You're picking exceptions to the rule and claiming that those exceptions invalidate the whole rule. Sure some bakeries are just better than others, a good bakery with no website will do better than a bad bakery with a website.
But all things considered, having an online presence always helps your business. A fantastic bakery with a website will get more customers than a fantastic bakery with no website.
I think you picked the worst example ever. The success of a bakery is based on 3 things:
1) location
2) location
3) location
Everything else doesn't matter. Nobody goes online every day to see "Gee, I wonder which artisanal bakery I'm going to drive to today, and I'm going to make my decision based on which bakery has the flashiest website".
If websites mattered, then small businesses wouldn't have the crappiest websites ever.
Wow, only location, huh? Doesn't matter if their product is actually good? And I guess if there are two bakeries in the same location (happens every day in these places called "cities"), I will just pick randomly then.
If you really think bakers don't benefit from using computers, then you're just not thinking very hard. I always look up the reviews of the bakeries I go to if I'm buying a cake or something. I wouldn't risk buying something at a bakery without checking online if it's worth it or not.
>If websites mattered, then small businesses wouldn't have the crappiest websites ever.
If websites DIDNT matter, these small businesses would not have websites at all. I'm not saying you need a good website. You just need any website for discovery. Your example actually supports my arguement - why would small businesses be wasting time with websites unless it helped them?
> I wouldn't risk buying something at a bakery without checking online if it's worth it or not.
You wouldn’t risk spending on $7 on a loaf of bread to try out whether a bakery is good or not?
I’m sorry but that just sounds ridiculous on its face. The average reviewer has no taste to begin with.
> You just need any website for discovery.
No, what they need is to claim ownership of a Google Maps entry and a Yelp page. I don’t know if I’ve ever visited a bakery’s website in my life, but I've found plenty by searching Google Maps.
The last thing I bought from a bakery was a $50 dollar cheesecake for a birthday party. And you can bet I looked up reviews from at least 5-10 different bakeries. And also visited their websites. But sure, whatever you think.
You're just doubling down on your own stupid argument and not providing any interesting rebuttals to what I'm saying. The reviewers are wrong, Yelp is wrong, the internet is wrong, bakers CANNOT benefit from using the internet! Go get your birthday cake from the first bakery you see, I don't care. You're not really raising good points. If anything, you're just highlighting how little you know about using the internet to find new businesses. The fact that you've never visited a baker's website just means you either don't care or know about picking high quality products when it matters. It's a you problem, not the baker's problem.
Fair enough, I wasn't thinking about expensive one-off purchases.
Still don't get why they need a website. An out of date menu showing prices from the 2010s, I guess? Just look them up along with reviews on Google Maps or Yelp and call them to order the cake. But hey what do I know, I've only done it dozens of times... this past year alone.
Instead of me trying to explain it to you, maybe just try it yourself.
You saying "I've never needed this and I never tried it, so I don't understand why anyone else would" isn't exactly a robust argument. In fact, why would I bother listening to your opinion on a feature you've never even tried? Most websites have info about hours, prices, products, FAQs that are up to date. Your mental model of what's in a website is wildly off, especially in 2023 when everyone's on social media.
This is just obviously not true. Any location which is good enough that a bakery could survive without any repeat business would have such high rents that no bakery would be able to survive (or at least, it would be very difficult).
But all things considered, having an online presence always helps your business. A fantastic bakery with a website will get more customers than a fantastic bakery with no website.