The lockdown brought upon by the COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the pace of the digital transformation of many businesses worldwide, forcing them to have remote or flexible work set-ups and streamlining their digital processes. Another thing that came out of this pandemic is the sudden growth of digital marketing. Almost all businesses nowadays are present online, because as Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has put it, "If it isn't on Google, it doesn't exist."

Whether you're a big business or a small one just starting out in the market, the need for a website is inevitable. In fact, it is said that 81% of people look a business up online before making a purchase. If you're not there when potential customers look for businesses like yours online, they'll find someone else who is. Having a website gives you the chance to put your best foot forward by describing who you are, what you do, and why potential clients should purchase from you. It's a necessity for every business out there that wants to be successful. In other and much simpler terms, you need a website to boost your sales.

If that's not convincing enough yet, read on to find out why you need your own business website and not just a social media account.

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1. A good website establishes trust and authority

People are getting more and more tech-savvy to the point that almost everything nowadays can be seen or looked up online. This is what they expect from businesses too, and since the market out there is getting more competitive by the minute, consumers are bombarded with choices and are likely to turn to the internet for the best option. Without a website, consumers may question your legitimacy as a business.

Once people land on your website, you only then have a few seconds to make a good impression. An optimized, user-friendly site that is regularly updated will give off the message that your business is credible and trustworthy. Having a good website is like being able to receive guests well in your home—you put in the effort to make them feel welcomed and taken care of and in return, they leave happy and satisfied.

Having your own website also gives an instant credibility boost since it can legitimize your business in ways social media platforms couldn't. Anyone nowadays could simply create a Facebook page or an Instagram account with fake info using your business name, and the profile may resemble yours, but the chances that they would attempt to build (and spend a lot) on a whole website just to throw your business off are a lot lower, if not zero.

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2. It paves the way for market penetration and expansion

Some of you may already have a set of recurring, hard-earned customers, but who wouldn't want to expand their business, right? Having a website allows you to do just this. Increasing your online visibility on Google can widen your reach locally (who knows, maybe also internationally). Even more if your website is SEO-optimized—appearing on the first page of search results will greatly help your business since you're exposed to more audience, including those who weren't even specifically looking for you but happened to come across your page. It's worth noting too that your website must be mobile-friendly, as 61% of local mobile searchers are more likely to contact your business if you have this. 

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3. It enables you to market your products or services while you're asleep

Unlike running a physical store, having a website means never putting up the 'closed' sign ever again. With a website, you can reach your audience 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not everyone works during the same time of the day so there might be people doing online searches for businesses relevant to yours during the late night or wee hours of the morning, so a website will help you market your business even when your lights are off. Imagine not having a website and on a Friday night someone needed to look up one of the products you offer. They're probably not going to wait for traditional businesses to open again on Monday. An instant loss for you and most likely a gain for your tech-savvy competitor.

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4. Your website is your own exclusive platform

Being content with running a social media account for your page is like renting out an apartment from a lessor. You don't own anything and if they were to raise the "rent", you'll be shelling out more money as well. What if one day they decide to change the terms altogether or worse, kick you out?

One of these three things actually happen a lot on Facebook. Their algorithm changes every so often and businesses have to go through the painful process of studying the new one and running tests over and over again. This won't happen when you have your own website. No more keeping an eye open for constantly changing rules of social platforms. Plus, social media sites are come-and-go trends. Remember MySpace, Friendster, and Vine? Yeah, we bet not everyone does.

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5. You're in absolute control

Having full power over your content is actually one of the most crucial reasons why you need a website. Community guidelines in social media platforms can be too limiting, and just imagine spending hundreds of dollars in paid ads only to get your profile flagged for vague reasons, or your business disappearing altogether for who knows how long during the next social media blackout.

With a website, it's all gonna be your rules. You can tailor your site so it will be in line with your brand design and ensure that all of your messaging are consistent without having to worry about restrictions and community guidelines. This way, you get to stand out against your competitors too because you get to present your brand in a unique way and showcase its voice and identity. You can't really do this in social media since all your assets will be in the same format as everyone else's, but a website will give you absolute design freedom.

In case it isn't obvious enough by now: Yes, you absolutely need your own website for your business if you want to make yourself known in the market and draw in more customers, and yes, even if you already have social media accounts. And we hear you, you're kind of intimidated by the complexity of creating one, but truth be told, there are a lot of platforms nowadays that have simplified the process of building a website (like Webflow, which is what we used for our newly-launched website 😉). If you're concerned about the cost too, just remember that ultimately, the price of being left behind is a lot more than building a website.

If you're ready to give your business the next-level digital presence it deserves, you’ll be happy to know we pride ourselves in helping our clients design quality custom-built websites from user research to prototypes. Alongside your team of web developers, we’d love to be there with you every step of the website-building process to make sure your site is not only user-friendly and mobile responsive, but also visually-compelling. Talk to us to get started.