The simplest website can generally be thought of as an online brochure or catalog that can be updated at any time. Updating information about your products and services is much easier to do on your website than it is to print brochures or catalogs.

Introducing your customers to new services and new products, announcing upcoming events, running special promotions, scheduling appointments, and posting tips is where your website can really shine.

You also have the option to add YouTube videos, Podcasts, Webinars, eBooks, and other online media to showcase your skills, expertise, and products. You can even provide online classes, courses, and workshops! And with social media integration, you can provide information from your website to an even wider audience.

And get this… Google Ranks Local Businesses Higher When Searchers Use Mobile Devices. That means that Google assumes that a user doing a search on their mobile phone is most likely on the go, and looking for a business close by. Thus, the search engine favors local businesses when people do mobile searches which equals more business for you!

Your website is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You can provide your regular and prospective customers the opportunity to review your products and services whenever they want.

Also, your visitors can contact you, sign up for your courses, schedule appointments and even purchase directly through your website! This kind of convenience is a great selling point when making a purchase decision.

Your website is simply the best place to showcase your work or demonstrate your skills no matter what type of business you’re in. You can show what makes you unique by adding a portfolio, image gallery, or videos, as well as, testimonials.

Now you’re probably thinking, “I do that on Instagram, no problem”. But did you know that the quality of your photos and graphics is compromised and the size may be substantially reduced when using social media channels like Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook? Not only that, but Facebook and other social media channels take control of how people interact with them and even WHO can see them. And in most cases, once you post your work on these social media channels you no longer own the rights to those photos. They could possibly be being sold to use in sponsored ads like the ones you see throughout your timeline?

By having a portfolio of work on your own website, it can be viewed by anyone anywhere and you are in control of what they see, along with the quality and size of your images.

In today’s fast-paced world, talking to customers on the phone, in messenger, by email, and face-to-face takes time. Creating promotional material takes time. Your website can save you from having to communicate the same information over and over again to different people by having it available on your site 24/7.

Your website is a great way to provide more value to your customers and clients, buy sharing tips on how to use or care for your products. For instance, if you sell tea and coffee, you can provide brewing times and temperatures.
Accountants can provide valuable advice on how to simplify bookkeeping. You get the idea.

And an FAQ section is a place to add articles or upload newsletters to answer your customers’ questions and to keep them up-to-date and better informed.

I get it. Social media is HUGE and awesome and accessible, but even if you have a big social media presence, you don’t actually “own” that online space.

Social media is a great way to bring traffic to your website and it’s great at allowing you to share content from your website. However, if you’re relying solely on social media to attract customers or clients, is not only preventing several prospects from doing business with you, but you cannot control what happens with it. Everything that you’ve uploaded to your favorite social media channels could disappear at any moment without prior warning. If that site pulls the plug, for whatever reason, you could lose it all forever.

The same thing goes for freebie websites that offer free or low-cost ways to claim your online space. In most cases, you don’t own your online space and may have little to no control over what you place there. Then, if you decide it’s time to move on, you can’t always take your website content with you (at least not easily) and you will more than likely need to start from scratch.
With a professional, self-hosted website, (granted you are renting space for your web address) you own everything contained there. Changing hosts is an easier task and you can take everything with you.