Whether you offer freelance services, own a brick-and-mortar store, or have another type of small business, a great website and online presence are crucial for your business’ success. It is an indispensable tool that you can leverage to inform your audience, communicate your value proposition, boost brand recognition and drive sales.
But running a small business means resources are limited, and focused towards your core business needs. Fortunately, building a beautiful and functional website is not as complicated as it may seem. There are several online courses that will help you master the skill yourself.
Here are 9 things to keep in mind before getting started to help your business website compete effectively in the online marketplace.
Determine the primary purpose of your website
It is important to communicate your brand’s value and services succinctly so clients (or customers) do not feel confused upon visiting your website. It is likely that your company is new to them, and so providing general information in a readable way helps establish trust in your organization’s proposition.
Choose a good domain name
Your domain name is one of the most important features of your website. It is, more often than not, the entry point to your site. It is the URL you will share with current and potential clients, so make sure it is descriptive, easy to spell, and rememberable. If possible, try to come up with an SEO-friendly address that includes keywords and your geographical location (this is helpful if your business offers services locally as it will help you index higher in search results)
Find a hosting provider
Your website host, or domain registrar, is the company that offers technology and services that allow websites to be viewed online. Hosting services can cost as little as $2 and go up to $100+ a month. Make sure to purchase a plan that is secure, scalable, and comes with good tech support.
Some popular website hosting companies include:
Bluehost
DreamHost
Siteground
Implement a content management system for your business needs
A content management system (CMS) is a software program that is used to create and manage digital content. A good CMS will allow you to update and maintain your website with ease, and requires little to no technical know-how.
There are a number of content management systems available that address different customer needs. A few popular ones are:
WordPress
Joomla!
Drupal
Squarespace
Wix
Create an interesting and engaging user interface
Making sure your business website interface leaves a positive impression will drive results in both the short and long terms. You can do this by:
Creating and using a consistent brand voice and tone
Maintaining a consistent design language across all pages on the site
Using easy-to-read fonts
Optimizing images and graphics for fast loading
Designing an intuitive navigation system for easy browsing
Optimize your website for search engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of practices you apply to websites to ensure search engines index and rank your website appropriately, showing it to users when relevant terms are searched. There are a number of practices that can each be implemented with the help of specialized tools. SEO is one of the more important processes in maintaining your business website online. It can be the difference between you showing up on the first page of search engine result pages or the 4ooth.
Elewayte offers an online guided digital marketing course to help you understand SEO and other digital marketing concepts better.
Create and publish quality content regularly
Content quantity and freshness are important factors in search engine indexing and ranking. Create a plan to publish quality articles and blog posts on your site and on other sites (backlinking to your site) regularly to stay relevant to both search engines and your website’s visitors.
Make use of webmaster tools
Install and make use of webmaster tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Bing Webmaster Tools to analyze data regarding website traffic and site performance. There are a number of metrics to track gaps and inconsistencies in your website’s performance and address them adequately.
Maintain your site
Your website, no matter how relevant and beautiful initially, will go stale if you do not implement a proper maintenance plan pertaining to your industry needs. Updating your website blog posts on current industry events, company news, and new products is key to maintaining your presence online.
Starting a business website is a low-cost investment that can help you establish relevance and credibility, reaching a wider range of customers than traditional marketing ever allowed for. Resources on web development are boundless and can get a little overwhelming. Elewayte’s online web development course can help make your learning easier, allowing you to focus on your business’ core competencies.
Feel free to reach Elewayte anytime for a consultation or to learn about this, or any of our other courses.
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