Most small businesses don’t have a website. Usually, I’d do a deep dive into statistics showing you the graphs and other forms of evidence, but do I really need to? Pause now and go search for them on Google. Try this with 5 of your favourite small businesses. You’re likely to get results from social media networks for all of them, but maybe 1-2 out of the 5 have their own domain.
Here are three reasons why most businesses don’t have a website:
They don’t know, they can’t afford it, or they think they don’t need it.
Let’s dive into it.
They Don't Know they need a website
Most businesses don’t think they need a website in Trinidad and Tobago to operate in 2022. They’re right. They don’t. To be quite honest, most businesses can survive without a website. I can probably stop here. I won’t however, instead, let’s dive into that.
Most persons running businesses are focused on getting as many eyes on their products/services as possible. It’s easy to do that with all the sharing features of the popular social media platforms and certainly, even more so if the algorithms are in your favor.
The part that you’re missing here is that this isn’t sustainable unless you get a golden shot.
Most persons would not start their search for a product or service on a social media network. They weren’t even designed for that. We, the persons using these networks, have made workarounds, groups, signal boosts, etc. to get around the limitations, but in doing so, are willfully ignoring the easiest and still the most popular way to get the answers you need – Google (or whatever other search engine you choose, but who are we kidding here)
GOOGLE IS THE KEY to your client woes. If you can get on top of a google search, you’re pretty much unstoppable.
Just ask yourself how you find out what you want to know. You go to Google and search for the answer. Imagine if your business was one of the results on that first page? (You got to be desperate to go to the second page, be honest.)
Let’s go through this step by step
- You build your own website
- You optimize it properly (A step that takes a bit of deep work)
- You stay relatively consistent in generating content
- You appear on search results for the right questions
- You gain leads and complete sales.
- You wonder why you didn’t start sooner.
This is simplifying this process aggressively, but it’s not as difficult as it seems. Naturally, you might wonder, how do I create a website?
You can literally build one for yourself, on your own through many affordable providers.
Keron Rose covers it here : How To Start a WordPress Website in 5 Steps
Learn more about WordPress themes here : https://wordpress.org/themes/
The only reason a web designer/developer makes any money at all is because
- People don’t have the time.
- People don’t have the knowledge.
A Web Designer can save you from making expensive mistakes like not being able to receive your money by choosing the wrong payment platform, or poor integration of a core function.
At the very least, do some serious research or ask for a short consultation from a professional, who can give you some insight.
They can't afford a website
In forums, groups and inner circles, there seems to be a consensus that having a website is simply too expensive or not worth the hassle.
Well, that’s awkward.
You can literally build your website, on your own through many affordable providers.
YouTube has countless tutorials on how to do this, and as of recently, there are persons such as Keron Rose, who have made content specific to our region, providing you with the basic steps to start on your own and build something functional.
Let me be clear though, if you’re trying to compete with the best, it does take a lot more work than any advice content is going to give away for free. That’s the nature of the business. For instance, quality SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and brand strategy obviously doesn’t come cheap.
The silver lining here though is that in so many industries, you will literally have almost no competition for searches if you do the bare minimum. It’s frightening how few people are jumping on this opportunity to be first to the post.
Why even bother with a web designer/developer?
Our job isn’t to make it pretty. That’s a side effect of the work.
“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
-Steve Jobs
That means, our main job is to take your processes and turn them into workable and flexible web-based solutions. That takes design thinking, integration, implementation, research, testing and more.
If someone tells you they can do all of that for 300-800TTD flat, they’re starving, or you’re getting a bait and switch.
You can start, and go very far, and if you’ve done it right, you’ll know exactly when you should call for help.
Whatever you do, don’t let people sell you things that you don’t need, or even worse, cookie-cutter solutions that just look pretty, but give you just as much work to do as if you were running your business through DMs.
Through my observation, the least you can pay for a comprehensive website package from searchable providers is $3500TTD. Persons doing it for less were seen to have features such as SEO and email services as add-ons, bringing the price back up relatively close to the standard.
This is very much a “you get what you pay for” industry. Ask anyone who’s been burned.
They think they don’t need a website
There are big businesses that think they don’t even need a website. It could make them millions more with an investment, but they’re simply not interested. I shall do no name-dropping, but I wish it was easier to get deodorant and body wash.
This isn’t to convince you that you need a website. Rather, it’s a guide to let you think for yourself when you should start.
A great website does the following:
- Brings leads through marketing
- Saves you time through less direct client interaction providing information.
- Generates sales and after sales service through well-built funnels
- Provides you with data to help you improve the tools that help you with all the above.
If what you do for your business already does that for you, and you’re comfortable then you may not need it right away.
A website is the most versatile marketing tool (not just an animated placeholder) you can own outright. It is yours and you can make it work 24/7 365 and it won’t break a sweat. (Remember when Facebook and Instagram crashed? How many DMs could you get then?)
More and more persons are becoming aware of how to quickly boost their business.
Quite frankly, your competitors are going to act and build their website, taking away sales and leads from you. Whether you’re better, more affordable, quicker, more efficient, etc., it doesn’t matter. If we can’t find you, we can’t buy from you.
If you need more time to do what you love, more qualified leads, more professional presence, more wows, and less, “I’m just browsing”, you know what you should do.
Feel free to reach out to me and have a free consultation for your business here : Bookings
Cheers!
