Top 10 Best Steps to Starting a Small Business Website
When it comes to designing a website for your small business, you want it to be functional and easy to use so your customers can find what they need quickly and easily.
Of course, that’s just the first step of the process – once you have that down, there are plenty of other elements you can consider to make your site great. Here are 10 foundational steps to creating a better website for your small business!
1) Get Feedback From Your Existing Clients
If you’re thinking about starting your own business website, one of your first steps should be getting client feedback. This can give you ideas about what people want, as well as set customer expectations.
Getting customer input is important before you officially launch. To keep customers satisfied, make sure that when you start your small business website design process, you take their needs into account.
2) Research Your Competitors
Start by researching your competitors by asking yourself these questions:
- What do they/don’t they provide?
- What do they have in common?
- What are some differences among them?
- How can you stand out from your competition?
- Do they compete on Price point or Perceived Value ?
3) How Do Your Competitors Appear Online
- What do you like/not like about your competitor’s sites?
- What aspects of their websites do you wish were different on your site?
Also, Looking at how your competitors’ websites perform can give you ideas about things that seem to work and those that don’t.
4) What Are Your Service/Product Offerings?
A great website is more than just aesthetics; it must also be functional. What services does your business offer? Whether you’re trying to attract leads, provide information, or sell products online, make sure you’ve thought through all of your offerings before moving forward with the design.
If your new content isn’t quite ready (for example, if you’re building an informational site), think about offering something that visitors can interact with, like a community forum to help garner interest in your future content offerings.
5) What Types Of Content To Use
High-quality content and guest blogging are great ways to market your business on the web. Although it’s often difficult, if not impossible, to attract visitors organically (i.e., through search engines), having high-quality content can bring you more business than you ever imagined.
Don’t worry, this content doesn’t have to be new though. You can repurpose your images from Instagram onto your website to tell a more in-depth story on your website. So for every piece of content, there are multiple options!
You can repurpose your images from Instagram onto your website to tell a more in-depth story on your website. So for every piece of content, there are multiple options!
6) Designing What You Want It To Look Like
The first step in setting up your website is designing what you want it to look like. This isn’t just about choosing colors, fonts, and pictures—you should have some idea of how your ideal customer will navigate your site, what they’ll expect to see when they arrive, and what you want them to do when they get there.
You don’t need special software to start your design. You can use good ‘ole pen and paper and start thinking of ideas.
7) Finding Space On The Internet
There are millions of websites out there, but finding room on the Internet can be tough for small businesses. First, you need to find a domain name that isn’t already taken and fit your site under one of your company’s keywords. (Most domains cost less than $20.00 per year.)
After you register your domain name, it’s time to find a website hosting company where you can then start to create an attractive web design that showcases what makes your business unique.
8) Hiring a Designer To Build Your Website
The first step in actually creating your small business website is deciding whether you’re going to create it yourself or hire help. Website builders have come a long way in recent years but they can’t fully replace the wealth of knowledge that a great website designer/developer can bring to your project. Yes, that was a shameless plug.
Even though we do provide small business website design & development services, we understand that a custom-designed website isn’t the best solution in every circumstance. We also understand that WYSIWYG services like Wix, and Shopify serve a particular clientele.
9) Getting Traffic To Your Website
Small business websites often rely on word-of-mouth traffic, but don’t assume your customers will come out of thin air. Make sure you do everything you can to get visitors to your site and watch your small business grow. This includes site optimization and being listed on search engines and business directories.
10) Maintaining Your Website
What should you do once your site is up and running? The most important thing is to stay engaged with what’s going on. A website can be turned into an online money-making machine—if you’re willing to put in some time and energy. The more passionate you are about your business, the more likely it is that people will catch onto your vibe.
Think of yourself as a PR agent, constantly promoting your business by adding information to your site, creating new content such as blogs or videos, connecting with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter , or even setting up special offers.
If you love what you do enough to make it a full-time job, chances are other people will want to hear about it too!
Conclusion
Websites are powerful marketing tools that help small businesses increase online visibility, generate more business leads, and ultimately sell more products or services.
An integral part of your website is its design—that is, how it looks and functions on desktop, mobile devices, and tablets. So if you’re planning to build a new site for your small business, following these 10 foundational steps will help you set up a great website through the entire process.
Know any additional steps businesses can take to get their website off the ground? Comment below.
Until next time – Happy Blogging!
