2021 Small Business Website Statistics You Need to Know

This post was originally published on PixoLabo

Yes, You Need a Small Business Website!

Small business will never be the same after COVID-19. However, launching an online service platform or an online store, adapting and shifting from offline as much as possible could be a way out of the problematic situation. Unfortunately, our 2021 small business website statistics indicate that many small businesses still do not have a robust online presence or digital marketing strategy they need to attract and engage their online audience.

While most small businesses have a website, some business owners do not see any value. We are always surprised when we hear things like: "My customers are not online.” or “The web is not important for my business." So here are some critical 2021 small business website statistics that may change your mind!

In 2020, 51% of small business owners increased the number of online interactions they had with clients. Oberlo

Some small business owners have taken measures to adapt to the new reality the coronavirus has created. Many of them have increased their online activities to reach out to their client base and keep their business alive by selling their products and services online. 

More than half (51 percent) say that they have increased their interactions with their clients over the Internet. Additionally, 36 percent of personal businesses that use online tools are now making all their sales online.

36% of small businesses did not have a website in 2020 Fundera

Having an online presence is essential for marketing your small business. By not having a business website, you give the impression that you are no longer in business. These 2021 small business website statistics illustrate just how important it is for small businesses to have a professionally built, mobile-first website.

2021 Small Business Website Statistics

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - The Basics

• Less than two-thirds (64%) of small businesses have a website.
• 41% of businesses without websites say their business “does not need a website."
• 35% of small businesses feel their operation is too small to warrant a website.
• Among small businesses without a website, 29% plan to build one in 2021.
• 79% of entrepreneurs with a business website expect to grow at least 25% in the next three to five years, compared to 64% of those without a site
• Slow-loading websites cost online businesses US$ 2.6 billion in 2020
• Website visitors only need half a second to form an opinion of the website they are visiting.
• Only 22% of marketers say they’re ahead of the curve when it comes to responsive design. 29% say they have an “average” experience level, 23% say they’re behind the times, and 4% say they’re hopeless
• Across small businesses from 1 to 500 employees, 48% had a website since before 2017
• More than one quarter (28%) of small businesses spend less than $500 on a website.
• The average user spends 2 minutes and 17 seconds on a website.
• As of 2019, 94% of small business websites are mobile-friendly
• 44% of B2B buyers will leave a website if there is no contact information available
• Small businesses cite cost (26%), irrelevance to industry (27%), and social media (21%) as key reasons behind their decision not to have a website.
• 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load. For every one second delay in site load time, conversions fall by 12% (Google, 2018)
• In 2020, 50.81% of all worldwide online traffic was generated through mobile phones (Statista, 2020)
• 57% of all U.S. online traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets (BrightEdge, 2018)
• 87% of the world population uses mobile devices (Marketing Dive 2020)
• 84% of website users would abandon a purchase if their data were sent over an insecure connection.

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - Design

• 94% of negative feedback on a website is related to design
• 94% of first impressions of a website are design-related
• 75% of people form their opinion of a website based on its aesthetics
• Two out of three people prefer to browse through a beautifully designed website.
• 77% of web design companies say their client’s biggest weakness is poor web design
• 62% of companies have reported a mobile responsive website increases sales
• 48% of website visitors believe companies who don’t have a responsive website don’t care
• 75% of people say that credibility plays a part based on a website’s aesthetics
• 47% of internet users expect a webpage to load in less than 2 seconds
• Websites that load slowly cost retailers $2.2 billion in lost business
• 22% of marketers believe they are ahead on responsive design
• 94% of people who are familiar with a website design will not return to a website if they believe the design has degraded
• 36% of website visitors from a referral link arrive by clicking on the company’s logo
• If a piece of information is paired with a relevant image, there is a 65% chance that the user will remember it afterward.
• Green and orange call-to-action buttons work best.
• If the content is too long – 30% of users will switch devices, and 38% will stop visiting the website.

As of December 2020, 55.73% of people use mobile compared to 41.46% on desktop worldwide. Statcounter

2021 Small Business Website Statistics – Mobile Users

• People spend an average of 5 hours on their smartphones per day.
• 16% of U.S. internet users use their phone exclusively to go online
• 40% of users will not engage with a website that isn’t mobile-friendly
• 68% of companies now use mobile marketing as part of their marketing strategy
• 63% of global marketing revenue is accounted to mobile ads
• 50% of global eCommerce revenue comes from mobile
• 52.2% of all internet traffic is mobile
• 91% of small businesses are mobile-optimized
• It's estimated that by 2023, the global number of mobile devices will reach 16.8 billion.
• 40% of online transactions are done via a mobile device (Blue Corona)

2021 Small Business Website Statistics – UX

• It takes just 2.6 seconds for a user to decide whether they like or dislike a website based on its landing page.
• 53% of mobile users will leave a website if it loads in more than 3 seconds
• 84% of customers will trust a company based on other customer’s reviews
• 90% of consumers will return to a website to shop if they had a great experience
• Conversion rates can be boosted by 74% by reducing a website's load time from 8 seconds to 2 seconds.
• People are 31.25 times more likely to win the lottery than click on a banner ad.
• 70% of consumers learn about a new company or business via a blog
• Only 55% of companies conduct UX testing.
• 45% of companies fail to see the importance of UX testing
• 89% of consumers will shop with a competitor after a poor user experience
• 74% of users are more likely to return to a mobile-friendly website
• UX investment can have a 100% ROI

2021 Small Business Website Statistics – E-Commerce

• In 2020, 50% of global e-commerce revenue came from mobile devices.
• By the end of 2021, 73% of e-commerce sales will take place on a mobile device.
• 51% of internet users also use their mobile phones to purchase products online and
• 66% of consumers use shopping apps on their mobile devices – be it a mobile phone or a tablet
• 78% of customers think the pricing is a must-have for any product page
• 62% think shipping details are essential
• 52% look for product reviews
• 85% of customers trust online reviews and testimonials as much as personal recommendations
• 23% of people will abandon their carts immediately If account creation at checkout is required
• 46.5% of small and mid-sized businesses believe that free shipping increases their sales profits

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - SEO

• As of January 2020, 91.54% of people use Google as a search engine. Bing is 2.44%, Yahoo is 1.64%, Baidu 1.08%, and Yandex 0.54%. (WebFX)
• Only 21% of businesses increased their SEO investment in 2020. This figure was the second-lowest marketing channel ranked in the survey. Only augmented/virtual reality ranked lower.
• Google has listed website speed as one of the critical factors that algorithms use to rank pages (Moz)
• 50% of page-1 Google results are now HTTPS (Moz)
• 254/500 Small-medium businesses only have a basic understanding of SEO (Higher Visibility)
• 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine
• 89% of marketers consider search engine optimization (SEO) a success
• 51% of people discover a new company after using a search engine
• 50% of people visit a company’s physical store within a day of doing a local search
• 61% of people use search engines to read about products
• 93% of online activity begins with a search engine (Imforza)
• 80% of consumers do product research online, via search, social, and more
• 81% of customers search online before they purchase in a physical store (Impact)
• More than 50% of all web searches will be voice-based in 2020 (Search Engine Land)

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - Digital Marketing

• While 78% of marketers reported that website optimization results at least somewhat drove their broader marketing campaigns, only 47% of marketers indicated that their web design or product development changed due to optimization lessons. (MarketingSherpa)
• 92% of business owners believe having their website contributes effectively to their digital marketing strategy. (Iron Paper)
• Over 80% of marketers consider increasing overall conversion a dominant priority for their website optimization programs. (MarketingSherpa)
• Most small businesses (47%) spend less than $10,000 on digital marketing (Clutch.co, 2018)
• 71% of small business owners do their own digital marketing instead of leaving it to experts
• 1 in 10 SMBs do not invest in any kind of marketing
• 1 in 5 SMBs do not use digital marketing
• 70% of SMBs plan to increase their digital marketing spending
• 62% of SMBs dedicate 4% or more of their revenue to marketing
• 36% of SMBs spend less than $10,000 on digital marketing annually
• 29% of SMBs spend between $750 to $2499 on digital advertising monthly
• 50% of SMBs spend less than $300 per month on online marketing
• 37% of small businesses plan to increase their digital marketing spend in the next 12 months
• 47% of small business owners handle marketing efforts on their own (LeadPages)
• 73% of companies are investing in design to differentiate their brands (Adobe, 2018)
• Organizations describing themselves as “design-driven” are 69% more likely than their peers to have exceeded their 2020 business goals by a significant margin.
• Organizations value creativity are 46% more likely to have exceeded their business goals (Adobe, 2018)
• 91% of customers have visited a store because of an online experience
• 37% use the Internet to find a store at least once per month
• Of the small businesses that have websites, 69% of them are having annual sales of $1,000,000 – $2,490,000
• 71% of marketers believe video content brings better conversion rates
• 54% of consumers want to see more videos about products to guide their purchasing decisions

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - Common Errors

• 17% of all small business websites are not in compliance with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Algorithm Updates
• 79% of all small business websites claim their websites are mobile-friendly and will render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones
• According to Google, most searches come from mobile devices, even if a desktop is available.
• 51% of all small businesses use in-house staff to maintain their website, 40% use a freelancer or consultant, 38% use a DIY website builder, and 31% use a web design agency
• 23% of small business websites get updated less than once a year
• 30% of small businesses with a web presence generate more than 25% of their revenue online
• 70% of small business websites have no call to action
• 68% don’t have an email address on the homepage
• 50% of online sales are lost when visitors can’t find content
• 82% of small business websites don’t have social media accounts

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - The Cost Factor

• Around 30% of small businesses spend between $1K to $10K for website design.
• The average cost of designing a large business website with essential features is $32K.
• More than one quarter (28%) of small businesses spend less than $500 on a website.
• According to GoDaddy research of more than 1,000 very small businesses, nearly half reported suffering a financial loss due to hacking, with one in eight saying the loss was more significant than $5,000 (GoDaddy, 2018)
• Most small businesses (47%) spend less than $10,000 on digital marketing (Clutch.co, 2018)
• 1 in 10 SMBs doesn’t invest in any kind of marketing
• 71% of small business owners do their own digital marketing instead of leaving it to experts (Digital.com, 2017)
• 1 in 5 SMBs doesn’t use digital marketing yet
• 50% of SMBs spend less than $300 per month on online marketing
• 62% of small businesses are investing 4% or more of their revenue on marketing
• 37% of small businesses plan to increase their digital marketing spend in the next 12 months
• 47% of small business owners handle marketing efforts on their own (LeadPages)
• 73% of companies are investing in design to differentiate their brands (Adobe, 2018)
• Organizations describing themselves as “design-driven” are 69% more likely than their peers to have exceeded their 2019 business goals by a significant margin.
• Organizations in which creativity is highly valued are 46% more likely to have exceeded their 2017 business goals (Adobe, 2018)

2021 Small Business Website Statistics - Reasons for Not Having a Website

• 35% of small business believe they are too small to have a website
• 31% of small business use social media instead of having a website
• 26% of small business believe their customers are not online
• 25% of small business lack technical knowledge
• 23% of small business believe it is not relevant to their business or industry
• 22% of small business lack human and financial resources
• 21% of small business use a mobile app instead of a website
• 19% of small business owners never got around to it
• 11% of small business don't see value in it

Key Benefits of Having a Small Business Website

Attracting Online Consumers

In 2021, most Americans prefer to shop online. This fact is in part driven by regional lockdowns and restrictions and in part by personal preferences. E-commerce is booming. Most online users research a business online before making a purchasing decision, even if they plan to visit a physical store location. 

Despite this, 36% of small businesses still do not have a website, and 35% feel that their operation is too small to warrant a website. This fact is a big problem. Especially when you consider that the two most important pieces of information a business can display are its address and other contact-related details.

As you can see, even the smallest of businesses can benefit from an online presence. Here are just some of the benefits:

1. Marketing opportunities increase from a "local" audience to a global audience.
2. Digital sales conversions save time and labor.
3. Elevated brand and greater ability to manage web aesthetic
4. More cost-effective than brick and mortar
5. The ability to track marketing and business analytics

Providing a Better User Experience

Given a choice, modern online consumers prefer to interact with a well-designed website. Adobe

Having a website isn't enough. Implementation and execution matter as well. Your customers' experiences with your website or e-commerce presence matter, and you should unquestionably have a mobile-first site as well. Of course, that takes a bit of planning. Here are a few essentials you need to consider as you plan your small business website's design and functionality.

Benefitting from E-Commerce and Online Shopping

Most Americans prefer to shop online. It makes sense to take your business online (even if you have a physical location) so that you can reach as many customers as possible.

The U.S. is expecting to have 300 million online shoppers by 2023. That’s 91% of the entire country’s population! Statista

However, e-commerce design and development has its challenges. And if you want your e-commerce presence to provide you with measurable business results, you need to be aware of them.

The average shopping cart abandonment rate in 2020 was 88.05%. Statista

It is essential to minimize things such as users who fail to complete transactions. Shoppers placing items in their shopping carts or users who put their mobile device down and forget to return to their in-progress transaction are a big problem. It's also essential to ensure that your e-commerce website is mobile-first and meets mobile consumers' expectations.

79% of smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile device in the last six months OuterBox

Globally, the latest statistics indicate that just over half of all internet traffic can be attributed to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. As of 2020, the global breakdown of internet traffic is 50.88% on mobile devices than 46.39% on desktop or laptop computers.

Cybersecurity and Small Businesses Websites

So you think your small business is not a target for hackers, do you! I urge you to reconsider. Yes, large corporations, and their security breaches, get more media attention when it comes to cybersecurity issues. But that does not exclude small business websites from this threat!

In 2020, cybercrime increased by 600% due to the Coronavirus crisis. PurpleSec

In reality, hackers, more often than not, target small businesses. 43% of cyber-attacks involve small businesses. Yet only 14% can mitigate such risks effectively. Here are a few tips for protecting your WordPress website you should implement.

Small Business Website Priorities for 2021 and Beyond

• 23% plan to create more high-quality content to publish on-site
• 20% plan to make their website more mobile-friendly
• 19% plan to make their website more user-friendly
• 17% plan to improve SEO by optimizing on-site features
• 12% plan to improve website security
• 9% have no plans to improve their website

Essential Web Design Considerations for 2021

• You'll want to aim for your pages in three seconds or less. That's because many visitors will abandon your site if it hasn't loaded within three seconds. But obviously, the lower you can get that number, the better.
• Every second matters; if your site doesn’t load in four seconds or less, 25% of those who navigated to your site will have left.
• 39% of visitors will stop engaging with a website if images won’t load or take too long to load.
• It takes only about 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds!) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they like your site or not, whether they’ll stay or leave.
• If given 15 minutes to consume content, two-thirds of people would instead read something beautifully designed than something plain.
• It takes 2.6 seconds for a user’s eyes to land on the area of a website that most influences their first impression.
• Users spend an average of 5.94 seconds looking at a website’s main image.
• Users spend an average of 5.59 seconds looking at a website’s written content.
• 38% of visitors will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive.
• 57% of internet users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
• 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience.
• 85% of internet users believe that a company's website should be as good or better than its desktop website when viewed on a mobile device.

What 2021 Small Business Website Statistics Mean for You

Not having an effective and engaging small business website is a significant obstacle to your business growth and success. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar business, potential consumers will look for you online first. If they do not find your small business, they will go to one of your competitors. Is that really what you want?

There are many cost-effective options for getting a useful small business website. Proven small business content management systems and reliable website hosting options are a great starting point. By considering website cost factors, you can determine what you need to start and add to your business website later. There is even a handy guide for small business website creation for you to follow.

As you can see from our small business website statistics, not having a business website is just not an option any longer. While we don't recommend DIY small business web design, it is undoubtedly an option. Hiring a professional web designer or agency may cost more. Still, you will get the website you need to grow your business faster and with less effort.

By Gregor Saita

Gregor is Co-Founder and CXO of PixoLabo, a multilingual WordPress web design studio working with clients in North America and SE Asia. With over 25 years of experience in web, UX and information design. Gregor consults with startups in Asia and the US, and is an adjunct professor of design and user experience. In addition, he is a creative technologist and consultant at EnLinx Partners, LLC, and a foreign language editor at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. He lives with his wife, an award-winning Japanese designer, and photographer, in Sendai, Japan. When he is not working, he enjoys writing, traveling, gardening, and sampling new street food. You can connect with Gregor on LinkedIn or Twitter

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