Should You Have a Website for Your Business?

Recently I had a conversation with a friend about growing a business and whether or not it was important to have a website for your business. This is probably something that will cross your mind especially when looking to take your business online and grow a personal brand.

There’s so much to think about and do, but is a website really necessary?

Everywhere we go these days, everyone has a URL. They have a space online where they sell products or you can get information. Think of all the millions of websites that are out there that we use every day for things.

But the question comes down to is, should you have a website for your business in today’s day and age, with so much happening on social media and so many different ways that you can really connect with people. What do you think? 

There’s a lot of different pros and cons to creating a website and maintaining it because let’s face it, these days in business are so many things you have to.

You have to be present social media, you have to make freebies, you have to have an email list and grow it and you have to attend events aside from all the things that you have to do to actually run your business every day, and your life. It’s a lot!

Here are a couple of things to think about when you’re deciding whether or not to have a website for your business. 

The Goal of Your Business

Number one, don’t forget what the goal is actually of your business. At the end of the day, most of the time when it comes down to is that you want to build an engaged community of people who know, like and trust you that ultimately are going to yes, purchase a service or product from you.

Mostly what you want to do is build a community. You want to offer value to people, you want to serve them.

And mostly the big picture is that you want to make an impact in the world, right? I mean, we don’t specifically go into businesses saying, I’m going to make dinner for everyone in my neighborhood, I want to be a chef.

Mostly what you probably might want to do is you want to help people have something good to eat. You want to create a great experience for them. So there’s always something that’s happening just beyond what you think you’re actually doing as a purpose for your business.

So what’s the goal of your business? The goal is to create community. The goal is to have those great conversations, you know, to exchange value, learn from each other, and to make an impact.

So think about the ways that you can do that. In terms of connecting with people, you obviously you want to have a way to communicate and they are so many ways to do that. 

There’s email, there’s Facebook pages and groups, there’s tons of other social media sites that we have now. Instagram, YouTube Facebook and there are sure to be more platforms in the future. 

But what it really comes down to is you want to have an exchange of information with your ideal customer and yourself. As a business, you want to help them learn and grow and connect with you and do all those great things.

Primarily email is a great way to do that and social media is a great way to do that. But when it comes down to is again, you want to make sure that you can talk to those people, that you can provide that information. 

But these things don’t necessarily say take the place of building a website because websites are something you own and manage. We don’t own social media, even if it is a great way to communicate with people.

This is where websites come in. So if you are thinking of getting one, either now or in the future, here are some things you should do.

Get Your URL

Number one is actually grab your URL. Find a company that sells domain names – you can see the ones I use in my business tools and resources HERE.  Go and purchase your name right now, your full legal name and any kind of variation that you might use for a website.

This doesn’t mean that you have to do anything with that URL. You can actually purchase it and hold on to it for the future. Some are as low as $5.

But when you own it, nobody else can take your URL and then you are able to get it when you want to. I suggest getting your name as a URL and also any brand name or business name you use if you don’t already have it.  If you have a variation of a concept or a name that you’ve given yourself either on Instagram or a Facebook page or something, go and try to grab that URL if you can.

You can just buy it and own it and renew the name until you are ready to full on build out a website. 

Building a Site

If you want to build up a website, there’s tons of ways to create sites these days. You could do it online on spaces like Wix or Squarespace but WordPress is my favorite. I’ve been using it for more than 10 years and it has amazing features, a lot of which you can use for free.

See all my business tools and resources HERE, including links to get started on WordPress.

This site here is on WordPress. And it’s very affordable to use even when you are just getting started. You can own and manage one for under $150 a year.

I use themes to give the site the look, feel, and function that I want it to. See the ones I use HERE.

Themes are easy to set up and customize, even when you have little to no tech experience. There are lots of tutorials to learn to make a site your own.

So don’t feel like you’re going to be spending tens of thousands of dollars on a website. There are many, many very successful high earning people that are making a great impact even without websites at all. So if I were you focusing on your business, get the URL, put the website aside for right now, and focus on building a community.

Build a Community

And most of the time these days, we really want to start to do that either in person with people that you meet in your in-person business. Grab the email addresses of contacts and start to think about building that email list and communicating with people.

You can start that way when you focus on building an audience that way and providing value for people. And on social media, it’s the same thing how people learn about something. You can have challenges, help people and figure out what they need.  Identify their needs and bring them a solution as the expert that you are in your business. This will ultimately help you develop your business down the line.

Start an Email List

There are so many valuable resources out there to learn how to build and grow an email list. Look some up and find a method that works for you. This is something I focus on a lot in my business.

Building your own email list is important because it is something you own and have full control over (mostly). You can send messages when and how you want and there are again, lots of way to improve the experience of your readers via email communication.

If you aren’t thinking of creating a site for your business now, don’t worry. They can be a distraction to what you are doing anyway. Focus on what your business needs in this season and the success will happen like it is supposed to.

So tell us what you think about having a website. Does this help you decide about creating a website for your business?  Do you have one, are you thinking of getting one?