Business Without Website: A 2022 Update on Digital Acceleration
Published on: 29 Sep 2022 | Author: Jorge Uceda
Marketing Reports
In this Marketing Report:
- Are There European Businesses Without Websites in 2022?
- Budget Concerns
- Why Do Businesses Without Websites Decide to Invest in One?
- Priorities of SMBs With a Website
- Digitalisation: Better Late Than Never
- Methodology
Among the most affected by the pandemic were small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), whose marketing budgets are still reeling from the effects of Covid-19 and put a halt to their digital acceleration.
During the pandemic we analysed the then-current state of digital acceleration. It’s only fair that, now that businesses are resuming their normal operations, we take a look at how things have changed since then.
47%
Percentage of SMBs that say their websites are mobile-friendly
Content
Still #1 priority for SMB websites in 2022
34%
of businesses plan to develop an app
Are There European Businesses Without Websites in 2022?
SMB Presence on the Web
Almost half of businesses surveyed (44%) said they have a website.
SMBs With a Website
France and Spain are the two leading markets in terms of SMBs with websites, a stark contrast to our previous survey which had the Netherlands and Germany top the list.
Mobile-Friendly Websites
Almost half of the respondents said their websites are mobile-friendly,
App Development
Mobile apps are still a debated topic among businesses, who mostly said an app was under way, although that number is closely followed by the decision not to develop one.
Budget Concerns
Reasons for Not Having a Website
The most surprising discovery that our 2022 survey put forward is that lack of budget was no longer in the top three reasons why some SMBs don’t have a website.
As a matter of fact, only 14% of surveyed SMBs singled that answer out.
Budget Expectations Vs. Real Cost
It seems there has been renewed faith in this kind of digital acceleration, since almost 40% of companies that did invest in website creation after the pandemic said they were less expensive than expected.
Have Budgets Changed for SMB Websites?
Despite budgets no longer being the main concern for SMBs with regard to website creation, most of the companies surveyed are keeping tight pockets in 2022.
The highest budget considered for website development is anywhere between 1,000 and 5,000 euros across markets, mimicking the same pattern as that of our previous survey.
Impact of External Events on Marketing Budgets
In terms of overall marketing budgets, not even a global pandemic nor an all-out war stood a chance against digital acceleration, except perhaps for Spanish businesses, who reported that the pandemic decreased their budget.
How Were These SMB Websites Built?
In-house staff came out as the most used resource (29.02%) for web design for small businesses, closely followed by specialised agencies—the direct inverse of what we saw in 2020.
Why Do Businesses Without Websites Decide to Invest in One?
Reasons for Investing in a Website
In general, the opportunities a website brings (sales/leads/branding/traffic) was the main reason businesses decided to invest in website creation.
Impact of Website Investment in Marketing Efforts
Our study reveals that website creation could be seen as a catalyst for further investments in marketing and digital acceleration.
Priorities of SMBs With a Website
Top Priorities for SMB Websites
There’s no other way to put it: in 2022 content takes the cake of businesses’ website priorities, with almost a quarter of companies willing to focus on top-quality website content creation for their sites.
In 2020, it came out in second place, behind having a mobile-friendly website.
Curiously enough, only 11.06% will most focus on improving their website security.
According to SEMRush’s State of Content Marketing 2022 Global Report, only 3 out of 100 companies don’t see content marketing as part of their digital strategy.
Digitalisation: Better Late Than Never
After two years of tests and trials, the digital world seems ready to get back on track once again. In particular, SMBs appear to be optimistic about implementing or expanding their digital presence.
As more and more businesses without websites get started on their digital journey, we’ll be there to keep an eye out for trends and insights within the digital marketing world. After all, with some companies even questioning the impact of a website in their specific industry, it won’t be long before we uncover what the next step of digital commerce will look like.
Methodology
The study was conducted between April 4th and April 8th, 2022, among 1,000 companies across Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, and the Netherlands. In the study, we surveyed business owners about the current state of the websites of their SMBs, as well as their plans regarding website creation. The responses are anonymous.
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