Welcome to the very first post on our blog… and what better subject to talk about in an inaugural post than the very things we work with every day: websites.

According to a recent study of small to medium New Zealand businesses, only half had websites. While it’s true that not every business needs a website, here are 5 great reasons why having a website is a good, no great, idea.

The Yellow Pages is dying
Nearly 90 percent of New Zealanders go online to research products and services before purchasing. That’s a lot. By not having a website, you’re excluding up to 90 percent of potential customers and clients.

Selling yourself
Every business exists to solve a problem. Chances are many other people have that same problem, and are looking for a solution. With a website, you can let people know how you’ve solved the problem, and that you’ll be more than happy to solve their problem too.

24/7 sales-team
Unless your website has been outsourced to servers hosted in a small village in India, your website will be up and running on the internet every second, minute, hour and day of the year. Having a website is like having a sales team with insomnia – it never sleeps.

Target your market
Having a website lets you target a specific market. Different things appeal to different people, and simple things such as the words, colours and images you use will determine who stays on your website and who doesn’t.

Because 50 percent don’t
That’s right – by just having a website you’re putting yourself above 50 percent of your competitors.

With numbers like that, having a website is a no-brainer.