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Technology has forever changed the way that society functions. One of the most exciting changes has been the rise of electronic commerce (ecommerce). Technically, ecommerce has been around since the 1960s.
However, the height of the internet in the 1990s and the commonality of smartphones have taken it to unimaginable levels.
Our top picks:
What are the best website builders in 2023?
Building websites used to be quite a challenging endeavor. The early days of the internet only featured websites built by competent IT professionals. In the decades since, it’s only become more accessible for everyday people to develop their websites. You don’t need a doctorate from MIT anymore. Just internet access and the desire to get started.
Here are the four best website builders for 2022:
The growth of ecommerce.
As of 2021, the number of online shoppers worldwide has climbed to 2.14 B, or 27.6% of the global population. These online-based sales accounted for more than $4.2 trillion. To give that number some perspective, the nominal annual GDP of Germany is only $3.85 trillion. Only the U.S., China, and Japan have more than $4 trillion in nominal GDPs.
The fascinating thing about ecommerce is that it’s only just beginning. Based on market trends and average growth rate, experts predict that ecommerce will have a market size of $7.45 trillion by 2030. That’s nearly double the current market size in less than eight years. In 2014, the total ecommerce sales were about $304.9 billion, so you can see how far it’s come in such a short time.
If you own a business and don’t have a website, you could miss out on this unstoppable financial juggernaut. Even if your business isn’t capable of engaging in ecommerce, you still need to have a website to reach new customers. Having no online presence in today’s society means you don’t exist for many of the population. You need a website so you can reach as many people as possible.
Why are business websites important?
Everyone knows that one of the most important keys to business growth is marketing. It’s relatively common for businesses to use billboards, fliers, and commercials to attract new customers. But how many people do these marketing strategies reach? A few thousand? Maybe a few million? Why opt for a few million new customers when you can market to a few billion instead?
There were five billion internet users globally in April 2022. As a business owner, you need to view these individuals as potential customers. It’s doubtful that you’ll attract several billion people worldwide to your physical location. However, how many do you think you lose by not having a website?
Most people nowadays will use Google to find information about a business before visiting or making a purchase. For example, the search term “near me” has grown 150 percent in the last two years. What credibility could you possibly have when the search results return zero? If you were a customer, would you want to visit a place that doesn’t exist online?
In modern society, nearly everyone has social media accounts across multiple platforms. Meeting a person with zero presence online is bizarre, but a business with no online presence is unfathomable. You should be using the power of social media and the internet to your benefit. Every day you don’t, you’re missing out on many potential businesses.
Build a website to help you harness the power of the internet.
In the old days, simply listing the phone number of your business in the telephone book was good enough to attract customers.
Throw in the occasional radio ad or billboard, and you would reach the maximum number of potential customers. In the modern age, these activities will barely scratch the surface. You need to have an effective website that can help you spread information about your business and make it easier to grow.
There’s no reason that you can’t use one of the website builders listed above to create an effective website for your business. The costs are minimal, the interface is simple, and the rewards are limitless. Don’t fall any further behind the competition; get started today and take the next crucial step to grow your business.
Also, there are free website builders like WordPress, with free plans that provide free domains (though having none or very few of the features listed in this article).
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