Just about everyone has a website nowadays. They are a standard for larger companies, and more and more individuals are jumping on the bandwagon with personal sites and blogs. But while having a site seems to be a fairly customary thing, the quality still varies widely across the board, and with no real standards on appearance and layout, who’s to say what’s correct and what isn’t?

The fact is, a business or personal website has become in a sort of virtual business card, offering many of the same features as traditional business cards, without some of the drawbacks—and just as design aspects such as color, font selection, and image choice are significant portions of designing a business card, these features should always be kept in consideration when preparing to launch your website.

Like a business card, the time and expense of designing and publishing a website are completely lost if no one bothers to pass it around or remember it, but there are several compelling reasons why you should begin considering your website as a virtual business card, and make it happen today:

1.A website is a place to hold all of your contact information, list your hours and services, and present your credentials, just like a business card, and websites are already a definitive portion of business marketing.
2.Your website is a chance to make a first impression on potential customers; a good website—like a good business card—can help you stand out from the crowd, and make sure your presence is remembered within your particular industry.
3.Having a website presents the opportunity to expand your company’s range to an immense degree—a degree which simply would not be possible with a tangible business card alone.
4.A website is accessible for information to potential clients 24/7, even when the number listed on your card may not be.
5.Websites by nature also present potential customers with a much greater wealth of information in regards to your company and what you offer.
6.A really great website can even serve to drastically level the playing field among your competitors, and a small company with a professionally designed and marketed site can often gain business over a larger company with a less developed one.
7.Like a business card, a website opens the door for interaction with customers long after contact information is exchanged.
8.Well-done websites offer immediate legitimacy in the minds of many potential clients, establishing your company both as an authority on the products offered, and a reliable business establishment.

Above all else, it is important to remember that not having a website in today’s market is an awful lot like going to a business convention without a card: whether your business is small or large, there’s a good chance that you may already be losing business to companies that do.