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In the quest to determine the advantages and challenges of web design in 2022, Top Design Firms surveyed 1003 business firms. The results from the survey indicate that 27% of the small businesses have not invested in a website for their business.
The good news is that most business owners understand the importance of online presence, and 87% plan to create a website in the future.
According to the business owners and managers involved in the survey, a website allows customers to access and purchase products and services online (20%) and serves as a display counter for products and services (20%).
Every year, Top Design Firms survey to understand web design in the small business space. Here are the results from 1003 businesses surveyed in 2022.
27% of small businesses do not have a website yet. However, most of them understand the importance of a business website in 2022 and plan to invest in creating one.
Small businesses build websites for different reasons. 20% of the respondents create websites to enable online purchases, 20% use websites to display their products and services online, 16% want to appear in search results, and 14% are looking to establish authority and credibility.
14% of the small businesses face low website traffic as the main challenge with their websites. 11% of the businesses face the challenge of adding advanced functionality features, and 11% struggle with the cost of creating and maintaining a site.
Small businesses plan to invest in website features that appeal to customers: 37% mobile capabilities, 31% embeddable videos on web pages, 28% load time/ page speed, 26% Dark Mode, and 20% Chatbots.
The CEO of Rank Secure, Baruch Labunski, explained that all small business owners understood the need for a website during the Covid 19 pandemic lockdown.
“Websites became especially important in 2020 and 2021 because people stayed home and bought or researched online.”
Among other companies, Rank Secure prioritized its websites to cater to millions of customers online.
“That is where people were so we had to be there too,” Labunski said.
Some Small Businesses Do Not Require a Website
Anjela Mangrum, founder and president of Mangrum Career Solutions, claims that some businesses do not need a website to grow.
“They probably don’t have much to gain from an online presence, such as a B2B business where sales are more relationship-driven instead of being initiated by random internet connections,”
Business owners and managers in such industries should invest in other growth strategies—for instance, word of mouth and referrals.
Some businesses benefit from online presence but through other platforms other than websites. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, and YouTube can help you draw a lot of traffic to your business.
Unlike a website, social media platforms are free, easy to set up, and easy to use. It will take you at most ten minutes to create a Facebook business page, and you do not need to hire a professional for maintenance.
“I’ve seen many businesses focus on managing their social media and reach enough consumers that they don’t feel the need to legitimize their business with a website, leaving it as a task for some point in the future,” Margum said.
A business website is among the top ways to create an online presence, but it is not the only way. Companies should study their businesses and invest in growth strategies that work for them such as local SEO services.
“I think having a business website is essential if you need to maintain a professional-seeming online presence that says, ‘we mean business.” Margum concluded.
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