A common question. Before we start talking about the advantages of having a website for your business, it is important to be aware of a basic universal truth. Regardless of the advantages that you will get from having a website, a website has become as necessary as having a phone for a business. That said, we will try and summarise some of the main ways by which having a website will help your business:

A website establishes your presence as a serious business. All customers and clients expect businesses to have their own website enabling them to gain information about your business and contact you when it is convenient to them - not just during traditional business hours.

A website is an extremely useful marketing tool. A website acts as your complete brochure and provides information about your company, products and services to all those who want to know. It is an extremely cheap form of advertising.

A website helps you expand your market. Gone are the days when a market was a certain geographical area restricted to a town, city or country. Today, the whole world is your marketplace and one of the major advantages of having a website is that you will get to reach out to potential customers beyond national and international boundaries.

Having your own website helps you stay in touch with your customers. With well thoughtout content and links, your website will not only help your existing customers, but also make you more approachable to potential new ones.

Why Do I Need a Website?

The internet is increasingly the first port of call for people looking for a product or service. They are able to type in a couple of keywords and are presented with page after page of websites, all offering what they are looking for. People like to take their time researching and comparing the offerings of people and companies and online they can browse day or night without even leaving their home or office.

An online presence is essential to be able to compete in today's market - even if it is a simple one page, 'business card' type website. As long as you have effective content, all of your contact details and preferably a contact form, you will have the potential to reach a wider audience.

So What Makes a Good Website?

There are a number of factors that make up a good website, but most importantly it must be designed with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in mind. A good web designer will know the tricks needed to help your site be found by search engines and hence accesible to all users.

A website should be well structured with simple, clear navigation so that users can easily find their way around. Unfortunately, some people get carried away with their design and, without realising it, are losing customers because they just can't find their way around the website. Users simply hit the back button and go to a site that is far easier to navigate - even if the product or service you are offering is better.

As a rule, you have 8 seconds to keep someone on your site. If your site is slow to load or the user can't find what they are looking for or can't even find their way to the next page, they will hit the back button and you'll have lost a customer. You can still have great design though: a good designer will be able to create an eye-catching design that is fast loading.

The design itself should enhance the usability and visibility of your site. In addition, the design is a powerful tool that helps with that all important first impression. Your branding should be imprinted on to your website design just as it would with any other marketing material or advertisement and a good design can really make the difference between success and failure.

To conclude. In order for your business to flourish, you need to grab hold of every marketing opportunity available to you and using a website to promote or sell your product or service is one of the most cost effective. A good website should be well structured and well designed to maximise its visibility, accessibility and usability.