With all of the advantages of social media, some businesses wonder why they should even have a website. In fact, a number of businesses rely solely on social media for their online presence.
Social media does have its benefits. It’s a great way to interact with customers, to be present in their lives when they aren’t actively searching for your offerings, and to market to users and your audience.
However, social media has its limits. Which is where having a website comes in.
Benefits of Having a Website
Reliability
A great benefit of having a website is that it’s a guaranteed online presence you can rely on. If you interact with all of your customers only through your social media site and then the platform becomes less popular… remember Myspace?… then you potentially lose your connection with a majority of those customers. Also, if there is some kind of malfunction with the platform, your presence suffers. Contrarily, being present on social media can be a nice backup should there ever be a technical issue with your website.
Customization
Another advantage to having a website is that you can design it however you choose. You can provide the exact information you want for your customers. You can brand yourself exactly how you want to.
Also, you can sell. And you can sell how you want to sell. Platforms like WooCommerce through WordPress offer great customization options and extensions (like PayPal, Stripe, USPS, ShipStation, and MailChimp) for your eCommerce store, so you can sell your products and services in a way that works for your business.
With online sales increasing worldwide, it’s imperative to have an e-commerce site to reach potential shoppers – and have them reach you.
Search Engine Exposure
One of the greatest benefits you can get from having a website is exposure from search engines. A majority of people turn to Google, Bing, and other search engines when there is a product, service, or information they need. Properly structure and optimize your website, and you become available to an array of customers who may not have found you otherwise.
While social media can be a great aspect of your online presence (it can even be a great marketing tool to help drive people to your website) it’s not everything. Having a website can fill in the gaps that social media misses. Use both together to optimize your online success.