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Many people use social media to advertise their business and services, but having a website is still the best way to establish your digital presence. In fact, a company website is one of the most important tools that businesses can use to promote their products, services and make sales, yet only 64% of small businesses in the UK actually have one.
Whilst social media will help you increase brand awareness, they are mostly used to increase website traffic and don't give you a full freedom of providing customers with all the information about your business. The best way of building trust and confidence is to have a website.
Creating a website, however, is a futile effort if you don’t define the purpose of your website and its intended audience. Even if your website is not meant for business purposes, it is important for it to be easy and engaging for your online visitors to use.
Some websites are intended to sell products online. Some are designed to be used as tools in a small business’s sales process, namely lead generation. Others aim towards providing practical information, and some are merely for entertainment.
The most common types of websites include:
eCommerce
Business Website
Blog Website
Portfolio Website
Event website
Personal website
Nonprofit Website
You may find more information on what each of these websites is for in the article about "Different types of website", but in essence, they all share the same goal - helping you to grow your business by sending right message to the right audience. They will help you achieve many objectives including:
Informing a target audience
Building a community
Reducing business cost or making it more efficient
Lead generation
Market research
Reaching a larger audience with a message / larger online presence
Selling products or services (eCommerce)
Selling advertising space
Branding your business or product
Creating "buzz" for a small business
Establishing trust for a brand
Finding new employees
These are just a few examples of what a website can be used for - the possibilities are endless. According to "Business2Community" -97% of established business owners would recommend having a professionally design website to the new or small businesses to build credibility, get more customers and to help achieve general growth. So be found online and gain a competitive advantage. Get a new website.