In today's world, more and more people look for products and services online. Gone are the days when offline retail outlets used to be the only source from where you could shop. Today, everything happens over the internet. In such a situation, you cannot lag behind if you have a small business. No matter what the size of your business is, if you want to make your presence felt, you will have to go online. Here are some reasons why you must choose the internet to establish yourself better-

• The first and most important reason is definitely credibility. Earlier only a few businesses used to have online presence. But times have definitely changed now. Today, almost every business makes it a point to have a website for its customers. And that is probably the biggest reason why people don't like to associate with brands or companies that do not have online presence. If you want to cater to the needs of the present day customers, you will have to have a website of your own. A website will not just help you build brand recognition but will also enhance your business.
• Branding is extremely important for any business. And a lot of people think about a logo when they hear the term branding. There is no doubt that a logo represents a company's image. But branding is not confined to flaunting a logo alone. Branding is much more than that. It is only through proper branding that you will be able to stay alive in the hearts and minds of your customers. Good branding will help your business be recognizable. It will also help set your business apart from the rest. Remember, through a website, you don't just sell your products and services, you also establish your brand image.
• In the days of yore, marketing used to take place only through radio advertisements, billboards etc. But those days are long gone. Today is the era of internet. When a person looks for a product or service online, they get a long list of options to browse through. These are the websites that different businesses have put up to increase their sales. Your ranking on search engines' results pages matter a lot. When you rank higher, you are likely to get more clicks and in turn, interested customers. And venue rank lower there is hardly a chance that someone will click on your link. So, it's never a good idea to not have a website. By cutting down on the cost of having a website, you completely go out of the game. Whether you win the game or lose it matters next; what matters first is whether you are in the game. Build a website and optimize it for a good ranking and then play the game, instead of watching others play.

These are the three major reasons why every small business should have a website of its own, there are many others. Nevertheless, the message that you can take away from this discussion is that without a website you are nowhere in the world of business.