Over time, you will agree that technology has taken over many sectors of life, from academics to religion to business, healthcare, and even government. Businesses that used traditional and ancient means of transaction have had to scale up to modern technologies to maintain their recognition and competitive advantage. Businesses that refuse to scale up may experience some setbacks and limitations, which can be reduced recognition.
For instance, you may not need to know the location or headquarters of Samsung, yet you would have the necessary information about it, and chances are that you are making use of their products. How are you rest assured that the company is authentic, even when you can't travel to their headquarters miles away to see for yourself? How do you get the right information you need about the company? Definitely through the company’s online presence, like having a website.
To begin with, let's establish the meaning of a website. A website is a collection of interlinked web pages that share a single domain name. For easy understanding, it can be likened to an estate with some houses. When you get to the main gate, you can easily get directions from the people you meet (icons) to direct you to a specific house (page). The entrance of the estate is more or less like the Landing page, which can link to other houses (pages).
Online Presence as a Strategic Tool
Online presence affects a modern business positively or negatively in several ways, depending on how the website is managed. In this age of technology, where most people are now tech-savvy, and there has been a major shift to online trading as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, having an online presence is no longer an option but a necessity. To further emphasise the need for an online presence and having a website for a business, the following are some of the importance of an online presence for businesses.
- Visibility and Accessibility:
As we discussed earlier, one major challenge for business owners is the need for recognition. A business manager/marketer can not be everywhere at the same time. However, modern technologies have discovered a solution to this challenge. As a business owner in the 21st century who wants to gain ground, you need to be accessible to your potential customers at all times to provide information and meet their needs. Due to the limitations of humans' ability to be everywhere at the same time, a need for a better-functioning alternative is required. This is where a website comes in. With your website, you can create a very strong online presence that drives traffic and converts potential customers. For instance, an individual would rather go to a store that operates 24/7 hours, even if it means getting it at a higher price, than to a store that offers lower prices but seldom opens. That is how important online presence is to potential customers. Features such as a chatbot, which is interactive at all times, give visitors of the site the impression that the site is active.
Furthermore, online presence affects traffic generation on the website of a modern business through the UI/UX interface. If the content and the graphics used on the site satisfy and meet the needs of the potential customers, they would feel safe, and they would accept the site as authentic. This is because the form of online presence created on the website, for example, the UI/UX of the website, creates a kind of atmosphere and environment that allows the customer to feel that it is safe to transact, just like in the real world.
- Ease in Transaction:
Another great benefit of websites for modern businesses is the ease of transactions. Traditionally purchasing a product, most times, requires a longer process that is stressful: leaving the house, picking the product you want to purchase, sometimes waiting in a queue to make payment, and still moving the products back to where you need them. All this stress can be avoided if businesses have online stores where customers can purchase and gateways to complete transactions. Gateways are channels by which payment can be done online without leaving the home having placed an order for a product. Before consumers purchase the product, they get to know about the product and if it is able to meet their desired needs. They can also check the reviews of others on the product or service to be sure they are getting what they want. Once they are sure and ready to make payment, they may proceed to the gateway and make payments. It's that simple! It saves time and makes transactions easy.
- Security:
Another benefit of a website to modern business is the security measures put in place on your website to ensure that your potential customers' identities are secure. A website is secured using a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. The essence is to prevent eavesdropping or intercepting your communication between your web browser and the web server, hence keeping it secure. This way, consumers are saved from the stress of having to worry about being robbed at the supermarket or on their way home, and they are also assured of the security of their data online.
In conclusion, having an online presence in the form of a website promotes visibility and accessibility, ease of transaction, and security. All of these points and many more show why a business needs to have a website. Having an online presence is a necessary step towards maintaining a high competitive advantage and retaining customers in this present age and even in the future. Embrace and integrate digitalisation into your business today!
Now what?
Now that you know about the importance of websites to modern businesses, are you totally perplexed about how to go about website development and design for your business? Worry no more! At Teners.com, you can receive personalised training from some of our top website developers and designers. Wait no more! Start now!
