The economic impact of coronavirus is causing growing numbers of businesses to make employees redundant. For those on the receiving end, the sudden loss of income is compounded by delays in processing benefits and the lack of other jobs out there. For the more enterprising people who find themselves in this position, however, there are opportunities to consider. If you have the skills and experience to work for yourself and have a website, there’s the potential to start earning much sooner.
Perhaps one of the most convincing reasons to have a website is that coronavirus has changed how people access goods and services. Now, instead of going out for them, consumers are accessing them online. Indeed, since the outbreak began, there has been a huge increase in internet usage and those that have a website are the ones who can take advantage of this.
What work can I get from having a website?
While some websites are a business in themselves, like an online store or streaming service, for the vast majority of small businesses, they are a way to promote their products and services to others. This means whatever products or services you want to sell, whether its window cleaning, furniture making or book-keeping, a website is a particularly useful tool for you to have.
For those looking to start a business in these times, it is important to take advantages of the changes in consumer behaviour enforced by the lockdown. If you can repair electrical goods, for example, you will need to collect them from the customer and fix them at your own premises, rather than visit their home. If you can teach things, whether it’s a fitness class, cooking lessons, or car maintenance, you can do these using apps like Zoom. Again, it is having an online presence which helps you adapt to the current situation and puts you in the best position to gain new customers.
A financially savvy solution
If you’ve just been made redundant, you’ll want to make sure that setting up any business venture can be done as cheaply as possible. One of the benefits of a website is that they are very inexpensive to set up and run.
You can purchase a domain name (e.g. yourbusiness.com) for around £10 a year, web hosting with professional email (e.g. [email protected]) for less than £3 a month, and you can build a website using the world’s most popular web software, WordPress, for free. What’s more, WordPress is an easy to use program (no coding required) that, with our cPanel hosting accounts, can be installed with just one click.
From a financial perspective, it means you can have a business website, business email and your own domain for less than £1 a week and won’t need to fork out a penny to have it built. In this sense, it’s the perfect solution for those wanting to set up a business but who have limited funds to invest.
The benefits of a website
Having a website brings a raft of benefits to anyone looking to sell their products or services online, these include:
- Making your business searchable online so customers looking for your products and services can find you using Google and other search engines.
- Showcasing your products or services. WordPress can create any kind of website, enabling you to create portfolios of your work, present customer reviews and testimonials, write detailed descriptions of the services you offer and even have an online store.
- Take online payments. There are various ways to accept payments on your website, these include using services like PayPal or other payment gateways that make it easier and more user-friendly for your customers. It also means you can avoid handling cash or cheques and going to the bank while the coronavirus outbreak lasts.
- A central point you can send people to. You can list your business for free on listings sites like Yell or with Google My Business. When interested people find you, they can then click on the link and be taken straight to your website. You can also put links to your business on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
- A contact hub. Your website’s contact us page gives potential customers a range of ways to communicate with you: contact forms, email, online chat and phone.
Conclusion
If you have been made redundant and have an idea for setting up a small business to generate an income, having a website can make all the difference. It can play a crucial part in helping customers find you, it lets you advertise and sell your products or services and it provides easy ways for people to pay. Importantly, all this can be achieved for as little as £1 a week, which is good news for those with limited funds.
WHUK provides all the hosting services you need, including web hosting, email hosting, domain registration, 1-click WordPress installation and 24/7 technical support. For more information, visit our cPanel Cloud Hosting page.
