Before we start this blog, repeat after us: having an Etsy.com website, is not a website. Yea, we said it. That cute pair of earrings you saw on the gram and went to their profile to buy just to see an shop Etsy pop up is annoying and you know it. You can have a free domain and put it in your bio instead and it looks better. Why? Because that translates to your consumer that you have decided to invest in your product, therefore your product is worth checking out. Your business deserves it’s own website, not a virtual little storefront. You’ve packed blood, sweat, and tears into it, and it’s time for it to graduate from a kiddie room to a big girl room. Having a website, especially for a small business, is so important (excuse us while we get really passionate over here) in this constant on-line age. 

 

Establish Credibility. 

Having a website is essentially a virtual storefront. It never closes, it’s always open, and it can give you feedback on what to improve, what’s not working, etc. Not having a website will make your consumer ask so many questions: Is it not legit? Can they not afford a website? Is there product not good enough for a website? Too many questions which will lead to no sales. 

 

Ecommerce spending just keeps going up. 

Ecommerce spending is estimated to grow over 684 billion (billion) by 2020. Why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that? 

 

Ever heard of Webrooming? 

Well, you have now. This is when people research your product before they go and buy it in store, and having an online presence can help your offline one increase in profit tremendously. 

 

You show up in a Google Search. 

The first thing people do before they go anywhere is google it. Literally, think about how many times a day you do that. If you show up, but without a website, it makes it extremely difficult for them to want to visit you. 

 

You can provide your customers with everything. 

Whatever you have in stock, plus more. Examples of your work with previous clients. About me pages. Whatever it is you would want to know as a consumer, you can provide your consumers with on a webpage. There’s so much you can give to them it’s crazy if you don’t do it. 

 

You become a competitor in the online space. 

This might be intimidating because the internet is a massive ocean of information, but if you’re online, there is so much you can do to optimize your business to get at your consumers top of mind and be put alongside your competitor. SEO, meta descriptions, google analytics- all this info can only help you. 

 

It’s another channel to reach people with. 

We’ve all heard the power of having a good social channel- or a few of them. Having a website is no exception. Between CTR, conversions, bounce rate, landing pages, visitors- the information is so worth your time (and money).

 

Employees and staff can go to your website instead of you. 

Instead of having to ask the same questions over and over, your website can become a resource for your employees. FAQs, updates, examples, whatever it is they need, you can make sure to have it on your site. 

 

Counteract bad reviews. 

A website is a great way to control what people are saying about you and their perception. Having a reviews page with positive comments is a great way to start, design and layout also influence perception, product examples so people can see what you’re all about are just a few ways to tell a compelling, positive story. 

 

We get it, we really do, creating and maintaining a good website is a lot. It can be daunting, especially if your first thought is “I don’t know anything about coding” (News Flash: that’s a myth. You don’t need to know anything about coding to make a website with a host). Don’t know where to start? Lucky for you, we do! Below are some good options for website hosting to offer free domains, or paid custom domains: 

 

1. https://www.squarespace.com/
2. https://www.wordpress.com
3. https://www.showit.co

 

However, if you want a more personable approach to building a quality website, we got you covered. Shoot as an email,  dm us on instagram, or contact us here and we can start building you a great online storefront that puts out as much as you put in it.