It doesn’t matter what kind of business you are involved in, whatever your line of work or area of operations – it is a fact that in today’s commercial environment if you don’t have a great looking website with easy functionality you are at a distinct disadvantage to your competitors.
Today, access that the internet means that a home based business can theoretically have the same search engine reach as a major international corporation. This makes it essential for any business, large or small, to have an effective web presence.
For a smaller business having the right broadband package is essential. You can use online tools such as Virgin Media compare broadband to make sure you have the best deal but what else should you prioritise with your business website?
In the beginning
In the early days of the World Wide Web, websites didn’t carry much importance but were seen as ‘the latest gimmick’. Another problem was their creation was seen as something only professional web designers could do and consequently the costs were always very high.
Today, getting a web designer to make you site means you can have the most up to date and cutting edge approaches and also that the various operating systems and browsers will display your content in the best way.
However, it is also easy to build a site yourself, either using one of the many templates that often come as part of an internet domain name provider’s packages or by using a software package to build up and combine elements.
Mobile access
The explosion of hand held Internet-enabled devices, whether that means a smartphone, phablet or tablet, makes it even more essential that your website works across a range of platforms, browsers and screen sizes. Most big sites come in both ‘mobile’ and ‘desktop’ versions with the former making less use of graphics for faster loading times over different connection capacities.
Online shopping
According to a recent report, 41% of businesses who do not have a web presence think that they do not need one. Unless their operations are in a field that solely relies on local face-to-face trade, they are ignoring the increasing number of people who are choosing to buy things online.
The immediacy that a ‘buy now’ website button brings to any business and the expansion of online payment services means that making purchases online is becoming the new norm for a whole generation of shoppers.
