Small business owners usually struggle with capturing clients because their reach is nominal. What they need is a website to expand their reach and mark their presence over the internet. To get started, you need to familiarise yourself with how to make a website for a small business.
There are a lot of decisions to make when you are starting a small business. One of the most important is how you will present your business to the world. Creating a website can be a great way to reach new customers and promote your products or services online.
This guide will help you know how to make a website for a business and what will be its cost. Also, we will provide you with tips on what should be included on a small business website. So whether you are just starting out or you have been in business for a while, this guide has something for you!
How Can I Create a Website for My Business?
There are many different ways to create a website, but it can be difficult to know which is best for you. The type of website you select will depend on your needs and goals. Here is a step-by-step guide on making a website for your small business to make things easier for you.
1. Decide on your Goals
Before you start making your small business website, decide on your goals. What do you want your website to achieve? Are you looking to sell products or services online? Or simply want to promote your business and attract new customers? Once you know what you want your site to accomplish, you can begin planning your content and design.
2. Choose a Domain Name
A domain name is the part of your website address that comes after the ‘http: //’ part. It is a unique name that identifies websites or web pages on the internet. Your domain name should be reflective of your business and easy for customers to remember. Avoid using numbers or hyphens, and try to keep it short.
A domain name is one of the essential parts of your business, so you should always be aware of the availability of the domain name that you want to use. After selecting the domain name, you need to register it. The registration is done through a registrar such as Domain.com, GoDaddy, and others.
3. Find a Web hosting Service
The next step in making a small business website is finding a reliable web hosting service. A web hosting service is a provider of the computer infrastructure and the related technology and services required to host a website or a web application on the World Wide Web. Although there are a number of different web hosting providers and numerous terms are used, web hosting services are typically classified into two broad categories: shared web hosting and dedicated web hosting.
There are different options to choose from, but it’s better to hire a web development company that offers web hosting.
4. Choose the Best CMS (Content Management System)
Choosing a content management system is important when making a small business website. It is a website platform that makes it easier for publishers to manage and update content. Content management systems make it easy to create web pages; add, delete and change content; and publish pages to the web with a minimum amount of technical knowledge.
You must choose a CMS system tailored to your unique business needs. If you have selected Bluehost as a web hosting service, you can easily install the WordPress software as Bluehost offers one-click WordPress installation. If you don’t like WordPress, go for other content management systems like Joomla, Drupal, or Squarespace to make your small business website.
In WordPress, you can also add e-commerce functionality by using plugins to sell your products and services online. However, WordPress is not made for e-commerce. If you want the best small business e-commerce platform, go for WooCommerce or Shopify.
5. Pick the Right Theme or Template
After choosing the CMS, it is time to pick the right template for your business website. This will be the start of your design. It is a lot of fun to choose a template and think about what your website could look like.
On WordPress, you can find tons of themes or templates. Many themes are free to use, whereas many are premium themes that you have to purchase. It is suggested to go for premium business themes to ensure a top-notch online presence.
6. Add Content
The next step in making a website for your small business is adding content. This may include your business’s mission statement, products and services, contact information, and more. Keep your material fresh and relevant to keep users coming back.
7. Optimize your Site for Search Engines
SEO is quite important for any website’s success. It helps businesses to rank higher in search engine results, which leads to increased traffic and brand awareness. By optimizing your website and content for SEO, you can reach a larger audience and achieve your business goals.
Use target keywords throughout your website and add metadata to help improve your site’s ranking on search engine results pages.
8. Promote your Website
Once your website is up and running, promote it in your marketing materials and on social media channels and business cards. Use the power of word-of-mouth marketing by encouraging satisfied customers to recommend your business to their friends and family.
9. Measure your Results
Use analytics tools to determine how many visitors your site is receiving and what they are doing once they get there. This can help you determine which content is most effective and how to improve your website’s design and user experience.
10. Make Changes as Needed
As your business grows, you may need to make changes to your website. Be sure to test new designs and content before making them live, and always keep your goals in mind when making updates.
Regularly adding new content, whether it is blog posts, product information, or photos and videos, will help keep your visitors coming back. And always stay active on social media to promote your website and keep your customers engaged.
By following all these steps, you can easily make a website for your small business that will help you in achieving your goals. And with a little promotion and regular updates, you can keep your site fresh and attract new visitors.
How Much Does It Cost to Have a Website For a Small Business?
How much does it cost to make a website for a small business? While there is no one-size-fits-all answer, typically, you can expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Of course, the best way to get an accurate estimate is to contact a web development company and discuss your specific needs.
In general, a simple website could cost as little as $1000. However, if you need an advanced SEO-friendly site with e-commerce capabilities and a custom design, you could be looking at $10,000 or $20,000 or even more. So, it really depends on what you are looking for.
Before allocating a budget for your website, consider the following key factors. These will affect the overall price of your website.
- One of the most significant factors is the size and complexity of your website. A more complex site with more features and functionality will naturally cost more to build than a simpler site.
- Another important factor is how much design work is required. If you already have a design in mind, it will save money, but if the designers need to start from scratch, that will add to the final bill.
- The cost of web development also depends on how much coding and programming is needed. If your site is mainly static with just a few pages, you won’t need as much work done compared to if you are building a dynamic, data-driven site.
- Finally, the ongoing costs of maintaining and hosting your website will also play a role in how much it costs to make a website for your small business. These costs can vary widely depending on the hosting company you choose and the features and functionality of your site.
However, if you have just started a business and don’t have enough money, you can create a website for your business for free with a website builder.
What Should a Small Business Website Include?
You may be thinking about how to make a small business website that will help you stand out against your competitors and attract new clients. Luckily, there are some key features that every website for small businesses should have in order to be successful.
Information about the Business
The most important thing to include when making a small business website is clear and concise information about your business. This should include an overview of what you do, who you are, as well as details about your products or services. Customers should be able to easily find this information on your website and understand what your business does.
Also, contact information is a must. This should include your business’s phone number, email address, and physical address (if you have one). Customers should be able to reach you easily if they have any questions or want to place an order. A contact form is the best way to do this, as it allows you to collect all the required information in one place.
A Responsive Design
When making a small business website, make sure it has a responsive design. In today’s world, it is necessary that your website looks good and functions properly on all devices. That’s why a responsive design, which automatically adjusts the site’s layout for optimal viewing on any screen size, is essential.
Intuitive Navigation
Navigation is one of the most important aspects of your website, as it allows visitors to easily and quickly find the information they are looking for. Make sure your menus are easy to understand and use and that all links lead to where they are supposed to go. In short, your website must have a user-friendly design to make it easy for visitors to move from one page to another.
Fast Page Loading Times
No one likes to wait long for a slow website to load, so when making a website for your small business, it is important to make sure your pages load quickly. This is especially important if you want people to stay on your site and explore all your content.
The average person will lose their patience if a web page takes more than three seconds to load. In order to create an effective and efficient loading time, you should use caching plugins for your site’s pages so that they can load quickly.
Compelling Website Content
Your website should be packed with interesting and valuable content, ranging from articles and blog posts to images and videos. All the articles must be well-written, informative, and relevant to your business. Also, it should be updated regularly. This will keep users coming back for more, and it will also help you attract new visitors through search engines.
A Strong Branding Presence
When making a small business website, make sure it has a strong branding presence. Your website should reflect your brand and its unique personality. Use the same fonts, colours, and design elements on your website as you do in all your other marketing materials, and make sure your logo is prominently displayed.
Search Engine Optimization
If you want people to find your site easily, you need to optimize it for search engines. That means using the right keywords and phrases and ensuring your content is relevant to what people are searching for.
Social Media Integration
Social media is a great way to connect with potential and current customers, so it is important to include links to your social media pages on your website. This way, visitors can easily follow you and stay up-to-date on your latest news and updates. Also, social media integration will allow users to share your content with their friends and followers, and that will help you build a larger audience.
A Call to Action
A call to action (or CTA) is a statement or button that encourages visitors to take a specific next step, such as subscribing to your newsletter or making a purchase. Make sure your CTAs are clear, concise, and visible so that visitors know what to do.
What are the 3 Types of Websites?
These are three types of websites:
1. Static Website
A static website is one that has fixed content and is built using HTML and CSS codes. Static websites are the most basic type of websites and are typically used only for informational purposes. If you want to make a small business website based on a couple of pages and for informational purposes only, a static website is ideal.
Static websites are popular because they are easy to create and maintain – you simply create an HTML document, save it to your web server, and you are done. There is no need for any special software or programming knowledge, and you don’t have to worry about keeping your site up-to-date. But when you need that, you have to update it manually.
2. Dynamic Website
A dynamic website is more complex than a static website and allows for more user interaction. Dynamic websites are typically built using programming languages such as PHP or ASP. It is a site that is continuously changing and evolving. New content is added regularly, and the site design may also change over time. A dynamic site may be generated by a content management system (CMS) like WordPress and Joomla.
3. E-commerce Website
E-commerce websites are online storefronts that allow businesses to sell products and services directly to consumers over the internet. These websites can be used to sell physical goods, digital goods, or services.
E-commerce websites are typically built on a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce, allowing businesses to create a custom online store without hiring a web developer. These platforms provide templates and tools to make it easy for businesses to add products, set up payment processing, and manage orders.
Can I Host My Own Website?
Yes, you can host your own website, but along with its advantages, there are several disadvantages and limitations as well.
You can either use your Windows PC or a Linux machine to host your website locally. For a Windows PC, you will need a WampServer (Windows, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) to get started. But for a Linux machine, install LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) software to get things going.
Hosting your own website requires more technical knowledge, effort, and resources, but gives you more control over your website and its security. Using a web hosting service is easy, but it gives up some control to the hosting company.
Conclusion
A small business website can be an important asset for a company, whether it sells products or services online, provides information about the company, or simply serves as an online presence. When making a website for a small business, there are many things to consider, from design and content to functionality and SEO. The cost of having a website created can vary depending on the complexity of the project and the level of service required, but there are some basic elements that all small business websites should include.
If you are thinking about making a website for your small business, our team at Presseo would be happy to help. We have years of expertise developing and designing effective and affordable websites for small businesses that help them succeed online. Contact Presseo today to get a quote for your first website.
