5 reasons why your independent business needs a website
Did you know that 4.66 billion people use the internet around the world as of January 2021? (We Are Social) And it is estimated that approximately 63,000 search queries are processed by Google every second. Yes, you read that right, 63,000 every second. (HubSpot)
After seeing those stats it’s hard to argue that your wellness business doesn’t need an online presence, or that investing in a website isn’t a priority for you right now. If it isn’t, it should be.
If you don’t yet have a website for your nutrition or wellbeing business, here’s 5 reasons why your business needs a website today.
1. A website enables you to reach (therefore help) more people - globally
As much as I absolutely champion supporting local businesses and realise the importance of investing in your community, I’m also a big believer in embracing the global reach of the internet.
No longer do you need to rely on flyers, newspaper adverts or listings in the yellow pages (remember those) to attract clients and customers.
Having a website opens you up to a whole new audience who are eagerly Googling for the service you are providing.
Yep there are plenty of people that need you, your knowledge and your services - but without a website they won’t find you, not on the internet anyway.
You may be hosting a cooking class or talking at an event, and want to attract a local audience. Great! Through search engine optimisation (SEO) and online tools like Google My Business, your website can be surfaced to people in your area for relevant searches.
Equally, if you are hosting online courses or memberships, location no longer becomes a barrier and so your business can be found by those in different counties or even different countries - the world is literally your oyster.
Which leads me on to my next point...
2. Having a business website breaks down the barriers to accessibility
When you work within the nutrition field it is easy to become a little complacent. By this, I mean presuming that others know more about healthy eating and living a healthier lifestyle than they actually do. I even found this myself, the more I learnt, the more normal that knowledge became to me and I took it for granted that others knew it too.
But a lot of people don’t.
This is where a well-designed website that can host useful content such as blog posts, recipes, eBooks and courses can make good and well-researched nutrition knowledge more accessible to those who need it.
There is a lot of nutrition misinformation on the internet, so let’s crowd it out with websites full of well-researched nutrition facts, not fiction.
3. A website adds credibility to your nutrition or wellbeing business
We’ve all done it. We’ve all seen something in a magazine or someone has recommended a product or service, and we’ve jumped on our phones and Googled it.
I don’t know about you but when I can’t find a website for a service or product it makes me a little nervous. It makes me question - are they legit? Can I trust them? Do I feel comfortable buying the service or product and giving them my money?
Now I’m not saying a website is any quality guarantee.
But a well crafted intuitive website that speaks to your clients shows a commitment and an investment from your business.
It adds more gravitas.
It also allows you to focus on your message - how you can best serve your clients and how you can provide them with the transformation that they seek. Like having more energy, being able to break the yo-yo dieting struggle, or perhaps learning how to cook nutritious meals for their family and finally feeling confident to enrol in that yoga class.
There are other ways to boost the credibility of your website.
Such as having an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate, which is a digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and ensures that web traffic is directed to the secure version of your website. You know you’re on a secure page when you see that little padlock or HTTPS next to the web address.
All Squarespace websites include an SSL certificate, giving you one less thing to worry about, and when I’m designing and formatting your website for you I ensure this is activated, so your clients can feel more secure when visiting your site.
4. Having a website can help your business grow
I’ve already alluded to this in the above points, from the global reach of the internet to being accessible (and more approachable) to more people. It’s all well and good reaching more people, but you also need to capture their interest and their data.
Having your own website means that you can start to build a mailing list.
A mailing list enables you to build a deeper relationship with your clients and be able to communicate with them in a more direct and personal way.
It’s all well and good having 100s of followers on Instagram or a business page on Facebook, but the truth is you don’t actually own that data. What if your account got wiped or frozen? Or you suddenly lost a load of followers?
I don’t want to scare you, but it has been known to happen.
Whereas with a mailing list you control that data - just don’t forget to make sure you are being GDPR compliant when collecting and storing the data.
Not sure how to set up a mailing list? I offer MailerLite set up and integration as part of my Squarespace website design package.
5. Your website is your biggest asset, working for you 24/7
Nobody can be working in their business day and night 7 days per week (nor should you), but your website can.
I like to think of your website as your own online home that acts like a welcoming doorway through which your clients can step through any time.
You don’t need to be restricted by office hours or opening hours. Your website can continue to welcome your clients, help them get to know you and your business as well as building that know like and trust, whilst showcasing how you can help them.
Your website can process orders, book appointments and facilitate payments for downloadable resources all without the need for you to be there.
Your website doesn’t take holidays, weekend breaks or sick days. This means when you do, you can do it with the peace of mind that your business is still visible, accessible and able to generate income any time day or night.
If you’d like to have the peace of mind of a website working 24/7 for you and need help with getting set up, you can find out how to work with me here.
I’d be delighted to help you create the perfect online home for your independent business.
