It doesn’t seem like it would be possible to run a small business in 2020 without a website. But somehow, there are millions of people out there trying to do it.
According to a recent survey, about 46% of small businesses in the U.S. still haven’t gotten around to creating websites for their companies. It’s safe to say that these small businesses are likely leaving a lot of money on the table by missing out on the chance to connect with more customers.
Small business websites give companies an opportunity to market their products and services to the masses. They also allow people to find companies that they might not work with otherwise through Google searches.
If your small business doesn’t have a website yet, change that today. Here is how to go about creating awesome small business websites.
Begin by Choosing a Great Domain Name for Your Website
First things first: Before you begin trying to design a website for your small business, you’re going to need to come up with a great domain name for it. The domain name for your site is what people are going to type into their web browser to visit it.
Ideally, you should try to make your domain name the same as your business name. For example, if your business name is “Joe’s Auto Body Repair,” you should see if joesautobodyrepair.com is available.
Some small business websites use really off-the-wall domain names that are difficult for people to remember. If you do this, it could affect your traffic and prevent people from being able to find your website.
Try to keep your domain name simple and straightforward. It’ll make it easy for people to visit your website without encountering any issues.
Pick the Right Company to Host Your Website
In addition to coming up with a domain name for your website, you’re also going to have to find a hosting company to host it for you before you start building it out. There are plenty of hosting companies that can lend a hand.
Look for a hosting company that has been around for at least a few years now since they’ll be able to provide you with the hosting services you need. Make sure they come highly recommended by other small business owners and offer the best prices around.
Think About What You Want to Showcase on Your Website
Once you have a domain name reserved for your small business website and the right hosting company in your corner, you’ll almost be ready to start designing your site. But there will be one final thing to do before the design process begins.
You should spend at least a few days sketching out the different things you want to see on your site. Outside of a homepage, your site should also include things like:
- Product pages
- Service pages
- An “About Us” page
- A “Contact us” page
- A blog
Write down a list of everything you want to appear on your website when it’s done. It’ll help you figure out how much work will have to be done to create your website from scratch.
Work With a Skilled Web Designer to Bring Your Website Ideas to Life
If you have some background in web design, you should be able to handle designing your small business website yourself. But if you don’t know the first thing about web design—or better yet, if you don’t have time to devote towards designing a website—hire a skilled web designer to help you out.
Your web designer can take all of the ideas that you come up with for your website and bring them to fruition. They can also tinker around with different website layouts to show you what might be possible with your site.
After you’ve approved a specific layout for your site, they can get to work and build everything for you. They can also make adjustments along the way so that your website is everything you want it to be.
Figure Out How You’re Going to Take Payments on Your Website
Are you planning on taking payments for your small business’ products and services on your website?
In some cases, you may be able to do this simply by adding a PayPal button to your site to direct customers to send you payments through the PayPal system. But it’s not always that easy.
If, for instance, you want to take credit card payments directly from customers, you’ll need to set up an entire payment system on your own on the backend of your website. You’ll want to rely on a professional to ensure this gets done right so that you don’t have any issues processing payments.
Put the Latest SEO Trends to Good Use on Your Website
Search engine optimization, better known as SEO, is very important when it comes to small business websites. If you don’t find out how to use SEO to your benefit, you’re going to struggle to get your website up near the top on search engine results pages.
You can make SEO a priority by adding high-quality content to your website. You can also do it by securing backlinks for your website on other sites. This will help put more eyes on your site over time.
Commit to Updating Your Website on a Regular Basis
One other great way to improve your SEO and to stay connected with your customer base is by updating your website early and often. It’s why so many small businesses choose to start a blog.
If possible, you should get into the habit of updating your website each and every day. But if nothing else, you should be updating it at least once a week to keep it current and to maintain your SEO ranking.
Look at Other Top-Notch Small Business Websites Before Creating Your Own
Starting up a small business website from scratch can be a huge undertaking. It’s not always easy for those without a lot of web design experience to wrap their heads around how to do it.
But you shouldn’t let that stop you from starting a site for your small business. Take a look around at some of the other small business websites out there to get inspired. You’ll be amazed at what a difference a website can make for your small business.
Discover more about creating a website and maintaining it by reading the other articles on our blog.
