It is impossible to grow a business without an online presence these days. So unless you are a business owner who is not interested in expanding your business for the future, you definitely need to build a business website.
With the number of web development service businesses in the market today, building a business website or an e-commerce store has never been easier. Gone are the days when you had to learn to code in order to build and design a website. Nowadays, all it takes are these few simple steps – and a few dollars each month – to keep your website alive. However, with or without coding, building a website is no joke. Additionally, you may want yours to stand out from others, and as a beginner, you may need some extra help in building and getting the website up and running. Fortunately, you can get online help for all the things related to your website building such as blogs or even explanatory videos that can guide you on this topic. You can click here or visit other web pages that can provide you with video guides on how to build your website.
Step 1: Have a business plan
The first thing you need to do before you start a business website is to have a clear business plan. For example, if you were creating a bakery business plan you would use it to figure out how to bring more visitors to your physical store and answer questions such as: Do you plan on gaining more followers on your social media pages? Do you want to sell your products and services online? Whatever the primary goal of your website is, you need to be sure about it before you start building it. The idea is to focus on one thing at a time and align it with the goals of your business.
Step 2: Get a domain name
A domain name is a unique web address for your website. You can have a domain name that’s the same as your business name or you can use another text phrase if the domain name you want is already taken.
Tip: Some popular domain name providers are GoDaddy and NameCheap.
Step 3: Choose a web host
A web host is a server where all of your website data will be stored. If you are a small business owner, you can do well with a service that ranges from $10 to $50 per month. As the traffic to your website increases, you can scale your website to handle high traffic.
If you are unsure of which hosting platform to use, a bit of research should help. You could view informative videos on it or search for online guides that may give you all the help you need.
Tip: Some popular web hosting platforms are Hostgator and Bluehost.
Step 4: Choose a website builder
Before choosing a website builder, you need to be sure about the primary purpose of your website, which is why it is crucial to have a clear business plan. You also need to consider your growth options (eg: if you don’t currently sell anything online, will you consider selling products on your website in the future?). You need to make sure that the website builder you choose is capable of handling your needs as your business grows.
Tip: Some popular website builders are WordPress and Wix.
Step 5: Customize your website
Website builders have a number of website design templates that you can choose from. Most of them have drag-and-drop editors so you can just drag elements like images and text boxes wherever you want. While customizing your website, make sure that you do not go overboard with heavy designs and focus on colors and fonts that your business uses offline. Of course. it might be more effective for professionals to design your website. They can design attractive websites and they could even offer website maintenance services to make sure the website is still as effective. That could help the business to gain more website traffic,
Remember, having a website is not just about selling your products and services, it is also a way to build your reputation with potential customers. As you can see, following these five steps can set you on the right path to building a website in just a few hours and making your business ready for the future.