News

October 19, 2012

Millions of micro-businesses are let down by their websites

There are more micro-businesses than ever according to the latest BIS research, but a new survey suggests that many of them are losing business because of their outdated websites.

Research from bOnline suggests that three million micro-businesses — such as builders, beauty salons, restaurants, and accountants — are failing to grow because they're using the wrong sort of website.

The survey of 10,000 British companies found that while micro-businesses are digitally aware — 81% have a website to promote their business — the majority of these websites (80%) are out of date and not fit for purpose.

Typically, the badly-performing websites are static, limited to five pages, offer no content management, are based on outdated technologies and lack essential digital marketing tools such as website analysis and SEO functionality. As a result, micro-businesses can’t increase their visibility on search engines or easily convert web traffic into customers.

“Micro-businesses form the economic backbone of towns and cities across the country,” said bOnline founder Anthony Karibian. “However their participation in the UK’s £121bn digital economy — the most vibrant digital sector of any G20 country — is being held back by their website. Not only are they clunky and unprofessional looking, increasing numbers of business owners are finding they’re simply not fit for purpose in today’s digital age.

“Our research shows three million are using sites based on out-of-date technology,” added Anthony Karibian. “The end result is they rate very low on a Google search and even when they do attract visitors, they hardly convert them to customers as they project a poor image online. They’re effectively operating off-line and are missing huge opportunities to grow.”

Web envy

Another new survey backs up these findings. According to a study by Decibel Technology, more than a third (37%) of people think their closest competitor’s company website is better than their own. And one in five people (19%) don’t actually think their own company website represents their brand.

In addition, nearly a half (46%) of people say they would consider not even doing business with a company that had an out-of-date or hard to navigate website.