As business owners, one of the first pieces of advice you’ll hear is:
“Oh, you’re starting a business? You need a website.”
You can’t be a real business without a website, right?
Well, there are solid arguments to be made about whether every business needs a website. Some don’t need one to start, and others may never need one (though those are few and far between).
But realistically, I think it’s fair to say that if you have a business, people expect you to have a website.
And here’s why.
Prospective clients want to see a website for a whole host of reasons.
- To make sure you’re legitimate
- To see if you have experience
- To see if you have the right type of experience
- To gauge your level of expertise
- To see what kind of person you are
- To see where you’re located
- To see samples of your work
- To hear what other people say about working with you
- To see your offers
- To see your prices
- To determine if they would like to work with you
And the only way for them to see all that information in one place is to put it on your very own website. (Yes, social media is great, but it’s not the best, safest, most straightforward way to make your case to prospective clients.)
So, if you haven’t done so already, when you can, as soon as you can, put up a website that covers all that information in a way that convinces visitors that you’re the right person for the job.
And if you already have a site? Go back and make sure that you’re addressing each of those expectations.
Make your case. Make it clear. Make it compelling.