The answer swiftly is yes.

According to a survey by Weebly, 56% of the consumers surveyed said they don't trust a business without a website.

I, myself find that when I search for a service on Facebook, say, a plumbing company or a cat sitter for my cats, I immediately hunt for that service's website and 9 times out of 10, I'm disappointed to find the company doesn't have one – I then immediately start looking elsewhere for a company that does – Not everybody does this but I know I do and I make sure to check out those reviews.

Now I don't know if thats the website designer in me, but I find companies that have websites more trustworthy – to know they have invested in their website to promote their service and spent time convincing me why I need their services to be a selling point – I need to know what the company can do for me, why I should part with my money to hire them, their past works, reviews/testimonials, process etc its all important for potential customers – like me

So why is it important for your business to have a website?

Wider audiences

The main advantage of having a website is to reach out to a broader audience with ease. There are over 4.5 billion active internet users worldwide, and over 90% of them accessed the Internet via mobile devices – they literally have your website in their pocket.

Your website can be available 24/7/365 even when you’re not. A website acts as your “always-on” business advocate during and outside of office hours.

Websites help you convert more of your existing referrals, because most people still do their own research and stack you against your competitors. It will also help your target audience understand your business and services.

Without a website, your business is virtually invisible to potential customers and clients. With COVID-19 pushing the global market even more digital, your business will become invisible to those that matter unless you invest in a website.

Its essential for small businesses

Many small business owners don’t see the need to invest in an effective business website. However, they’re currently missing out on an incredible source of revenue.

The following statistics show how important a website is for a local business:

• 46% of search on Google include local intent
• 97% of users use search to find local businesses
• 28% of users purchased an item after a local search
• 70% of users will visit a store because of what they found online

A business website will help you capture all of this potential and make your business even more profitable.

You’ll look more professional.  

Most people trust spending money with established brands because they know what to expect.  A website is a way of increasing the perceived value of your brand or business, as well as being a top notch tool for delivering information and funnelling people toward a call to action. Combined with a Facebook page and Email Newsletter, you can keep everyone in the loop with what’s going on and promote offers to them regularly.

Its also important to show off those reviews and testimonials to build that trust factor with your audience.

81% of people research a business or service on the internet prior to making a purchase decision. That’s 25.92 million people searching for businesses online. Yet, 46% of business owners listed “Business currently doesn’t need one” as their #1 reason for not having a website.

Time Saver

Your website can save you time by providing answers to common customer questions and inquiries. As long as you have all the provided information that user is looking for, it also helps them in making their decision whether or not to get in touch. Display your processes, your services, explain what it is your company does/sells. A strong message on a website makes all the difference and sells to that potential client. 

So why should I invest in a website?

Because a website is an extension of your business, its a gateway to welcoming new clients and business. With the reasons above how could you not invest in a website?. With the right messaging

Have you ever wondered what sort of process a designer goes through when they start to design your new brand, website, logo etc?

Really its not as simple as just design and its done in an hour kind of thing, much more then just that. l give you a bit of an insight to how I go about designing logos.

So when I first receive a brief from a client asking for a revamped logo, new brand, or just a simple logo update, I start to research the background information about the company I will be designing their new logo for. A logo identifies a company and/or product via the use of a designed element such as: Symbol, mark or signature – logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it looks like.

Every designer has his or her own process, and mine has a similar process

Sarah Bond

Begin with a sketch

Ever since I first started out as a designer, I would sketch everything, doodle in class, just draw out my ideas, whether they be logo ideas or concepts for my personal use I had to get my ideas out on paper. This became part of my process when I started to design logos for clients. With just sketching ideas you can mock-up hundreds of ideas allowing me to really explore a potential possibly for an idea to move forward. This part of the process for me really is an important step for moving forward with my ideas.

Draft Ideas

After the first two steps: Researching and sketching, I then begin to move my favourite sketches onto screen. I can do this is one of two ways:

1. If I like something I have drawn then I would scan this concept into Illustrator this sketch would have been drawn numerous times to get to a stage where is would be ready to work with in illustrator. From there I would begin to develop the logo further into a more finalised design.
2. From a chosen sketch I will take what I have drawn and develop it on screen from scratch, spending time seeing what fonts work best, developing up shapes and reworking the structure into more of a designed logo.

Reflection

At this point, many designers will step away from the project for a brief time. This break acts as a time of reflection, giving the designer a chance to return to the project with a fresh perspective. This may also be a good opportunity to gather feedback from unbiased outside parties. Designing a logo can be a very involved process; so gaining insight from an extra pair of eyes (or two) is highly beneficial. After returning to the logo designs, the most effective iterations must be chosen and assembled for presentation.

Client Feedback

After spending a little time designing up a presentation for the client, whether it be for a face-to-face or digital PDF presentation, I will send off my final selections for client evaluation. Usually I will accompany my designs with notes or if I am meeting the client explain my reasonings for my designs. The designer then takes the client feedback into consideration, and makes changes accordingly. The improved logo is again presented to the client. Often there are many rounds of revisions before the client is satisfied with the final product.

Final Delivery

Once the client has evaluated and made their decision, then I begin to finalise the logo into different formats that the client can use. I like to call this a Logo pack. Important file types include EPS, JPEG and possibly TIF in certain circumstances. Some clients may also need a black and white version of the final logo.

Most times after logos have been completed clients like to see their new logo implemented onto a variety of media including, letterheads, business cards and promotional media.

Conclusion

Logos can be a very time consuming process that takes a variety of stages before its final completion, I have provided an insight in this blog about my way of working when I design a logo from start to finish. When the process is executed successfully, the resulting logo becomes a valuable asset for the companies marketing efforts.