The Birth of Websites

The website was the brainchild of British scientist Tim Berners-Lee who was working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (a.k.a. CERN) when he noticed that there was a certain difficulty in the retrieval and sharing of information stored in computers. Believe it or not, there was a time where one still had to individually access several computers just to retrieve information that, in today’s time, we can simply get from a single webpage. This sparked his idea of developing a digital space where all the information they needed can easily be accessed, shared across the internet, and, essentially, shared across the world. 

This idea was actually just a personal side-project for Berners-Lee who, after being allowed to spend some time working on it, was able to solidify his idea by coming up with the three foundational aspects that remain to be any website’s core today: HTML, URI/URL, and HTTP. By the end of 1990, the first ever web server and browser on the internet was up and running at CERN and, the year later, people outside of CERN were invited to join in on this growling online platform. 

With the realization that his growing creation could potentially change how people use the rapidly developing internet, Berners-Lee alongside his colleagues advocated making the Web (in all of its code and glory) available to the public on a royalty-free basis for good. This came to fruition in April 1993 and has since sparked a wave of digital innovation that has played a big part in defining what the internet truly is even at present day.

Photo by Ben Kolde

The Relevancy of Websites

Social media plays a big role in the majority of businesses’ marketing strategies although it truly became a necessity when the pandemic hit. We then saw a period of sudden transition by most businesses from traditional to digital marketing where they choose to relocate within the realms of social media as it’s the most popular, free, has less requirements, and easy to use. That said, they ended up developing a sole dependency on these platforms and failed to consider the impact of also setting up their own website to reap in the double, long-term benefits of having both digital marketing methods work to their advantage.

When you think of websites in an age dominated by social media, you’d probably think that they’re slowly turning into just an added digital tool for businesses and no longer a necessity as they were before. You’d think that it's probably inevitable anyways given the constantly evolving nature of the digital world — eventually most digital “assets” become obsolete in exchange of new and improved ones that are more suitable for the current age.

Yet, the concept of evolution is sometimes only taken for literally replacing the old with the new. This is not always true as evolution is more of a development stage where the old is modified or upgraded into something much better and fitting for the times. Take for example, back when technology was not a thing, marketing used to be a simple case of word-of-mouth. Then through the years, after many discoveries and developments, it eventually evolved into several strategies including printed ones on newspapers, magazines, mail, or billboards, oral ones through the likes of telemarketing or cold calling, and finally digital ones through websites or social media. All of the aforementioned methods fall under marketing and simply differ in the medium they exist in. And any smart marketer would know how to efficiently utilize as many of these methods, “old” or “new”, as possible for the good of the business.

This is exactly why websites shouldn’t be overlooked as a vital marketing tool for businesses even in this day and age as they’re still capable of great marketing prowess. Social media may provide you with a real time connection to the audience along with impressive statistical data but it may not be enough to truly establish a strong online presence and take your business to the next level. Not to mention, you always run the quite common risk of getting an unintended restriction that can result in the temporary or even permanent deletion of your social media. This is the problem of putting all your fruits into one basket and is exactly why you can’t just rely on only a single marketing method and source of leads.

Photo by Igor Miske

What a Website Brings to a Business

1. A Fully-Owned, Personalized Digital Marketing Space

We are in the era of smart shoppers with “smart” being synonymous to anything digital/internet/WiFi-based. If a business would like to really establish a strong online foundation to widen their customer reach then a website would be where it’s at. As mentioned earlier, social media can only do so much but a website can further solidify a brand’s digital standing. Creating an official website for your business or brand is essentially making a personalized digital portfolio for it where every single information, announcement, and update can be organizedly posted, looked up, and stored. You solely own the domain and content and so gone are the worries of strikes and unpublished pages that can ruin the momentum of the business when you have complete legal ownership of the platform.

That said, you get to have full control on how the brand is presented in terms of design, functionality, product and service automation, content, and competition. For example, feel free to create an article or blog tab for your site to talk about the latest tips and news about your brand and industry. Another example is how some businesses have integrated their social media feed directly onto their site so that visitors can see all the latest in their social media activities and, especially in the case of Instagram, all the UGCs they’ve shared. This can quickly grow the seed of trust in new customers and successfully turn them into paying ones later on. Plus, it’s a great way of combining two of the most known digital marketing platforms into one place for optimal business growth!

An official brand website can also act as the main portal for your business’s digital profile. You’ll be able to connect or at the very least mention all the rest of your digital and non-digital platforms onto there from social media, to emails, to contact numbers, and addresses.

2. Less Limitations, Restrictions, and Competition

You won’t have to worry about limitations such as the number of characters typed that social media typically presents. Setting up a website also provides you with less restriction in policies and violations so no one can easily put your site down due to related issues allowing your business to sustain a lasting presence online (keeping in mind that your site won’t be a harm to the general public). Furthermore, you can market your products or services alone without the presence of competition in the content.

Suffice to say, a website is a freeing space to let your brand shine and let people discover what the brand is all about, what it has to offer, what it stands for, what ideologies it supports, and if it’s a relevant brand they can truly see themselves becoming loyal in the long-run.

3. Available 24/7 Worldwide

A website is available 24/7 on a worldwide scale and is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. This gives you the possibility of growing your customer demographic from local to international and ultimately further your business’s popularity. You’ll also be able to observe and analyze these kinds of demographics and geographical statistics to optimize your site for the better.

Not to mention, should anyone have a sudden inquiry at any time of their day or night then they can simply go to your website and leave a message for you to either immediately get back to the next working day or, should you have an integrated chatbot, literally answer at that very moment. Like we’ve said, with all the rest of your business’s social media and contact information collectively available on the site there then this gives your customers a secure feeling that, should they run into any issue or have a mere inquiry, they have somewhere official to immediately run to in order to find how to reach the brand out and request for support.

4. Increases Online Searchability and Credibility

Create a strong and lasting online search presence and amazing organic traffic, especially when SEO is integrated, through a properly developed and managed website! These days, being highly ranked on search pages can be extremely beneficial at luring in even more customers especially when you appear in the searches of someone who is: a) part of your target market and/or b) looking for the exact products or services your business provides. This is evident with the fact that “93% of business purchase decisions start with a search engine search of websites” as reported by Profitworks. Additionally, you can run paid ads to maintain the site’s position at the top of search pages which can efficiently help in boosting its chances of being visited by relevant consumers.

Also, when people are able to immediately find an official site for your business then this can further their trust and likelihood in becoming a paying customer. We have to remember that in a time where digital frauds and scams are prevalent, online shoppers need easily verifiable and credible proof that the business or brand they’re interested in making transactions with is, to simply put, legit.

5. Positive ROI

It doesn’t necessarily take a lot to set up a website that’s worth spending time in especially if, upon its development, you made sure to keep in mind what your target consumer or even just what a general online shopper would expect to see in your brand’s page. Even if it's not free like with social media, properly setting up a website is almost always a sure way to increase your business’s sales as long as search engines and URL redirection exists. Whatever initial investment it took for you to establish your site would and should easily be returned to you in an increased value over time. And not only will your profits double in value but so will your business in its entirety. As we’ve discussed, a website can really become your brand’s unique beacon in the vast and highly competitive digital landscape we have now.

6. Motivates and Secures the Business

Finally, websites can act as an inspiration or like a mood board which can make you and your team always strive to think of innovative and captivating ways to make it better, trendier, and more attractive for your target audience. This is the beauty of websites, their versatility. And given that, as we’ve mentioned, it’s your business’s own personalized space then there really isn’t any set rules on how you should modify it to suit what your business is all about. It’s your very own blank canvas to pour out your creativity and ambition onto and eventually present to the digital world. Moreover, it gives your business that satisfying security of having a continuous online presence due to the uncertainty of social media in the chance that a problem arises resulting in the account’s suspension or deletion.

Photo by Tran Mau Tri Tam

In Conclusion

Even if social media is the current dominating digital marketing practice, having an official website for your business or brand can still prove to be an extremely advantageous move as it provides a well-established and more secure online identity, reach, customer service, and means of generating profit. Rather than skipping out on them because they seem outdated to you, try to go full circle by running both a traditional website alongside the relevantly newer social media. Connecting the “old” with the “new” may just prove to be the winning formula for businesses looking to rule and last in this new digital age.

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Sevensharp Creatives elevates businesses from different industries to a whole new level! Our team offers 360 digital marketing solutions that includes the current online vital social media platforms, website design and development, software development, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, email and SMS marketing, photo and video shoot and more for small, medium, corporate businesses, and public entities. Get your free consultation with us to jumpstart your digital marketing journey! Contact us at +63 917 146 2603 (Viber, Whatsapp) or email us at hello@sevensharpcreatives.com.