How Should You Build Your Small Business Website?

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We have reached a point in time where having a website is no longer optional, even if you are just a small local business. There is a reason why Google has their business listings on top of all of the other results for localized searches:

People use their phones to find local businesses. That behavior has also created a new opportunity for businesses that are located in obscure locations – because now, people can actually find them.

Let’s take a look at all the important steps and aspects of creating a small business website that actually works.

How to build a small business website:

1. Define the purpose of your website.

Depending on where you fit into the supply chain, your websites can have different uses. It could be a lead generation tool, or an online catalog of products, an online shop, or just a way for people to learn more about your physical shop.

Identify the main goal of your website, and plan everything around achieving that goal.

2. Pick a domain name, and acquire hosting.

As more and more domains are registered, it becomes harder and harder to find a suitable dot com domain name. Fortunately, there are loads of other domain extensions you can explore.

Try to make the domain name as short as possible, yet as memorable as you can make it. When you market your brand, people will see your domain name on the promotional material. If it is easy to remember, it will “stick” in more people’s minds, which is exactly what you want.

If you get stuck, you can always try this domain name generator (which displays a number of options once you tell it what you need). Even if none of the options work for you, seeing them can inspire some more ideas. Remember to tell it as much as you can about your business first.

As far as hosting goes, we recommend that you stick with reputable companies. Larger, well known companies not only tend to have better security, but they usually have 24/7 support.

3. Pick the right platform to build it.

If you want to keep it simple, you could look at the professional version of a platform like Wix. However, take a good look at what you get for your package. Lower end packages on Wix do now allow for a lot of monthly visitors.

If you want to set up an online shop, you can go for Shopify. It is simple, and relatively flexible. You may need to install a few plugins to achieve certain functionalities, but it is something you can work with.

However, keep in mind that using any of these platforms means that you are subject to their terms of service and their selections of options, all of which can change at any given time.

You could have someone else build it using an AI tool like HighLevel, which builds stunning websites, but it comes at a price. Due to the high cost of using HighLevel ($299 per month), it isn’t a sensible choice for smaller businesses.

And if you ask a web developer who uses HighLevel to build your website, it will be on a platform you do not control, subject to the web developer paying their monthly subscription. If they go out of business or move on to doing something else…

Your website is gone. There is – at present – no way to export it from HighLevel.

If you can afford it, you can ask someone to write the code for the website from scratch. It doesn’t require any software updates, and it isn’t easy to hack. But it also means that you will not be able to make any change to your website yourself.

The most popular website building tool – for now – is WordPress. It comes as standard with any cpanel  hosting package, and there are literally thousands of templates, and thousands of plugins you can freely use for specific functionalities. And there are a boatload of paid plugins too, but most people don’t need them.

In fact, you can use WordPress to build anything from a single landing page to a massive online shop, a membership site, a directory or even a classified ads website, to name but a few.

The biggest upside of using WordPress is that you retain control over your website – as long as you specify that in your agreement with your web designer.

Also, if you ever want to move to a different host or even to a different domain, you can easily export your website using the Updraft backup plugin, and simply upload it into a clean WordPress installation on the other end.

The downside is that the WordPress core, plugins and templates – or themes as WordPress calls them, need to be updated from time to time. But this can be done from within your admin area with a few clicks. It can even be set to happen automatically.

4. Plan the structure of your website.

Every website should have a set of basic pages, before you add anything else:

Home, about, products or services, and contact us. Depending on what you offer, you may also need a page for certifications and accreditations.

Regardless of what you offer, these pages are non-negotiable.

Depending on what the aim of your website is, you may want to include a blog, a resources page or a knowledge base – but these are optional.

Also, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Over time, people have become used to how professional websites work – with clear navigation, and clearly marked menu items.

We have seen web designers try some weird and wonderful things in the past, and none of it ended well.

If your website visitor has to search to find something, they are gone. Along with whatever money they would have spent with you.

Also, include clear calls to action on every page – buttons that say “contact us”, or “shop now”, etc. However, do not add different calls to action close to one another. The more choices you offer your visitor, the less likely they are to take ANY action.

5. Keep your content clear, simple, and focused on your prospect.

Unless your typical client is a professional engineer or an academic, it is best to use simple wording. Don’t try to impress people with industry jargon. Instead, use simple words to show them you understand their situation, and you can help.

Focus on what your prospects want to know. Anything else just adds confusion or friction.

Remember to use short paragraphs, and clear headings and sub-headings.

For every bit of content on your website, ask yourself this: Does this bring a visitor closer to becoming a buyer? If not, go back to the drawing board.

6. Make your website look professional.

No, making it look professional doesn’t mean that you have to spend thousands on design, or overload your website with images – or turn it into a maze.

In fact, a professional website does the exact opposite – it makes everything appear simple, while providing all of the information that your prospective buyer would want at that stage of the conversation.

In addition to a clean layout, be consistent in your use of colors and plain, readable fonts.

Finally, most users will be visiting your website using their phones – so design for mobile first. On a phone screen, unnecessary elements can quickly amount to clutter, and even cause your website display to get messed up on some phones.

Not to mention that clutter is your enemy when your visitor is looking at your business on a tiny screen.

However, be sure to use photos that are of good enough quality to look good on desktop too.

7. Optimize your website to search engines.

There are some basic steps you can take to show Google who to show your website to:

a. In your content, use keyword phrases that people are likely to search for when they need to find you. If you work in specific areas, mention them in your content.

b. Use phrases with higher search volumes as headings and sub-headings.

c. Ensure that you have enough content on your website for Google to not only ascertain what it is about, but also to ascertain its quality.

d. If you have a blog, try to make as many of your blog posts about helpful topics. Google rewards helpful content.

e. Regardless of which platform you build it on, be sure to specify your meta tags – instructions for Google that clearly state your title and short description in the website’s code. Be sure to use wording that actually refers to the page content in the meta description.

f. Keep in mind that Google looks at the total user experience, so ensure that your website loads quickly. If it doesn’t, it will result in lower search rankings.
g. Finally, submit your site to Google’s Search Console. Depending on the search volumes and the amount of competition you face, you may also want to submit it to Bing’s webmaster tools.

8. Add trust elements.

There are some things that have proven to help establish trust among visitors to your website.

These include things like testimonials, certifications and accreditations, a phone number, and a physical address.

Social media links also help, especially if you post consistently.

9. Test and launch.

Before showing it to the world, ensure that any links, internal and external, actually work. Check the spelling of your content. A simple type can make you come across as unprofessional.

Next, test it on a phone and a tablet to see if it displays correctly. Finally, see how long it takes to load. The internet has made us impatient. If you don’t grab attention in 3 seconds, your visitor is gone. And if you waste those three seconds on a slow loading website…

They are gone before they even see it.

Also ask a few friends or employees to test it, and give you their feedback. However, keep in mind that if they don’t have the mindset of your typical client or customer, and so their expectations in terms of appearance may be different – and you cannot expect your web designer to jump through endless hoops to keep everyone happy..

 

10. Keep it updated.

There are two sides to this:

a. If you use WordPress, the website’s core software, plugins and themes need to be updated regularly. WordPress keeps evolving, and the plugins and themes need to be updated to keep functioning.

We suggest that you update this regularly, and even if you have it set to run automatic updates, be sure to check the site regularly to ensure everything is working properly.

It doesn’t happen often, but WordPress websites can break during updates, and they can also stop working or displaying correctly if some plugins or themes are not updated in time.

Also keep in mind that many of these updates, both to the core and the plugins and themes, are often done to improve security. The older a website becomes, the more likely it is that someone will be able to hack their way into it.

b. Google loves fresh content – that’s why it loves blogs. If you don’t have a blog, see if it is possible to make minor changes and improvements to your website from time to time. After each change, re-submit the altered pages to Google’s Search Console to notify them of the changes.

In conclusion:

Yes, creating a small business website is quite a bit of work. It’s not just about “making it look pretty”.

However, if you break it down into steps, it becomes more manageable. If you want to do it yourself, there are countless videos on Youtube that will help you through the learning curve.

Most small business owners, however, simply outsource it. The time required to learn and build often doesn’t make economic sense, so they simply pay someone to do it.

However, even if you do outsource it, try to ensure the steps above are followed.

You can start small, and simply add to it bit by bit over time. As your website grows, it will appear in search results for more and more keyword phrases, and its placement in those search results will improve over time.

But you have to start somewhere.

You may also want to read this blog post, about the ten basic things you need to have in place on your website.