You can work with creative packaging companies to make your product packaging as appealing as possible, and you can work with a branding company on your brand image. But the thing that is likely to make or break your business in the uber-connected 21st century is what kind of presence you have on the web.

Research shows that having a strong website and mobile presence is key to boosting your business. And if you don’t think that’s true, all you have to do is look at the statistics. Nearly half of consumers believe that if you don’t have a site that works well on mobile devices, it is a sign that you don’t care about your customers. On the other hand, 62% companies that take the time to design a site specifically for mobile devices see a boost in sales. While it’s true that it can take time and money to concentrate on your website, doing so is very likely to pay off for your business.

So what can you do to ensure your business is reaching customers online? First off, unless you or one of your employees has a background in website design, you should have your site designed by a professional web design company. There is too much at stake to try to design it on your own and have it fail.

Second, be sure your site works well on mobile devices. It used to be that you had to design a second site specifically for smart phones, but these days, you can optimize your design so that your site looks the same and works well on any device.

A third important point to consider is that you can’t just set it and forget it, meaning your website needs to be active. That can mean putting content on your page in the form of blogs or using it to promote offers in your store and provide online coupons.

The final thing to consider is that your online presence shouldn’t be limited to just your website; you need to be active on social media as well. Surveys have shown that about half of consumers like to interact with their favorite stores and brands on social media and that interaction builds brand loyalty. What that means is that you need to be engaging your customers on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Most businesses wouldn’t think twice about using creative packaging companies to improve their product packaging, and you should think of professional web designers as creative packaging companies for your online and mobile presence. Just as improving your packaging might catch the eye of consumers, so too will improving your online presence.