Most small-to-midsize businesses own a website, yet over one-third of them prefer to have none. One-third of businesses that do not have a website say they have never needed one, while 29% report that their customers do not come to them online. Most small businesses (71%) have one, although creating and maintaining it is still challenging, with corporate websites raising customers’ expectations.
Some small business owners are still hesitant to maintain a website, possibly because of rising rates of eCommerce fraud, but not being online via a website doesn’t mean they don’t have to worry about small office security. It stands to reason that this rich increase in e-commerce means small businesses must have a website to meet growing online retail demands. Of course, it is difficult to argue that small businesses need a website, but with relatively low costs and ease, most would greatly benefit from having one.
Many businesses do need a website, such as a business selling electronic goods, or a travel agent booking holidays online. There are situations like this in just about every industry, and you are going to come across businesses that do not need a website, quite legally. While having a website is certainly preferable, there are plenty of businesses out there who managed to be successful in the modern age without it. Now, more business owners are realizing that having a website is both necessary and an excellent benefit, and are racing to get it up and running.
Many of these business owners and managers in the B2B space believe that having a website is irrelevant to their business. Forty per cent of the small businesses listed costs as not being relevant to the needs of their company as reasons. Most customers do not come online, there is insufficient staff, and there is not enough money to create one, which is also the usual reason why small businesses do not have websites. According to a study conducted by Clutch, most who are without websites said that this was because the site was just not appropriate for their business, or was simply too costly.
However, considering exactly what is online privacy beyond a website, there are security considerations to take into account.
According to a 2017 study conducted by Approved Index, a B2B business comparison website, two million businesses in the UK did not have a website. Websites are easier and cheaper to create than ever, yet 40% of small businesses do not yet have one, with 28% saying that they probably will not have one in the future, according to a new poll from Visual Object, a portfolio site featuring creative firms around the world. The survey polled 1,250 owners of U.S.-based small retailers and found an astonishing 23% still did not have websites.
The survey found that nearly half of small businesses (46%) had an employee on-site who managed the site, while 32% used a DIY site builder to build a basic site. Top Design Firms found that 46% of small businesses have an in-house team that manages the website for the company. Top Design Firms, a resource for finding creative agencies, surveyed 1,003 small business owners and managers and found nearly a third of small businesses (27%) did not yet have a website in 2022.
