, more money.

Why is having a website important for my business?

When looking for a new product or service, most people’s first port of call will be a search engine. In fact, Google processes over 40,000 search enquiries per second, averaging over 3.5 billion every single day. If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on getting your business in front of your audience when they’re in the right stage of the customer journey. As such, they will probably take their custom, and money, elsewhere.

If you do have a website, you need to ensure that it is the best it can possibly be. Beginning with your website, your audience are passing judgement on your business and deciding whether they want to initiate a relationship with you. With an easy-to-find website with a clean design and responsive website features, you tick the first box in your audience’s mental checklist. By providing a smooth experience from the moment your audience clicks onto your website, you reflect the positive experience your business can provide.

How can I create a good website experience for my audience?

The creation and management of a website has many elements that need to be considered. Firstly, the structure of your website must tailor to your target customer’s needs. For example, if you sell products such as jewellery or clothing, you are likely to need an ecommerce website that allows your business to connect with potential customers in a more streamlined way.

There are also a range of other factors you must consider in order to improve business reputation, increase sales and boost your bottom line with a website. Major design attributes such as the use of graphics, imaging, written content and navigation throughout the website are integral factors in providing a seamless user experience that urges your audience to convert into customers. 

Research has found that the brain makes decisions in just a 20^th of a second when viewing a web page. Unless that 20^th of a second is positive, your visitors will bounce off your website and straight onto your competitor’s. This is why grabbing their attention straight away is vital.

The type of website design you choose for your business will be dependent on your target audience, services or products and branding, however you should firstly set out some main goals. Do you want customers to enquire about your services? Do you want customers to make a sale directly? Once you have decided this, you can set out designing a clear-cut, professional website that is successful in achieving your wider business goals.

What is a domain and why is it important?

The first step to getting your website up and running is the purchase of a hosting service. A service provider will host your website for a small annual or monthly fee, and in return, your website will be available and accessible on the web.

Simply, a domain name is the address you type into your website browser address bar to get to a website. For example, ours is https://edge-creative.com.

A lot of companies offer lots of customisation and management services that allow you to access and edit the content of your website from your own computer via a simple username and password login. You may choose a relatively easy to manage, low-cost but effective package when you buy your website, or if you have more experience with the running of a website, you may choose something more complex. This again comes back to your main business goals. If your website is too plain or not user-friendly, your audience are likely to go elsewhere. However, if it’s too complex, they may struggle to find the information they require, and leave your website.

Where do I start when building a website for my business?

The creation of a website can seem like a confusing and complex process, especially if you don’t know where to start.

At EDGE Creative, our developers have a keen eye for technical detail that will make a difference to both your visitor’s experience and your bottom line. From ensuring your website has fast load times to ensuring the navigation is engaging and effective, our developers have the right skills and creativity that your website needs.

We can draw upon research into your customers and their journeys to create responsive designs with easy navigation. Enquire today to find out more about building a website to improve your business’s processes by emailing info@edge-creative.com or calling us on 0121 355 8092.