2020 WEBS - Frequently Asked Questions

You may have some further questions regarding the need for a website when you already have a Facebook page. Here we go!

Q: I'm a small business and can't afford a website
A: A website is your number 1 marketing tool and asset. Everyone can afford a clear, tidy and easy to use site, especially at this price of €195

Q: I don't need a website, my Facebook page is my website
A: Facebook is an incredibly useful Social Marketing tool but it is not a website. The stats for product and business searches all point to the use of a search engine for results: 90% of users begin a product search using a search engine, 30% of consumers won't consider a business which doesn't have a website, 75% of business to business searches state that a website will positively encourage a decision on choosing a supplier with over 60% making this decision based on the site content alone.

Q: Why does my bar / restaurant need a website?
A: 90% of internet users research for bars & restaurants online via a search engine. 77% of those will check out the website before booking. 30% (almost 1 in 3) will be turned off by a hard to read menu online (eg. poor quality images of the menu).

Q: Facebook is free and everyone uses Facebook
A: Yes it is free, but it's not true that everyone uses facebook. Many business pages may have a considerable number of followers / likes who may choose to receive information and updates from that page but the rest of facebook may well have no idea that you even exist. Many facebook users won't even be in the same groups as you have joined to promote your business.

Q: But how will I differ from the business down the street?
A: What do you offer that your competition doesn’t? Use your website to sell your USP (Unique Selling Point) to customers. A specific house dish or 3 course meal special, a specialist beer, a range of gins, specialist coffees, pool table or darts, do you specialize in live sport or music? Let people find you when they search for these things.

Q: I have enough business already, I don't need a website
A: A website is not just there to generate new business, it's also for existing customers. Maybe they need to check online for your opening hours (which can change season to season), check your phone number to make a booking or appointment, see if you have special offers on currently, new product lines...

Q: I can get a free website
A: Ok, there are options to create a free website, that's true. There are limitations, and free is rarely free. Most will cap space (eg. to 500MB which is not a lot for top quality images alone), or not offer a professional looking domain name (I'd prefer www.2020webs.com to www.2020webs/ freewebsiteservices.com/ 2020webs), the site will be on a low quality server and with a low bandwidth, not a good idea for user satisfaction, you'll get irrelevant ads across the site....Put simply, a business website needs to look professional or people will not use you - see the stats above again.

Q: I don't need a website, I'm not an ecommerce or an online business, just B2B
A: 75% of business to business searches state that a website will positively encourage a decision on choosing a supplier with over 60% making this decision based on the site content alone.