Put Your Best Foot Forward with a Professional Website

“Why do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?” We get this question a lot, just worded a little differently – “I already have a Facebook page set up with some followers, why do I need a website?” There are a few answers to this question, but ultimately it boils down to creating a professional image for your company and establishing credibility.

A website serves a different purpose than Facebook. While I believe that they are both valuable for the average business, I believe that a website is more important. Let me explain:

Having a website allows you to control how your business is represented online. You can be sure that all of your information is accurate, up-to-date, and matches the rest of your marketing efforts. Your business website is often the first impression that your potential clients will get, and it can make or break the deal.

With less than 5 seconds to grab a visitor’s attention, would you rather they spend that time checking their Facebook notifications and scanning your competitors’ ads or that they read the specific content that you’ve placed on your website?

Having a website also allows you to reach potential clientele outside of your normal business hours. With free quote forms or custom contact forms you can gather information and build your lists without lifting a finger.

Why aren’t Superpages, Facebook, or Local Edge good enough?

Free, or low-cost, options like these don’t allow you enough control over your content and appearance. Many don’t allow for multiple pages of content, and if they do it’s not visible to those using a mobile device (mobile device use for services such as surfing the internet and checking emails has doubled since 2009, according to CNN!).

Anyone can set up a Facebook page, anyone can subscribe to a phonebook ad, but not everyone can build an effective website, even with DIY tools. It establishes an air of professionalism, its the difference between a company that works out of the owners’ garage and a company that has a brick and mortar store. Who would you feel more trustworthy giving your business to?

Other things that a business website offers that Superpages, Facebook, and/or Local Edge do not:

• Organize your services and information into individual easy-to-find, easy-to-read, pages.
• Develop a look and feel that reflects your business – and keep it that way.
• If you’ve been using Facebook for any amount of time you should be familiar with the continuous layout and design changes Facebook makes. You never know when they are going to revamp the look of your page and how you display to potential customers, or what functionality they’ll take away when they do it.
• Establishes credibility
• Anyone can set up a free Facebook page and close up shop tomorrow, why invest time and money with a company that might not be there in the long run?
• Think of it this way: Would setting up a table of your goods on the street corner for free be as trustworthy as selling from a legitimate brick and mortar location?
• Ability to control your keywords and search engine optimization efforts.
• Flexibility
• While Facebook has apps for most everything, most of the professional looking apps will cost you big dollars each month.
• Facebook apps are not always reliable or stable, with a web company backing your professional website you know who to call in the unlikely case of a problem. Who will you call if your Facebook E-commerce page goes down?
• Conversion
• The end goal of any website is to turn visitors into customers. With your professional website you can gather more information from potential clients using forms to get exactly the answers you’ll need to help them or you can set up a custom shop to make sales right online.
• Exclusivity
• With control over your site and its content you know that once a visitor hits your website, your competition is out of the picture. With other companies running your “site”, ad space goes to the highest bidder, not always you!

While a Facebook page is a great start, and better than having nothing, the best answer for any business is to have an actual website dedicated to their business. If you’re ready to learn about how a website could help you, contact us for a free consultation. We’ll discuss your current online presence and how a website can help bring your business to the next level.