Do I Need a Website for My Business?

“You do NOT need a website” and “you don’t need a website if you have a Facebook page” are some of the most common pieces of advice we received when we were just starting out as virtual assistants.

To some degree, this was actually really good advice. You do not need a website to get started. When starting a business there are a million and one things you need to do to get off the ground. The daunting to-do list of things is enough to deter many potential entrepreneurs. So, if this is you right now, overwhelmed beyond belief and feeling paralyzed by all the “To-Do’s” let me be the first to tell you that it’s okay to start with what you have. You can figure out the rest as you go. (That’s what we all do at first… well and always to be honest)

At some point, to really take your business to the next level, to let it grow and scale, you HAVE to have a website. And here’s why;

You will miss out on clients without a website

One of our favorite places to visit on warm, humid days in Guatemala was a small nature preserve called Cerro Tzankujil. We loved cliff jumping into the crystal clear lake Atitlan, hiking in the forest to stunning views of the volcanos, and meeting the people who came from all over Guatemala to enjoy Lake Atitlan.

One Saturday we got there early before the crowds came rushing in. After swimming around a bit we decided to dry off in the sunshine. Pretty soon a large group of people from Isreal came to enjoy the lake. As they joined us in the sunshine we quickly reached out and became instant friends. We exchanged jokes, information about our respective cultures, and a love for the beautiful country of Guatemala. 

We spent the better part of the day with our new friends. When our empty stomachs told us it was time to leave, we left the reserve, thinking we would run into our new friends again. (spoiler alert: we never did)

Every interaction you have, and every connection you make, is a form of networking. When you really connect with people you need to have a way to reconnect with them again. Without a website, there is no way to reconnect with potential clients. People want to find you, but they will forget about you if you don’t make it easy for them to get a hold of you.

Right about now I bet you’re saying, ‘but that’s what social media is for… right?’ Wrong. 

Do I need a website for my business if I have a Facebook page? 

Yes! No social media account is an adequate substitute for a website.

Again, let me be perfectly clear. As you are getting started you can absolutely have success with an Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and/or LinkedIn page. 

But there are major limitations these social media platforms have. 

1. You don’t actually own your content.

Anything you publish on social media is at risk of being lost. Do you remember the panic felt across the entrepreneur world when Facebook shut down for a full day? We all sat helpless wondering if it would come back up, and if it did… would everything we published still be there?

Luckily Facebook got their act together and everything was fine… this time. 

2. Social media platforms censor information.

You might not know this, but all social media platforms are allowed to censor the information that gets shared.

We have worked with several alternative health clinics that offer services that are untraditional but bring huge results to their clients. Many of them have struggled to run ads and fought with the algorithm to get their content shared because their platforms of choice have decided their content is dangerous.

For all intents and purposes, they have every right to censor content on their platform because they own it… but it can be a very serious problem if the sole place you are publishing content is on these platforms

3. Hackers are getting smarter every day.

This is such a frustrating topic for Austin and me. In December of 2021, our Instagram account got hacked. We spent 3 weeks trying desperately to connect any sort of support to get our account back. We had invested a lot into building up our account.

There are no support systems in place for the users of big social media platforms. Our account was lost. We started over in January, and it’s been fine since.

Since we had published our content on our website first, nothing was lost that couldn’t be recovered.

4. It doesn’t look professional.

It’s really hard to stand out above the sea of competition on a generic Facebook Page. There are not a lot of customization options when it comes to publishing your content and talking about your services on SM platforms. It’s especially tricky to navigate the character limits several of them have.

With a website, you can change how it looks as much as you want. You can draw people’s attention to the more important information on the page instead of hoping they make it through your caption.

Guiding someone to your website to gather information looks and feels way more professional than giving them a Facebook page and hoping they find the right information. 

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. But its positive effect on my business has been undeniable. Social media is a great tool for growing your business, but don’t let it be the only tool. It’s just a piece of your sales funnel. To learn more about the pieces that make up your sales funnel and how to use them together, click here.

You need a website if you want to be found. 

One of the best things about a website is the potential to be found online. That happens by capitalizing on the SEO features. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a powerful tool if you know how to use it properly. By following the “rules” of SEO you can be found by web users without a ton of effort on your part. Needing help coming up with an SEO plan? We’ve got you covered! 

A website gets you more paying clients.

You have total control of what people see when they land on your website. You can pull them through the narrative of your business in a strategic way that gives the viewers all the confidence they need to pull out their wallets. 

As we are all well too well aware, the ever changing algorithms of social media channels are a constant battle. There is no way to ensure that your potential clients are actually getting all the information they need to purchase from you.

All potential clients need to know that they can trust the company they are investing in before making a purchase. With a well-thought-out website you can put their minds at ease and make investing in you a “no-brainer” 

Having a website can qualify your leads.

We’ve all been there, right? You finally get a lead, the book a call, everything is PERFECT… until the dreaded moment of all discovery calls… the moment you tell them the cost. You’ve prepared for this moment, you’ve done all the mindset work to raise your prices, and you deserve to be paid premium rates for all the investment you put into learning and growing your business. You pitch them the price, only to feel deflated as their eyes bug out of their heads a bit and they stutter a thank you then leave.

Rough…

But let’s face it, you are out of some people’s price range. And that’s OKAY! In fact, that’s a good thing. It would have been better if they knew you were out of their price range before wasting your time and theirs on a discovery call.

Your website can act as a screening process to ensure that people are contacting you when they are serious about paying for your services. It can answer the FAQs that you have answered approximately 10000000 times, and it can educate potential clients about other services you offer they didn’t know about. 

Investing in a strategic website can be the single best investment you make in your business.

See what Jeremy from Giving Backpacks has to say.

“A&M has done more for our nonprofit than any other single thing to this point. Austin and Monica are very great to work with, and made sure we got everything we wanted and needed on our website!”

Let’s Recap! 

So let’s go over how you can learn from our mistakes and the missed connections we had on the lake side of Guatemala.

A website helps you stay connected to potential clients by:

1. The ability you have to OWN your content and speak to your audience.
2. Making you look and sound like the expert they are looking for.
3. Helping your content be found (without battling the algorithm).
4. Turning leads into paying clients
5. Qualifying your leads. ( No more wasted discovery calls? Yes please!) 

Ready to get started? Click here.