{"id":151,"date":"2022-01-28T22:07:24","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T22:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/?p=151"},"modified":"2023-03-06T19:36:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-06T19:36:45","slug":"do-i-really-need-a-website-for-my-business-yes-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/2022\/01\/28\/do-i-really-need-a-website-for-my-business-yes-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I really need a website for my business? Yes, you do!"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"print-doc\">\n<p>If you\u2019re a business owner on the fence about creating a website, I\u2019ll save you some time\u2014you need one. A good one. A professionally designed, lead-catching, sales-increasing, brand-differentiating website.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Consumer behavior changes over time to adapt to modern technology, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/blog\/new-digital-marketing-funnel-strategies\">consumer behavior has changed to adapt to the digital age<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019ll give you an example\u2014the Yellow Pages. The telephone was a disruptive new technology in the late 1800s and changed the way consumers did business. As more and more households began to use\u00a0the telephone directory to find local products and services, business owners\u00a0realized advertising in it was a smart bet.\u00a0By the 1930s, advertising in the Yellow Pages was standard operating procedure for most businesses. It made perfect sense\u2014the majority of U.S. households used the directory on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<p>Then came the world wide web and a new disruption to the commercial status quo: the digital transformation.\u00a0As more and more consumers realized they could find what they needed online faster and more effectively than a phone book, behavior shifted away from using the printed directory. By 2011,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/2011\/02\/03\/yellow-pages-opt-out-website_n_818050.html?ir=Green&amp;ec_carp=3784010169517559402\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">70 percent<\/a>\u00a0of all Americans rarely or never used printed phone directories. Also in 2011, more than\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/how-users-search-for-local-businesses-5-tips-to-optimize-local-listings-97612\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">59 percent<\/a>\u00a0of consumers were already going online to find local businesses.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fast-forward to 2019, and the number of consumers that go online to find a local business has jumped to 97 percent. If you want them to choose your company, you need to be found online\u2014meaning you need a website.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>WHY YOU NEED A WEBSITE IN \u2014 NO MATTER WHAT INDUSTRY YOU\u2019RE IN<\/h3>\n<p>Look, in 2019, you need a website. You needed one the day you started your business, but better late than never.<\/p>\n<p>At Blue Corona, small business success is our middle name. We WANT you to succeed. So, in this article, I\u2019ll cover:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Eight non-negotiable reasons why you need a website<\/li>\n<li>Common objections debunked<\/li>\n<li>How much a website costs<\/li>\n<li>How to make a website for your business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"single-content-form single-content-form2\">\n<div id=\"gform_wrapper_21\" class=\"gf_browser_chrome gform_wrapper single-content-form_wrapper\">\n<form id=\"gform_21\" class=\"single-content-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/blog\/do-i-need-a-website\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" method=\"post\">\n<h3 class=\"gform_footer top_label\">Why You Need a Website No Matter Your Industry\u20148 Non-Negotiable Reasons<\/h3>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Deloitte\u2019s analysis in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/us\/en\/pages\/technology-media-and-telecommunications\/articles\/connected-small-businesses.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Connected Small Businesses in the United States<\/i><\/a>\u00a0found that digitally advanced small businesses:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Earned two times as much revenue per employee<\/li>\n<li>Experienced revenue growth over the previous year that was nearly four times as high<\/li>\n<li>Were almost three times as likely to be creating jobs over the previous year<\/li>\n<li>Had an average employment growth rate that was more than six times as high<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>This applies to all industries, even industrial and manufacturing.<\/strong>\u00a0Digital advancement starts with a website. If that\u2019s not enough to convince you, here are eight non-negotiable reasons you need not just a website, but an optimized, accessible one.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #1:\u00a0 30 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS WON\u2019T CONSIDER A BUSINESS WITHOUT A WEBSITE<\/h3>\n<p>Your website is your number one marketing asset because we live in a digital age. Americans spend on average\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitalcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/2017-Digital-Future-Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">23.6 hours<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"formswift-button\"><a class=\"fs-edit-link\">\u270e Edit<\/a><a class=\"fs-sign-link\">Sign<\/a><\/div>\n<p>online per week and are on their mobile devices for up to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2017\/03\/03\/u-s-consumers-now-spend-5-hours-per-day-on-mobile-devices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">five hours<\/a>\u00a0per day. By now, consumers expect companies to have an online presence (including a website) and will consider a company that DOESN\u2019T have one as less professional.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #2: PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR YOU ONLINE<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25749\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_03-300x228.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"228\" \/><\/p>\n<p>One of the benefits of having a website for small businesses is to be where your consumers are. There\u2019s a reason so many companies invest in a website with search engine optimization (SEO): 97 percent of people go online to find a local business, and 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. Believe it or not, there are 3.5 billion searches on Google per day, and at this very moment, there is someone in your area online and searching for your exact service. Guess who\u2019s getting their business? Not you.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #3: THE MAJORITY OF OF CONSUMERS USE WEBSITES TO FIND AND ENGAGE WITH BUSINESSES<\/h3>\n<p>Yup.\u00a0According to LSA\u2019s (Local Search Association) April 2017 report,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.lsainsider.com\/the-digital-consumer-exploring-digital-media-usage-in-u-s-cities\/archives#sthash.aOqNLzD6.dpbs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cThe Digital Consumer Study,\u201d<\/a>\u00a063 percent of consumers primarily use a company\u2019s website to find and engage with businesses. That\u2019s a pretty big chunk of consumers. Combine that with the fact that 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine\u2014you do the math. Another compelling reason your business needs a website? Research by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/5-reasons-websites-still-matter-local-search-2017-275080\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YellowPages and LSA<\/a>\u00a0found that, on average, consumers use approximately three sources before making an individual purchase decision, and 30\u00a0percent automatically strike a business from consideration if they don\u2019t have a website.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #4: COMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONS IN EVERY INDUSTRY\u2014INCLUDING B2B, INDUSTRIAL, AND MANUFACTURING\u2014ARE INFLUENCED BY DIGITAL WEBSITE CONTENT<\/h3>\n<p>The majority of companies that don\u2019t have a website say it\u2019s because their industry isn\u2019t online. I hear this mostly from business owners in the B2B, industrial, and manufacturing industries.<\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s you, I\u2019m gonna have to call you out on that.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25751\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_04-300x98.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"98\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>A full 79 percent of B2B buyers say digital website content significantly impacts their buying decision, and 62 percent say they can finalize their purchase selection criteria based on a website\u2019s digital content alone.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/blog\/b2b-marketing-strategy-guide\/\">average B2B buyer<\/a>\u00a0now makes an average of 12 online searches before interacting with a vendor\u2019s website, and they are already 57 percent of the way through the buying process before they want to speak with a sales representative.\u00a0<strong>Even for industrial and manufacturing companies\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thinkwithgoogle.com\/advertising-channels\/b2b-buyers-online-and-offline\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">67 percent<\/a>\u00a0of purchases are influenced by digital.<\/strong>\u00a0Not only that, but half of all B2B customers today also expect a supplier\u2019s website to be a helpful channel and more than a third expect the site to be their most helpful channel.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #5: 75 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS ADMIT TO MAKING JUDGMENTS ON A COMPANY\u2019S CREDIBILITY BASED ON THE COMPANY\u2019S WEBSITE DESIGN<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-25752\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_05.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_05.jpg 225w, https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_05-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Not having a website makes consumers trust you less. In fact, in 2018,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kinesisinc.com\/the-truth-about-web-design\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">75 percent<\/a>\u00a0of people admit to making judgments on a company\u2019s credibility based on website design. People are more likely to do business with a company they trust, and a website is the first place they go to check for credentials, reviews, and awards.<\/p>\n<p>Beware, though\u2014if you have a bad website design, it won\u2019t help you at all.\u00a0You have 10 seconds to leave an impression on website visitors and tell them what they\u2019ll get out of your website and company. After this time (and oftentimes before), they\u2019ll leave.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #6: YOU NEED TO ANSWER BASIC QUESTIONS QUICKLY<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25753  alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_06-300x210.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"241\" height=\"169\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is especially true for B2B companies. People visit your website when they want to know something or do something. They also expect immediate gratification, which means visitors should be able to answer three questions within three seconds of landing on your website:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who are you?<\/li>\n<li>What do you do\/offer?<\/li>\n<li>How do I contact you?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We live in an age of NOW, where consumers want the information they seek immediately\u2014meaning your company\u2019s website should answer each\u00a0of the questions above without the user needing to scroll down the page at all.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #7: IT WILL HELP YOU BEAT THE GOLIATHS IN YOUR INDUSTRY<\/h3>\n<p>Did you know that having a website can help you beat the Goliaths in your industry? It can if it\u2019s optimized for search. Take Villa Lagoon Tile. They\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/smallbusiness.googleblog.com\/2018\/01\/challenges-and-opportunities-for-small.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">compete heavily<\/a>\u00a0with big-box tile stores but have no trouble holding their own thanks to their website and their prominent position in the search results page.<\/p>\n<h3>REASON #8: SOCIAL MEDIA REACH IS DIMINISHING<\/h3>\n<p><strong>So, you think you don\u2019t need a website because you\u2019re on Facebook.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Great, so is every other business in America. You need a website even if you have a Facebook page.<\/p>\n<p>And guess what? It\u2019s getting harder for businesses to connect with users on the platform. Within a week of the last Facebook algorithm update, organic reach plummeted lower than it was already. Another bummer? In 2018, people spent\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2018\/01\/31\/technology\/facebook-earnings\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">50 million fewer hours<\/a>\u00a0on the platform than they did in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>While social media can help your business grow, don\u2019t bank on using it as your sole marketing channel, especially in the future.<\/p>\n<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-25754\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_07-300x62.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"62\" \/><\/h3>\n<h2>Common Objections Business Owners Make Against Having a Website<\/h2>\n<p>We work with small businesses every day, and when it comes to not having a website, we\u2019ve heard just about every excuse on the planet\u2014and they\u2019re all incredibly misguided. I\u2019ve listed the most common objections below, and our typical responses.<\/p>\n<h3>OBJECTION #1: \u201cMY BUSINESS IS TOO SMALL, AND I DON\u2019T HAVE THE BUDGET FOR A WEBSITE.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>This is the most common objection we hear from small business owners.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Look\u2014your website is your number one marketing asset. Saying you don\u2019t have the budget for it is like saying you don\u2019t have the budget for an LLC license\u2014you\u2019re going to get in big trouble later if you don\u2019t fork over that initial investment.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Get a website\u2014it doesn\u2019t have to be fancy and expensive, but it needs to exist, and it needs to be able to be found by search engines.<\/p>\n<h3>OBJECTION #2: \u201cI ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH BUSINESS. I DON\u2019T NEED A WEBSITE.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Even if you have more business than you can handle, you need a website, no ifs ands or buts. I recently\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.soswebdesign.com\/webpackages\/website-10-reasons.cfm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">read an article<\/a>\u00a0on website ownership that argued against this. Here\u2019s an excerpt:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cRecently I went to a popular restaurant in a tiny Virginia town to try and sell the owners a website. The restaurant was located right on the waterfront overlooking Chincoteague Bay. I went just before lunchtime in the dead of winter on a weekday. I figured business would be slow and I could chat briefly with the owner.<\/p>\n<p>The owner was gracious and allowed me to run through the basic benefits giving me her full attention \u2014 even taking a few notes. I figured I had a good chance of closing this deal. I finally said, \u2018Do you think a website is something you\u2019d be interested in hearing more about?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>This was her reply: \u2018We opened this place as a bait and tackle shop. Then people wanted coffee so we provided that. Then some asked for sandwiches, so we provided that. Later they wanted a few tables where they could sit and chat while they ate their sandwiches, so we got tables and chairs and began doing lunches. That led to dinners. Then we didn\u2019t have enough room so we added the screened in porch for the summer. People loved the porch so much that we winterized for the colder months. Now that it\u2019s January, we thought we might be able to close one day a week and get some time off. But we can\u2019t. We\u2019re too busy. We\u2019ve never advertised and we\u2019re tired. If a website is going to bring more people in here \u2014 no thanks!\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, how wrong that business owner is. If that were my client, here\u2019s what I would have said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cA website doesn\u2019t need to be built for the purpose of adding new customers. According to the National Restaurant Association,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.godaddy.com\/garage\/5-reasons-every-local-restaurant-needs-a-website\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">83 percent of Americans<\/a>\u00a0look up dining locations, directions and hours of operation on their smartphones or tablets. Did you ever think that your customers\u2014now and future\u2014may like to see specials and menu items while they\u2019re on the go? What if they\u2019re in a hurry and want to order quickly and leave? What if they want to know your hours and can\u2019t make a phone call? A good website will answer basic questions right away\u2014which could free up time if you\u2019re spending a lot of it answering questions on the phone.<\/p>\n<p>You can add a reservation widget, which again can save your hosts time and make operations more efficient. You can build an online community with recipes, blogs, and places to get local produce.\u00a0 You can become not only a local favorite, you can gain popularity nationwide and turn your brand into a product all its own. There is SO MUCH a website can do to boost your bottom line without adding more customers, and while you may have enough customers now, you never know what the next decade will bring. It\u2019s best to get your foot in the door with digital now in the event that it\u2019s necessary in the future.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3>OBJECTION #2: \u201cI HAVE A GUY THAT SAID HE COULD MAKE ME A WEBSITE FOR FREE.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-25755\" src=\"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/do_i_need_08-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This is a bad idea unless that guy\u2019s career is in web design for your industry.\u00a0 Having a friend or family member make your website is like trusting a handyman to lay the foundation of a skyscraper. A LOT goes into having an optimized website\u2014SEO optimization, file compression, responsive design, schema markup, etc.\u2014and if it isn\u2019t built on the right foundation, it will likely topple over.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Even if you DO have a professional web designer as a friend, be careful\u2014different industries have different website design standards.<\/strong>\u00a0For example, a website for health services will have completely different components and markup than a website for the HVAC industry.<\/p>\n<h3>OBJECTION #3: \u201cOUR CUSTOMERS AREN\u2019T BIG COMPUTER USERS.\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Your customers aren\u2019t \u201ccomputer users\u201d? That\u2019s baloney. What this business owner is forgetting is that \u201ccomputer users\u201d aren\u2019t just people using desktop computers. It also includes people browsing websites, social media, and apps on mobile devices.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do 89 percent of US adults use the internet, but\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewinternet.org\/fact-sheet\/mobile\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">77 percent<\/a>\u00a0of them own a smartphone, and in 2016, mobile web traffic outpaced desktop web traffic for the first time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Smartphone = computer user.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>OBJECTION #4: I DON\u2019T NEED A WEBSITE BECAUSE MY INDUSTRY DOESN\u2019T NEED ONE\/I\u2019M NOT AN ECOMMERCE OR AN ONLINE BUSINESS.<\/h3>\n<p>This is a HUGE misconception a lot of people have. Just because you\u2019re not ecommerce does not mean you don\u2019t need a website. Consumers\u2014even B2B buyers\u2014still need to find you, learn about you, and trust you because they buy from you. The large majority of our clients aren\u2019t ecommerce, and each one of them has seen considerable revenue growth from having a website.<\/p>\n<h2>How Much Does a Website Cost?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>A website can cost anywhere from free to upwards of 100 grand.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For example, if you choose to DIY with a platform like SquareSpace, you\u2019ll pay a low monthly fee to lease a spot on their platform. On the other end of the spectrum is a\u00a0completely custom website from a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/website-design-services\/\">professional website design company<\/a>\u00a0tailored for your business needs. With these, you\u2019re looking at an investment of a few thousand dollars.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do not let a price tag deter you from creating a website.<\/strong>\u00a0If you\u2019re a one-man operation with zero budget, at least get a basic website that you can jazz up later when you have a better cash flow.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what goes into the cost of a website:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hosting \u2013\u00a0 This is the service or company providing space on the internet for your website. Hosting providers include GoDaddy, InMotion, and others. We recommend you use GoDaddy. Hosting is charged monthly and typically costs $7 and up.<\/li>\n<li>Domain name \u2013 This is shown as www.yourcompany.com, and is usually a yearly payment. WordPress, as an example, charges $14.99 per year for your domain name.<\/li>\n<li>Design \u2013 Some designs are free, other cost money.<\/li>\n<li>Plugins and extensions \u2013 Typically, the more plugins you want, the more expensive a website gets.<\/li>\n<li>Complexity of design \u2013 The more customized your website is, the more expensive it is<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How to Make a Website for Your Small Business<\/h2>\n<p>When starting out in web design, the first concept you need to understand is website ownership. A lot of small businesses dig themselves in a hole because they don\u2019t know the jargon of web contracts. You can learn about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/blog\/who-owns-my-website\">website ownership here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>BEST WEBSITE PLATFORMS<\/h3>\n<p>Not all website design platforms are created equal, but there are four that work better than others, especially for beginners:<\/p>\n<p><strong>WordPress:<\/strong>\u00a0Most of our clients are hosted on WordPress. They\u2019re upfront about website ownership, and the structure of the websites is extremely user-friendly and adaptable. You can create everything from basic, free websites to one like ours.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wpbeginner.com\/guides\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn to set up a WordPress site from start to finish\u00a0\u00bb<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>SquareSpace:<\/strong>\u00a0This is excellent for beginners and ecommerce. It\u2019s extremely easy to use and is easy to transfer to a more robust platform when you\u2019re ready. Be careful, however\u2014you typically do not \u201cown\u201d your website on SquareSpace, you lease it.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/support.squarespace.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/205809798-Video-Series-Getting-Started-with-Squarespace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn to set up a SquareSpace site from start to finish \u00bb<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Unbounce:<\/strong>\u00a0Unbounce is great for small projects and single web pages. It\u2019s what we use when we want a one-off landing page campaign or a microsite campaign. It has website templates you can choose or you can build one from scratch on your own.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/unbounce.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn more about creating an Unbounce website \u00bb<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Drupal:<\/strong>\u00a0While Drupal is more advanced, it\u2019s an excellent alternative to WordPress. We do not recommend you attempt to DIY on this platform.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drupal.org\/site-building\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn more about creating a Drupal website \u00bb<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Final Takeaway: The Price of Having a Website Is Much Lower than the Price of Getting Left Behind<\/h2>\n<p>A recent\u00a0<a title=\"Small Businesses are Anticipating a Slower 2016 Holiday Season\" href=\"http:\/\/press.capitalone.com\/phoenix.zhtml?c=251626&amp;p=irol-newsarticle&amp;ID=2229054\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Capital One study<\/a>\u00a0found that only 56 percent of small businesses say they have a company website.<\/p>\n<p>That should tell you two things:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>56 percent of businesses are doing better than yours<\/li>\n<li>You still have a chance to beat 44 percent of them if you get a website now<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Look, anyone who tells you your business doesn\u2019t need a website is just plain wrong. Those experts who say you don\u2019t need a website unless you\u2019re an online business or an ecommerce business (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.inc.com\/margo-aaron\/5-ways-to-build-a-consulting-business-without-a-we.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">like this lady<\/a>)?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Yea, they\u2019re also wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tell you what\u2014if you\u2019ve recently read an article saying you don\u2019t need a website, send it to me, and I\u2019ll tell you why THAT\u2019S wrong. It costs just pennies to get started with a web presence, and quite frankly, you\u2019d have to be insane not to get one. If you need help,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/contact-us\">give us a shout<\/a>\u2014we have a wide range of website design packages for every budget, and we\u2019d be happy to walk you through your needs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"form-after-content\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"author\" class=\"cf\" data-gtm-vis-first-on-screen-2439631_73=\"99339\" data-gtm-vis-total-visible-time-2439631_73=\"100\" data-gtm-vis-has-fired-2439631_73=\"1\">\n<div id=\"pic\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"personal-information\">\n<p><strong>About The Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Betsy is Blue Corona\u2019s Digital Content Manager. When she\u2019s not directing Blue Corona\u2019s corporate digital content campaigns she\u2019s urban exploring with her wife, diving into the latest marketing trends, or teaching horseback riding lessons. Twitter: @educatedbets<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluecorona.com\/blog\/author\/betsy\/\">View more blogs by\u00a0Betsy McLeod<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re a business owner on the fence about creating a website, I\u2019ll save you some time\u2014you need one. A good one. A professionally designed, lead-catching, sales-increasing, brand-differentiating website. Here\u2019s why: Consumer behavior changes over time to adapt to modern technology, and\u00a0consumer behavior has changed to adapt to the digital age.\u00a0I\u2019ll give you an example\u2014the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25756,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions\/25756"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quintewebsitedesign.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}