You’ve punched the numbers, found investors (or have done the work yourself), and have a reliable team behind you. You have established the concept of your business, and you know your audience. 

But do you know how to advertise and reach them properly? Does your business have a unique voice and brand?

As this year has shown, the digital age is in full swing. Businesses are putting more effort and time into building their online presence.

Let us show you why building a well-designed website is crucial to your business.

You need a search presence

Today, many new online businesses focus heavily on pay-per-click campaigns. They build complex lead-generating funnels that include ads, landing pages, and email workflows.

Some companies have immediate success with these tactics. The PPC ads work, leads flow in, and they think that everything is working great.

But then Facebook makes a small change to the algorithm, and everything dries up. They relied on driving traffic from paid ads, and when that failed, they did not have an organic search presence.

Your website acts as the central hub for all information related to your business. It should tell people who you are, what you do, how it benefits them, and how they can purchase from you.

Even if you’re running these campaigns through paid ads, you need to have a way for customers to find you if they search. 

Your website supports sales

A well-designed website will also help support your sales efforts in three primary ways.

1. Even if someone contacts you because somebody referred them, they likely did a quick search before getting on a call. 
2. You may also choose to send prospective customers links to key pages and information on your website to answer their questions in the sales process. 
3. Your website should generate leads regularly for you without running paid ads to drive traffic. Your website should provide a steady pipeline of leads for your sales team.

24/7 Access

Your website provides round-the-clock access to your company. Customers can access information and answer their questions even when you don’t have a team member available.

If you sell products or online courses, consumers can make purchases any time of the day or night without needing to get you involved. Your website will serve as a digital salesperson. It will give the consumer what they need to know about your offering, make the sale, and collect their payment — literally while you sleep.

Establish credibility

A good website helps you establish credibility. It can even make your company seem much larger than it is — simply because it looks good and presents information about your company well. 

Your website is also typically your customer’s first impression of your brand. If it is hard to navigate or unattractive, then a prospective customer may leave before getting to know you. There are a few elements that you will want to ensure that your website has.

1. Simple Navigation: Visitors should be able to find what they’re looking for easily. The navigation menus should be simple and straightforward so that they can find their way around.
2. Clean Design:  The design of your site should be appealing. More importantly, it should support the information in a way that makes it easy for customers to understand.
3. Helpful Content: The content you put into your site should be informative and help the visitors understand what you do and what you have to offer. It should be optimized for search engines as well as user experience.

Don’t build your site alone

Creating a custom website for your business seems as easy as using Google. 

When you search “create your website,” you’ll find results that include everything from a list of platforms to build on as well as courses available for those who want to do it all on their own. 

But designing a website for your business takes time, experience, and a creative eye. 

• What elements should you include if you want to generate leads? 
• Does this website reach the audience you want? 
• Is the design eye-catching, and will it bring in a solid consumer base? 
• Is the message of your business clear? 

It may seem like it’s going to be easy to create a website yourself — but almost every customer we have ever had that has tried to do it alone regrets it. It always takes longer than they think it will, and the result is never what they hoped for.

At BHirst Media, we have experience building websites for various customers and a variety of different needs. We understand what it takes to build a website that looks good, is optimized for search engines, and is designed for lead generation.

You don’t have to try and do this alone — let us help. Check out our website design, development, and website care plans today.