Up until recently, I never really gave much thought to how important it is to have a well-designed and professional website when you are running a business.  It seemed more like a “nice to have” rather than a “must have”.  As long as your business details are available and users can access the necessary information about your business, I figured the website would have served its purpose.

Not so.

The First Example:

My SIL recently started a catering business from home.  Naturally it made sense to create a website displaying her details about her business, contact and her menu.  Being a small start up, she didn’t want to spend a lot of money on designing the website.  Having tinkered around with code on and off, I offered my somewhat amateurish services and she accepted.

Working with her graphic designer – who helped her create a corporate logo and theme – I put together a webpage that would direct others to her brick and mortar business.  Realising that it was much harder to put together a website – especially a decent one – I purchased a generic template that was modifiable.  In other words it was a “website template for internet idiots”.

The result was miraculous.  My SIL had compliments regarding her website design which I unabashedly accepted.  The professional feel of the website did more than that.  When my SIL was looking for a location to open her shop, she met with a landlord who was considering several potential tenants.  My SIL offered the landlord her business card and encouraged her to look at the business website to get a feel for what the business was about.  The landlord later called my SIL to offer her the tenancy.  She had been thoroughly impressed by the presentation on the website and the  “professionalism” it conveyed.  Had we stuck to my initial one-page design for the website, I’m not so sure the landlord would returned with the confidence she expressed.

The Second Example:

Lately, I have taken to internet shopping.  I was searching for some cloth diapers online and found a particular brand I liked.  On their company website they listed all their retailers by country and I noticed my country was also listed.  I clicked the links to these retailers so I could place an order for the diapers.

Although these were exactly the sort of diapers I wanted, I found myself hesitating to place an order.  The website of the retailer was dreadful.  It was completely unprofessional and I lacked the confidence in them to make a purchase even though they were selling the exact item I wanted.  Instead, I bought my diapers from another retailer even though it cost me more purely because their website looked more professional which instilled more faith in me.

The examples highlighted above are only two incidences where having a professional website (or not having one) impacted the business significantly.  Your website is representative of your business.  It is as much a part of your corporate image as your logo.  Regardless of whether you own an internet business or if you have a brick and mortar business, it is important to have a professional looking website if you intend to convey the right image to your customers.