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Small businesses sometimes have difficulty being seen. There are many reasons for this. However, the main reason is most small businesses don’t have a storefront. Instead, they spend their time promoting themselves online and via word of mouth. This is why it is so important for every small business to have a website. Once you have followed this step-by-step guide to building a website for your small business, you will discover that so many more people know what your business has to offer. Your sales will grow, and you will see a huge return of investment from taking the time to build your own website.
Step by Step Guide to Building a Website for Your Small Business
Before we share the steps you will be following, we want to mention that you should complete these steps in order. Skipping around may cause confusion and have you creating a less than stellar website for your small business.
- Choose a Domain Name
One of the most difficult parts of building a website for your small business may be choosing your domain name. There are many reasons for this. One, you may not have any idea what your domain name should be. Two, your perfect domain name could be unavailable. Well, I guess we don’t need to go on with all the other reasons.
There are a few things to keep in mind while choosing your domain name. They include:
- Make is easy to spell
- Make it shorter rather than longer
- Do not use abbreviations or acronyms
- Do not use numbers or hyphens
- Choose a .com or .net instead of a lesser used TLD (top level domain)
- Include keywords that are relevant to your business to increase visibility during searches
Once you have found the perfect domain name, register it with a domain register. There is a fee to register a domain name. This fee also needs to be paid again when the domain registration is up for renewal in the future.
- Choose a Hosting Provider
Since you won’t have the time to figure out how to host a website on your own, you will need to choose a hosting provider. WordPress is the hosting provider many people have heard about. There are others though.
As soon as you know who is hosting your website, you can choose your design. This is simple with hosting platforms like WordPress, because they have dozens of designs and templates to choose from.
- Add Pages and Useful Content
While it would be nice to have a one-page website, that is not what is going to help convert interest into sales. You will need to add pages to your website, so that visitors can easily find the helpful information you will be providing to them.
A few of the best pages to add include:
- Homepage – This page should share what your business does and who you help. It should be eye-catching, informative, and easy to read.
- About Us – The about us page should share the story of your business, as well as its mission and values. Introducing team members can create a connection with customers.
- Contact – This is the page people will turn to when they want to contact you. Make it simple for them to find your address, email, phone number, and social media pages.
- Shop Or Booking – You won’t have sales if you don’t have a page dedicated to shopping.
- Blog – This is where you will share information that shows you are an expert in your industry.
- FAQs – A page full of helpful answers to those most often asked questions.
- Testimonials and Press Coverage – Sharing your successes on this page will increase your credibility.
All these pages should be filled with useful content visitors will want to read.
- Make Sure Your Website is Search Engine Optimized
If you have never heard of SEO, or search engine optimization, consider yourself lucky. You will be hearing about it all the time now that you are a business owner!
You must make sure your target audience can find your business. This means making sure your website is optimized for search engines. You can accomplish this task by consistently publishing informative content, utilizing relevant keywords, and keeping your website loading times low.
We also recommend making sure your website performs well on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Review Every Page of Your Website Before Publishing
This is a very important step. Mistakes happen. Typos are common. Reviewing each page, and even having a second set of eyes review it, is the best way to ensure your website is ready to be published.
A few things to check include:
- Content
- Links to ensure they are working properly
- Filler content from theme or template – Remove any filler content you find
- Test the website across different browsers to ensure it works on them all
- Connect the website to Google Analytics to monitor performance
Once you have done all this, it will be time to hit publish. Yes, you can still go back in and make changes to your website in the future. However, making your website as perfect as it can be from the beginning will go a long way in showing your target audience your business is ready for them.
- Keep Your Website Up to Date
You may think you can hit publish on your website and then you can forget about it forever. Nope! You need to continuously maintain your website if you want to consistently remain higher in search results.
This means regularly writing new blog posts. Checking internal and outbound links to make sure they are working. Keeping the about us page up to date. And keeping track of your progress in Google Analytics.
These are the basic steps you will need for building a website for your small business. Building a website doesn’t need to be difficult like it was when you had to code it years ago. But it does take time and quite a bit of patience. If you need assistance building a website for your small business, reach out to our team to schedule a consultation. Our website experts will work quickly to have your website ready to publish, so your business can grow.
