When it comes to marketing in today’s digital age, we know it can get a little confusing. Many experts agree that small businesses need a website. There are no bones about it, if you don’t have a website for your small business today, you are ten steps behind all of your competitors and no business wants to be behind. With that in mind, how do you know what platform to use to build your website? How do you even build a functional website? The questions just keep coming and figuring it all out can be so incredibly overwhelming.
We are going to take some time to dive into the world of website platforms and hosting, how to design a site, and whether or not it is worth the investment to hire a website designer. There are so many factors involved that the process can often overwhelm small business owners, and digital marketing then gets put on the back burner, while your competition is racing ahead with fully optimized websites, branded images, and professional quality content. Suddenly your competition is showing up in all the local searches, while you can barely find your own business in the list. Sound familiar? If so this blog may be for you.
Is a website really necessary for my small business?
Websites are such a necessity in today’s digital world. Think of a website as a digital storefront. This is the place where your current and future customers can interact with your business, browse your services or products, and learn about your business all before they initiate contact with you. Websites offer the ability to reach a vast amount of everyday people without the incredible overhead of a physical location. They also offer the ability to market outside of your immediate area, which for some industries is incredibly valuable. In today’s world, the digital platform is one of the most important platforms a small business can take advantage of, but it’s more than just throwing up a quick website with some information. Websites that perform well are carefully crafted both visually in the design and with the content they provide. You wouldn’t want a physical office or storefront to look thrown together, and the same goes for websites; you want them to grab hold of your customers, draw them in, keep them engaged, and give them a reason to keep coming back to visit.
How do I choose the right website platform and hosting option?
This is where things can get overwhelming for small business owners. There are hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of options to choose from when it comes to a website builder and hosting platform. How do you choose the right one? Well, we have our recommendation, which is WordPress. In the world of websites, WordPress is often dubbed king, due to its ability to offer in-depth customization, even down to the codes, as well as the ability to implement an SEO plan.
Many website builders offer easy-to-use drag-and-drop features, allowing those with little to no technical background the ability to design their website, but the ease of the builder does come with a few drawbacks. Those drawbacks include limited customization, you often cannot manipulate aspects of the design as in-depth as many professional designers would like to, and most of the DIY platforms do not offer a way to customize your SEO plan. Many of those builders offer what they claim is SEO editing, however, those SEO services are incredibly limited, to keep it easy to use. This means that while you can create your website and SEO plan on these DIY builders, they will never achieve the same level of success as one built on a more customizable platform like WordPress.
WordPress can be overwhelming to use, especially for beginners, which is one of its downsides; however hiring a marketing firm that can create the design, implement the SEO plan, and optimize your site for speed and performance is often worth the investment. With Flavor Fusion Marketing, we take the time to teach you how to continue working on your SEO, edit your site as needed, and ensure you are comfortable using WordPress’s drag-and-drop themed builders, once we have completed your site renovations and turned it back over to you. One big factor that impacts us recommending WordPress over the other DIY builders, is that WordPress allows you the options to make your site ADA accessible. ADA Accessibility is becoming a very serious topic, that is often overlooked by small business owners. Florida is one of the top four states in the United States for ADA Accessibility lawsuits on websites. These lawsuits can lead to bankruptcy for small and medium-sized businesses, which is one big factor to consider when weighing whether or not to hire a professional design and marketing firm to create your website. While DIYing your website will save you money in the beginning, you run a very large risk of incurring legal fees and fines for your website not meeting the requirements for ADA Accessibility on the digital front.
In the end, only you as the small business owner, can decide the right course of action for your business. We at Flavor Fusion Marketing, highly recommend having a website, and implementing SEO plans, to boost your reach beyond your immediate area, and to help reach new potential clients every day. We encourage all small business owners to do their research, look into multiple options, reach out to multiple marketing firms, and get multiple quotes on digital marketing and website design packages. We always offer free consultations, making sure we customize everything for our clients.
The importance of having a strong digital presence in today’s digital age is unparalleled. Small businesses should have their website, and they should be implementing a strong SEO plan, that continuously is evaluated, updated, and monitored, for continued success. Whether you decide to take on the project yourself or hire a firm, these are important factors that every business should consider today.