Top 10 Reasons To Get Your Website

Everyone has plenty to gain from a website. It can be a fully-fledged site, small and personal, a blog or anything in between. There are very few good reasons not to have one, but countless reasons to get started on yours as soon as possible. I’ve even taken the liberty of compiling the 10 best of those reasons here for you. All you need to do is read them, and then get started on your website.


10. You can start for free.
            You’ll never build a world-beating internet powerhouse for free. However, you can have a basic site or blog without paying a dime. Wix, Wordpress and Blogger are a few of the most popular free places to start.
The main catch with free hosts is that you’ll have something like “.wordpress” tacked onto your web address. It will only cost you a little to get rid of it. For example, if you use Blogger, you can buy a truly custom web address for less than $20 per year.

9. It’s easier than you think.
If you’re like most people, you’re not an experienced web designer. Numerous blog- and site-builders are as simple as clicking and dragging. You’ll have control of what’s on your site, where it’s at and how it looks, primarily using your mouse.
If you are a web designer, or as you grow, you’ll enjoy digging into the HTML code and working from the ground up. Until then, you can grow at your own pace.

8. It’s a digital portfolio.
            The internet is the best place to store information, whether for you or others to access from anywhere at any time. This could be useful for personal reasons, but professionally it’s almost a necessity.
            “Virtutecture’s website … is our main source of information for clients,” according to Tracy Ford, CEO of Virtutecture LLC. For his growing business, a website is more than just a digital storage medium for his work. It’s the best means of sharing that work with his Customers. (2017)

7. It’s a creative outlet.
A website is a great creative outlet. Designing the site and creating the content are integral processes. In fact, a website is more than just the creative outlet; it’s also the studio, and the gallery.
“As a website author, I create online portfolios not only to represent who I am as a designer today, but also to show a timeline of personal and creative growth,” April Dodson said. Dodson, whose specialty is web design, said the story told by her collective work is useful as both a gallery and a resource. “I can draw inspiration for future designs,” she said, “and redefine how I want to be represented as a creative member of the community.” (2017)


6. Networking
            Social media allows you to selectively connect with people across the globe. You can share information with those people within the confines of the social medium you’re using. Your website will do that and more, without the filters.
            There is risk. You must be very selective about the information on your website. However, the reward – potential exposure to most of the planet – is well worth the effort.

5. It’s a great way to promote your business ventures.
If you have a business but not a website, “it’s almost as if your business doesn’t exist.” According to Australia-based web developer Dogulin Digital, you just can’t have the former without the latter (2016).
Don’t just think of a business as a physical storefront. Thanks to the internet, your website can be your storefront, so your business can be anything. If you make quilts or bake cookies, you have a business. Nancy Clasemann, professional baker and aspiring entrepreneur, is finishing a website that will take her business to the next level. According to Clasemann, she can now take orders digitally, allowing her to grow her business beyond state borders. (2017)

4. Or kick-start new ones.
For any business idea, from selling lemonade to distributing beer, a website is the best way get it off the ground. Interacting with leads via your website will help validate, improve and initiate your idea.
According to content marketing expert Corey Wainwright, effective blogging habits in particular will get your website off on the right foot, and in turn help your new business. “Just like every blog post you write is another indexed page, each post is a new opportunity to generate new leads,” she said. The key is adding a call to action to your posts that leads visitors farther into your website, teaching them more about your new business. (2015)

3. It will help you reach a specific audience.
            If you have an audience for any reason, you can target that audience with a website. Everything about your website can be designed to reach a specific group of people.
            Kelli Lake, a talent acquisition manager, says her team has a website solely for recruiting. “Our primary customer is prospective employees,” she said, explaining the value of not sharing the business’s main site. “Just like the retail side… reaching our target audience or customer is critical to our performance and success.” (2017)

2. It’s a great learning experience.
You know that starting your site can be as easy as you need. Understand that it can also go as far as you’re willing to take it. Maybe you’ll have to keep your efforts to a minimum. If you have the means, though, I encourage you to dive in head-first.
When building a website, you’ll learn more than just basic design. Building a website can reel you into a world of solving problems, understanding language, exploring ideas, and blue-collar, trial-and-error effort. You could read about designing a website, or you could actually do it, garnering all the intrinsic benefits, experiences and tangible rewards along the way. 

1. It will help you advance in your career.
When looking for your next job, “a personal website could be your secret weapon.” Forbes careers editor Jacquelyn Smith suggests that a website can visibly improve personal brand, and is an excellent way to demonstrate skills to prospective employers (2015).
A personal website is a career tool because it suggests a dynamic skillset. Web design, planning, organization, marketing, and dedication are just a few examples. Your site is the living embodiment of these traits. That’s without mentioning the site’s actual content, the story you’ll be telling everyone in the digital universe.
There are countless reasons to have a personal website. The most important one is that doing so will help you grow, and prove it demonstrably. You’ll find this crucially helpful in the daily fight to fulfill your potential.


Bibliography
Clasemann, N. (March 6, 2017). Personal correspondence. Baking Traditions LLC.

Dodson, A. (March 8, 2017). Personal email. Payless ShoeSource.

Dogulin Digital. (2016). “13 Advantages of Having a Website for your Business.” [web]. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from: https://www.dogulindigital.com.au/advantages-benefits-website-for-business/

Ford, T. (March 7, 2017). Personal correspondence. Virtutecture LLC.

Lake, K. (March 9, 2017). Personal email. Payless ShoeSource.

Smith, J. (Jan. 14, 2015). “Here’s why every job seeker needs a personal website – and what it should include.” Forbes. [web]. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2013/04/26/why-every-job-seeker-should-have-a-personal-website-and-what-it-should-include/#39415b92119e


Wainwright, C. (Sept. 30, 2015). “Why blog? The benefits of blogging for business and marketing.” Hubspot. [web]. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/the-benefits-of-business-blogging-ht#sm.000p2kxxg73ed5y102b1et7jgbz32