Can any business really exist without an online presence? This slightly existentialist question is really one of practicality rather than philosophy:

• 89 percent of consumers use search engines to learn more about businesses and the products or services they offer before making a purchase
• 71 percent of purchase decisions start out with an online search
• There are 100 billion searches conducted on Google every month

So if your website isn’t there when customers—either current or potential—hop online to look you up, are you really there in any substantial way? (Side note: if you want to take a second to pinch yourself right now just to make sure, we won’t judge.)

The idea of any business not having a website in this day and age sounds a little nuts—probably just about as nuts as the idea of running a business without a physical storefront would have been as recently as 20 years ago. Yet, a survey conducted by Yodle shows that over half (52 percent) of SMBs are doing exactly that: skipping merrily along sans website.

The reasons SMBs give for not having a site are about what you’d expect: websites are too expensive. There’s never any time to find the right web designer. Sales are fine even without an online presence so why bother. Yet all of these fall short when measured up against one simple yet critical fact: when your customers type your company name in that search engine bar, they expect your site to show up.

Back in the stone ages, cavemen paged through bulky relics called “phone books” if they needed to find a local business. In the 21^st century, modern man instead turns toward Google to help him locate those same companies. This simple fact makes a business website as essential to your professionalism as your LLC.

Luckily, there’s a slew of affordable, convenient options when it comes to getting your business online. Template-based site builders like Weebly and Squarespace give small business owners a DIY solution at an absurdly affordable price, while sites like Fiverr and Elance serve as online talent pools where you can find a professional website designer that can bid his or her services to match your budget.

One thing that neither a DIY template nor a budget website designer will provide, though, is your actual content. While a website helps prospective customers find you, well-written copy is what’s going to convert those leads into bona fide sales. Getting online is one thing, but professional content writing can be the element that takes your site from typical template to above and beyond.

Maarit Miller is a writing junkie who will always love the Oxford comma.