10 Key Steps To Building A Great Small Business Website
Building a great small business website doesn’t have to be difficult. Everyone needs one and there is a range of programs and platforms that can help anyone build a fantastic website to grow and promote their small business. From freelancers to hardware stores, e-commerce ventures to authors and everyone in between…a well-built website is the key to success.
Join us as we count down the 10 key steps to building a great small business website.
1. Secure a good domain name
Your domain name is your website address, the entry point to your business. It needs to be relevant to your business and suitable for usability purposes and SEO, making it easy for prospects to find and enter your website so they can see just how your business can benefit them.
2. Invest in secure hosting and quality tech support
Finding the right website hosting provider for your site is such an important step for small businesses. The key is to either do the research yourself to ensure the host is secure, scalable and suitable for your business goals…or find a trustworthy tech expert who can do that for you. Then, it’s as simple as connecting your domain name to your hosting provider for a fee that can be anywhere between $2-$100+ per month.
TIP: If you choose to pay per year rather than per month providers will generally offer a discount.
3. Clearly describe your business
When you create a business website, one of the most important things to do is to clearly outline what your business does and how it can help solve problems for people in its target market.
✨ Ensure the images used on your site clearly relate to your business.
✨ Include an ‘About Us’ page and have clear links to it in navigational menus.
✨ Add a smaller ‘About Us’ blurb to your homepage.
4. Choose the best Content Management System for your business
When it comes to creating and managing digital content, an intuitive and efficient Content Management System (CMS) is crucial. A good CMS will help you maintain your site, no matter your technical knowledge.
Above all, choosing the right CMS for your business is key. Do the research to ensure you’re choosing a CMS that allows for growth as your business expands.
5. Choose the best e-commerce platform to host your products
If you plan on selling a range of products and services through your business, you’re going to need an e-commerce platform suited to your business model.
From ensuring safe online transactions to setting your products and services up in the best way possible in order to increase profits, it pays to do the research and choose a reputable e-commerce platform that will enhance your online store.
6. Make the website user interface engaging
You can set your website on the right path to achieve this by:
✨ Using professional imagery that catches the eye
✨ Choosing easy to read fonts
✨ Designing an intuitive navigation system
✨ Making sure your contact information is easily accessible
✨ Keeping branding consistent
