Why small business don’t need websites anymore

So this is a notion that I feel is going to be slightly controversial, but hear me out.

So today it is a common thought that every business needs a website today. This is backed up by explaining that you have to promote your brand, let prospective customers know where you are located, business hours and contact information, explain your services, ect. That is all very true and will always be valid for a business to do. Those are fundamental.

Now, the internet is a powerful medium at dealing with those challenges. But websites specifically are not the only way to accomplish this. What business really need is a ‘web presence’, they need for something related to their business to show up in search results and a medium to transmit the basic information to their customers in a branded and meaningful way.

For most small business’s getting a website made is a nightmare. They are expensive, complex, expensive and rarely actually make the business owner happy. Getting a website made provides too many opportunities for the small business owner to make mistakes. They have tons of colors to choose from, images and copy to create, and the end result is never that great.

Today there are a verity of ways that the small business owner can build their web presence for free. They aren’t going to have the same types of options compared to a ground up website but this makes it easier for them to focus on the information and connections with clients.

At the end of the day I don’t think that it is more important for a small business to have ‘web presence’ over a ‘web site’ any day.