Why Your Business Must Have A Website in 2023 – and How To Create One

Are you an SME in East Africa? If so, you probably already know that having your own website is crucial to being able to reach your customers and sell your products/services. But why do you need a website? What can you do with one that’ll make your business more visible to potential customers and increase TRAFFIC (customers, industry analysts, subscribers) to your site? Let’s take a look at what a website is, why you should have one and how to get started creating the right website.

What is a Website?

A website is a linkable site that hosts information about your business, products or services. It’s where you can publish news, announcements, and other content that people can access. It can also be your home for all the information your customer needs. A website can be a single page or a hub of multiple sites. It can also be a combination of different types of content: – text-based content – images – videos – interesting content – sales and customer service content – and more!

Why Do You Need a Website for your business?

Many beneficial things come from having a website:

• Increased sales – Customers are more likely to purchase from a brand that has a well-established website. This could mean more sales for you, increased customer retention, and even happier customers.
• Increased brand awareness – Consumers will be more likely to buy from brands that have an established website. This could increase the number of potential customers, which can lead to more sales and more reviews on your product or service.
• Increased customer service – A website allows you to set up customer service systems where customer service reps or ChatBots can serve your customers’ queries in real time. Customers can expect a higher level of support from online customer service representatives when they call them with questions. For ChatBots, try to give it as much information as possible so it can help your customers quickly and with the right information.
• Increased product/service availability – You can increase the availability of your products and services by having them listed on the website. This boosts your sales, and more importantly, your customers’ experience when purchasing from you.
• Increased traffic to your site – If you have a well-established website with a large following, traffic will increase. This will generate high-quality leads and drive more sales as well as more reviews on your product or service!

What can you really do with a Website?

A website is an essential tool for any SME in East Africa, and it’s what will make or break your business. With a website, you can promote your products/services, share your brand, build your authority, access new customers, grow your email list, reach out to bloggers and review websites, build a presence on search engines, use Google Analytics to track traffic and conversions, Email your customers with a link to their site – and more!

How to get started designing a website

Decide what type of website you want. There are many different types of websites, as we shall outline shortly, so it’s important to know what type is best for your business and how you want to build it. You can decide between a blog, a business website, an informative site, or a marketing website.

Types of Websites

A website can be a single page or a hub of multiple sites. It can also be a combination of different types of content like text-based content, images, videos, current events, sales and customer service content and much more! There are many different types of websites, each with its own purposes. The most common types of websites today are:

• Business Website: A business website establishes your brand’s online presence. The choice of visuals, including staff photos, LOGO and colour choices, will draw people into your website. Mobile devices today do a good job of producing professional, high-resolution files. Don’t let the cost of a professional photographer stop you from doing a custom photo shoot for your website.
• eCommerce Websites: eCommerce websites are a great way for vendors to sell their products and services online. They generally consist of a store layout, product listings, and an ordering/receiving function.
• Blogs: These are often websites that host regular content, often related to a specific niche. Blogs are great for sharing information and generating leads, but they don’t have a lot of ROI as far as sales and growth are concerned
• News/Information Websites: News/Information websites are great for gathering and organizing content, and for generating leads and new business. They normally require visitors to register or pay before accessing information on the website
• Non-Profit: A nonprofit website usually contains information about the organization’s past activities, mission statement and core values. Whether it is a school website, church website, or animal rescue site, it normally includes information about recent events and at times a donation page.
• Portfolio Websites: Influencers, designers, photographers and writers are some of the professionals who use portfolio websites to consolidate and display their work. Potential employers or customers can easily check out someone’s portfolio by visiting their portfolio websites.

How to build a website for your business

Decide how you’ll build your site. There are two main ways of building a website for your business in Kenya. First, you can build the site yourself.

If you decide to build to go this route, below are some things you’ll need to learn:

• How to use WordPress to build a professional website
• How to get started with SEO (Search engine optimization)
• How to build a site that converts
• How to back up and move your website if something goes wrong

Secondly, you can hire a website developer or web agency to build your site for you. At Grafiki media, we have the right expertise and experience building websites for businesses in Kenya. We will guide your SME in East Africa to choose the right type of website, build it for you and help you manage it all year round at very competitive rates. Do reach out to us through the link below.

In Conclusion…

A website is the most important tool you can have as a business. It’s what will help you to grow your business, and it’s what will help your business get found in search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Yandex, Baidu and others. Having a website is crucial to any SME in East Africa and is a great way to get your message across to the world and to the people who need your product or service. The most effective way to get your message across to the people who need your products and services is to have them go through your website. This is what a website does – it gets your product or service to the people who need it the most. If you are a business owner/entrepreneur and are thinking of getting or redesigning your website, consider these benefits and get in touch with us to guide you through the process.