Enjoy these 7 interesting facts about business websites.
1. 50% of small businesses do not have a website, and of those, 30% cite cost as the reason why. (Source: PR Newswire, 2016)
This is a shame. Websites can range from free to tens of thousands of dollars. I realize that the 30% citing cost is only 15% of the total population, but it seems they could have a site nowadays with all the free or next to free options. The fact that half of small businesses do not have a website is simply a missed opportunity. A physical presence should have a branded digital presence to stay competitive. Let me know the exceptions to the rule on this one. I’m thinking independent truck drivers…maybe?
2. 51% of owners perceive websites as a top 10 marketing tool used by Small Businesses (Source: Wasp, 2016)
This perfectly compliments #1. Perceived value is king and queen…and bishop (chess reference, yeah). When a business understands the value of websites as a critical part of their marketing plan, then it is a no brainer. I could only guess that 49% of this poll did not have a digital marketing plan. What else could it be?
3. 44% of those with a website say their website doesn’t have a responsive, mobile-friendly design. (Source: Blue Corona, 2016)
Ok, no worries. This can be fixed and relatively quickly. A company like Creative Boro can help or if your going D-I-Y then most themes or builder options have responsive design elements built-in. But wait, mobile-friendly is something else. Everyone needs to make their site easy to navigate and read on mobile screens. This takes a little extra effort, but worth it, so that you won’t lose any search engine ranking you may have earned. Are there still sites that do not have mobile-first mentality?
4. 67% of leads in 2016 are generated by companies with an active blog (Source: infusionsoft, 2016)
You are reading a blog. It is active. We do want leads, so we blog with a dozen of other efforts. So let’s hope this trend continues into 2017. We advise all clients to have a blog. I mean, active blog.
5. 26% of businesses list managing their website as their TOP challenge (Source: hubspot, 2016)
We manage websites! We use systems built over years of experience. The reason it is a challenge is because it takes research and practice to get things perfect when attempting a ‘quick update’ to a site. Many business owners have learned these skills, but for those that don’t run a web design company, they could partner with one for the long term. Is this idea fading?
6. 54% of small businesses outsource graphic design and website design (Source: Wasp, 2016)
Well, I knew we were in business for some reason! This is not a bad thing. In fact, we outsource business aspects we do not specialize in e.g. legal. The main lesson is that we run a business and need to cost effectively find others that will manage some aspects of our business, so should every business in 2017 to stay competitive in their field. We help other businesses stay focused on what they do best, while we handle their website, hosting, updates, etc. for a small monthly cost. The other 46% should do the same if web presence management is not their focus. We even partner with marketing companies to handle their clients’ web design and management needs.
7. 100% need a plan to build and maintain their website (Creative Boro, Everyday)
We use the Checklist Approach to our clients – and our own – web presence building and management. We use tools like Trello, Google Apps, and Slack to stay organized, understand production progress, and generally keep sanity 😉
Looking for a website for your business, visit our Web Design page. We provide not just a website, but a tool to grow your business.
Check our new post on: “SEO for Creative Small Businesses“
