Small businesses can extend their reach into the digital world by creating websites. However, almost 40% of small businesses do not invest in websites due to concerns over cost and relevance in 2019. Small businesses need websites to establish credibility. This 2019 report shows that small businesses can make a website with minimal budgetary strain.       

Because of their ability to increase legitimacy and build trust among a wide range of consumers, websites are an essential part of any small business’ marketing strategy.

Websites are often used to give potential customers an impression of a company. People rely on digital presence to establish a company’s legitimacy.

Visual Objects surveyed 529 small business owners in 2019 to find out if they have a site, what motivates them to have one, and how they keep it updated.

This report can be used by businesses to help them understand the importance and cost of creating websites and the best ways to deal with the obstacles and costs.

Our findings

• 60% of small businesses invest in websites, while 40% do not.

• 28% of companies who do not have websites stated that a website is unnecessary for their business.

• A third of small businesses (30%) use websites to generate revenue.
• In 2018, low website traffic (19%), and competition from other businesses (19%) were the two most frequent problems for small business websites.

• 52 percent of small businesses have employees who maintain their websites. Around 20% of small businesses work with agencies to achieve their website goals.

• Sixty-six percent of companies (66%) have spent less than $10,000 on their websites.

• 37 percent of small businesses plan to increase their spending on websites in 2019, more than a third (37%)

A Website is not required for more than one-third of small businesses

While most small and medium-sized businesses have a website, more than one-third of them chose not to create one in 2019.

About 60% of small businesses owned a website in 2019. Nearly half (43%) had invested in a site before 2018. 16% had launched a website in 2018.

Nearly 25% of small businesses (22%) plan to launch a site in 2019, 2020, or later.

However, 18% of businesses said that they don’t expect to launch a website in 2019 when asked.

Jackson Fox, the user experience director at VIGET, an agency that offers full-service digital services outside of Washington D.C., was astonished by this.

Fox stated that “a lot of people want to transact online this day.” It doesn’t matter whether you’re Amazon, a mom-and-pop shop, or anything else – People are increasingly looking for ways to transact online. A digital presence can make you more credible.

Small businesses need to invest in digital presence to be competitive as digital business transactions become more popular. Small businesses can benefit from websites regardless of whether they are selling products or services, publishing content, or promoting their offerings.

Online presence is essential for businesses in this age of online transactions. Generation Z and millennials are emerging as consumers that are more used to digital experiences than previous generations.

Consumers looking for information on businesses can also use websites as valuable tools. Small businesses need to invest in websites as they become more digitally connected for business transactions.

Businesses without websites believe that websites are irrelevant

28% of small businesses don’t have websites and 28% do not want to make one. This is because the data was not relevant to their business.

Small businesses may also choose to not invest in websites due to cost (23%), and social media usage (13%).

Businesses who believe that a website is not relevant to their operations use alternative strategies to build their brand and promote products.

Marcos Clowes is an independent transport and logistics consultant in the United Kingdom. He chose not to build a website.

Clowes stated that Clowes decided to expand upon her existing network, both online and face-to-face. Clowes said, “I get referrals from trusted friends or colleagues and help the media with articles that require my expertise. It generates enough business that I don’t need a website.

Clowes promotes his business through “traditional” in-person networks. Clowes also answers media questions to establish his industry expertise.

However, word-of-mouth networks can only get businesses so far. Fox thinks that businesses without websites might have difficulty scaling up their unique marketing strategies.

Fox stated that “those networks are only so large.” Fox stated that this can limit the opportunities for generating business leads. Businesses eventually reach the end of this word-of-mouth network. People who don’t know your business may distrust it if you don’t have a digital presence.

Fox stated that websites can answer questions about potential customers beyond traditional business networks.

Websites can provide customers with the information they need online. Websites reach more people than other marketing methods such as the word-of mouth. Businesses should invest in a unified digital presence.

The majority of businesses spend less than $10,000 on their websites

Although 23% of small business owners cited cost as their main reason for not having a website, they are now more affordable than ever.

In 2019, nearly two-thirds (65%) of small businesses spent less than $10,000 on their websites.

37% of small businesses spend between $10,001 to $25,000 and 13% spend more than $25,000 on company websites.

Joe Ardeeser is the managing member of Jordan Crown. This web design and development agency in Seattle believes that businesses have greater flexibility to create basic websites with limited resources and personnel.

Ardeeser stated that if a company doesn’t want to spend more than $1,000 there are many systems like Squarespace or Wix. These systems are designed for people who don’t know much about technology.

Squarespace, and Wix both are popular web builders that provide user-friendly interfaces for people with no previous web design experience.

Squarespace offers a high-quality user experience with clear navigation options and structured menus. It also has a fast-loading interface. This is a great option for small businesses that need a quick and affordable way to create a web presence.

Squarespace is a website builder that small businesses can use to create websites. However, they are not able to match the aesthetics and quality of the sites advertised on the platform.

Kristine Neil is the creative director and owner of Vancouver-based design company Markon Brands. She sees small businesses struggling to get high-quality website-building results without professional assistance.

Neil stated that there are many DIY platforms out there, each promising the ability to create a website in under an hour. These [platforms] are misleading when it comes down to lay people’s ability to create or execute the samples they see. These [samples] look beautiful but were built by professionals.

Joe Ardeeser suggests alternative methods for website creation for businesses with more complicated needs and budgets.

Ardeeser stated that freelancers are recommended for businesses with less than $1,000 to $3500. Anything below $10,000 will be mostly freelance work. Or you can find a shop with two to three people who can work within a $10,000 budget.

Businesses looking for web design expertise at a low price can hire freelancers.

However, many web design firms work with small businesses to help them tackle their projects using the resources that they have.

Squarespace is an online software that allows employees without prior design experience to create basic website functions. Small businesses that need to build complex, custom systems can hire agencies and freelancers. There are many options available for small businesses to create functional, attractive websites.

Nearly 20% of small businesses rely on agencies to maintain their websites

Website maintenance is a common task for small businesses. Many small businesses use their staff to update and design their websites.

In 2019, 39% of small businesses relied on website builders or software. 35% relied upon consultants or freelancers, while 19% relied on an agency.

In addition, 52% of small businesses employed in-house staff for website maintenance.

It can be difficult to maintain a website if you don’t have the right expertise. 52 percent of respondents had less than 10 employees.

Roxana Colorado is an international business strategist at Kandula International LLC. She also created the LatinaNomad blog. Roxana launched her first website by herself.

Colorado stated that when they started my website, I didn’t have the budget so they had to make it myself. The hours it took to figure everything out were crazy. It was a steep learning curve for the development side. It would have been much better to hire someone.

Colorado’s experience building and designing websites shows the compromises that small businesses must make when choosing between spending money on major projects or their time.

Website maintenance can often require advanced design and development skills, which may be difficult for in-house staff. Colorado’s website strategy was successful, but the learning curve was too steep.

Colorado worked with a web developer to create her website. Colorado was able to choose a theme and address any issues by working with a professional web developer.

Colorado was saved from more time-wasting by the developer who created a user-friendly website.

Website-building software is expensive and requires time and effort that may not be available to small businesses. Markon Brands is one example of an agency that works with website builders to create stunning products for clients by using pre-existing frameworks.

Kristine Neil is the creative director and owner of Markon Brands. She specializes in creating high-quality Squarespace websites that are affordable for small businesses with limited resources.

Neil said that the best thing about Squarespace is being able to provide a high-quality product to clients with a lower budget. We gave [clients] a website that they could control. However, they had professional help with all the backend settings. These were the things that seemed overwhelming from a DIY perspective.

With professional assistance, Squarespace and other platforms can provide a higher ROI for small businesses on a limited budget. Markon Brands is an agency that helps small businesses build beautiful websites with high-quality UX. They also empower their clients to manage website maintenance.

Hiring a web designer can be daunting for small businesses trying to launch a website. However, it is worth the investment in building an online presence.

A third of businesses expect their website spending to increase in 2019.

While most companies spend less than $1,000 to launch websites, many people expect that this spending will rise.

37 percent of small businesses thought they would spend more on their websites in 2019 than in 2018.

Only 15% of businesses thought their website spending would decline, while 30% believed spending would remain the same.

Colorado launched a website for her company and was able to maintain it without additional expenses.

Colorado stated that the cost of the project remained the same. Colorado stated that even if the cost had increased, the value would have been the same. Our greatest asset is time. I lost a lot of time and money creating a website that didn’t deliver. I could have made money that would have covered the costs of a website designer, and even made a profit.

Small businesses can save money by creating and maintaining their websites, but they run the risk of spending time to make up for any gaps in their design and development skills.

Colorado believes there is a substantial return on investment when businesses spend more and hire design and development professionals.

Although web design services are expensive for small businesses, they offer long-term benefits such as a website that is easy to manage and tailored to the business’s needs.

James Trumbly is the founder and managing partner at HMG Creative. This full-service Phoenix marketing agency in Austin Texas believes that web design agencies should encourage clients to maintain their websites after the initial launch.

Trumbly stated that Trumbly is all about giving clients the ability to manage their websites. We want our clients to be free to create and manage their content without having to rely on us to support them.

While businesses may need to invest in their websites, the costs of maintaining them will not change if they are high-quality websites that provide value to customers.

Businesses create websites because of their sales & revenue

Businesses can now promote their offerings online and transact online through websites. When asked in 2019, 30% of businesses use their websites for increased sales and revenue.

Websites are also used by businesses to increase brand awareness (22%) or to establish relationships with customers (17%).

These three goals are often achieved simultaneously by websites. Websites are a great way for small businesses to build customer relationships and establish brand authority. This will help them sell more.

Gerhard Karba is the CEO of iXStrata. He said that the website is a crucial sales tool. They can also share your website with other people.

Karba designed the original website for iXStrata before it was launched. Then, he invested in upgrades to ensure legitimacy with potential clients.

These are the top three reasons to create a website, even if you’re not in the technology industry. Kara Fasone is the co-founder and chief well-being officer of Wise & Well Academy. This digital hub offers psychology-based online courses and resources. Kara invested in a Wix website for content marketing.

Fasone stated that content marketing was a key component of their start-up strategy because it helped them build an audience. “Our company is primarily a provider of digital products. Although we partner with companies to offer workplace wellness services, we needed to have a website to host the majority of our products.

Fasone used her online presence to connect to potential customers via online blogging. This then led customers to the Wise & Wells’s website, where she offers product information.

Fasone’s blog is the main focus of her website. Fasone kept the design elements simple and used whitespace as a way to draw attention to the articles.

Fasone stated that many of these blogs offer basic but useful information. This has led visitors who are most interested to subscribe to our mailing list or to contact us directly about products.

Fasone increased email subscriptions and product inquiries through an investment in her blog and company website.

Websites can serve many purposes for businesses. Websites help establish brand authority, connect businesses with potential customers, and increase sales and revenue.

Small Business Websites Face a Challenge in Traffic

Small businesses also face new challenges from websites.

Websites face many challenges, including low website traffic and competition from businesses.

Nearly one-fifth (19%) of small businesses stated that competition and low traffic were their greatest website challenges. 13 percent of small businesses cited lack of knowledge or time to maintain websites as their greatest challenge in 2019,

Trumbly helps clients create websites.

Trumbly stated that small businesses often believe they can build it and then it will be …’ when it is time to improve their digital presence. It’s crucial to discuss what happens after a website is launched. Without a marketing strategy, a website won’t have any positive effect on your business.

While websites are valuable to businesses for making a first impression on customers, they still require a marketing strategy to drive potential clients to their domain.

Small businesses should consider websites as part of a comprehensive marketing strategy to increase traffic and sales.

Small Businesses can rely on websites

Small businesses can use websites to build brand authority and connect with their customers. Many companies are realizing the importance of having websites in this digital world in 2022. This wasn’t true when I asked it years ago.

In 2019, however, more than one-third of small businesses didn’t invest in a company website when surveyed. Although websites are not relevant to their businesses, these business owners feel that a limited marketing strategy without a website will be effective.

Although small businesses may be concerned about the cost of creating and maintaining websites, most businesses spent less than $1,000.

One in five small businesses used an agency to manage their website. However, more than half of the businesses relied upon internal staff to complete the complicated work.

Small businesses are more likely to have websites than they were to increase sales and revenue. Websites offer a single digital platform to answer customer queries and showcase products and marketing services in Miami. Although building traffic is still a problem for many businesses, websites can be used in conjunction with a holistic marketing strategy to increase traffic.

Businesses looking to improve, maintain or build their websites should consider hiring qualified Miami web design agencies. They can assist in solving complex problems and establish brand authority online.