When I started my business I made sure to create a website. Initially the purpose of my website was just informational. I felt like I had to have a website just to show people that I exist as a business, but it didn’t give anyone any information that most people already didn’t know about me. It was very brief, it wasn’t interactive and you couldn’t do any business with me via the website. So I consulted with some of the people in my life that are experts with technology and website design. Since then, I have learned that there are 3 important things that your website should do for you.
First, your website should be informative and it should have the right information. Someone looking over your website should be able to find out more about you as a business owner and a person. You should also make sure that your viewers have a clear understanding of the resources you have to offer and how you can help them and anyone they know. Most people want to do business with someone they can trust and someone they feel connected with in some way. Having learned that, you can now go onto my website and find out more about me and I am working on a section to learn about my staff.
Second, it’s important to make sure your website is easy to navigate.. Here is where it is important to utilize a professional or someone you know who is educated in website design. A well designed and interactive website will give your viewers multiple organized pages to learn about you and your staff as well as your services and products. Take the time to work on a strategy on how to present the information that you want to show. My website now has pages for different topics with the most relevant information shown first. I also have clickable links for my viewers to have the option to learn more about specific products and services.
Third, your website should be a means to do business. This is something I did not include until recently. Today you can go onto my website and find almost any specific product that you are looking for and order it yourself. Not all of our products are available to purchase from our website, but depending on the needs of the business, our customers are able to at least begin the process and then are able to contact us to complete the sale. If someone is unable to find the product they are looking for, they can connect with me via the Get In Touch links throughout my website or the Let’s Chat feature. I also have the option to set up an appointment by email, phone call, or postal mail right from my website.
In today’s business world, not everyone does business in person. With having experienced the effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, I think it’s even more important now to be set up to do business online. That doesn’t mean everyone will do business online but if you don’t have that option, then chances are you are going to lose out on some business. That was a big learning curve for me; from being just informational to going through the whole process of finding out what we needed to be able to order products through my website. The people in my life are essential to helping me continue going through the revamping of my whole website.
You may be like me and may not have all the information to know how to do all of that stuff yourself. Hey! It’s okay! Get together with the right people and get your business’s website up to par so that you DO have all the tools you need to not only survive, but to THRIVE!