Originally posted on https://www.samsonwebdesign.co.uk/finally-a-small-business-website-youll-love-a-guide-to-website-creation/

 

When it comes to small businesses, you want to get as big of a reach as possible. The easiest way to do that is to go online and get yourself a website.

Up to 71 per cent of businesses today have a website. Staying in the remaining 29 per cent makes your company medieval. You need that exposure, and you can get it from the internet.

Do you want a small business website? Do you want to make a website but you’re not sure where to start? You’re in luck.

In this guide, we’ll teach you how to build a website step by step. From finding a host to setting your digital marketing, we have it here. You’d love to give our website creation guide at least a once over.

It all starts with a proper domain:

1. Pick a Domain Host and Domain Name

To start your business website, the first thing to look for is a domain host. A domain host handles your space, like “renting” real estate on the internet. This is where you store your site’s files and assign addresses to your files so people can find you.

Many domain hosts provide different types of service. When you make a website, the criteria for choosing a web host is:

• How much handholding you need
• How big your traffic is
• What systems fit your needs

Once you have your domain host, select the domain name or website URL that you want. We can make an entire article on the right way to pick your domain name, but there are a few takeaways.

When you build a website, you want something short, memorable and use keywords related to your industry.

2. Pick Your Content Management Platform

The second step that you take during website creation is to pick a content management system for your website. A CMS will handle all your code, content creation and editing.

The most famous choice when setting up a website is WordPress, with the most significant plugin support and compatibilities on the internet. The next best options include Squarespace, Wix, and Magento.

Once you’re ready, you would need to fill up fields that are vital to the website. Different CMS have different add-ons that can help you take care of the website. You don’t need them outright so you can move forward to the payment stage.

Complete your order, confirm through your email and login to your control panel. Install your CMS of choice and log into your admin area.

3. Start Your Web Design

Once you’re on the admin area, you would want to start your small business website design from here on out. You can pick between a few themes and work from there. You can also hire it out with a professional.

We recommend getting a professional web designer and SEO expert at this stage. While templates are useful, having your own design can help streamline your business. You want a small business website design that is unique to your business.

You want to make sure that you have a clear site structure. Businesses that are easy to navigate and have a logical structure can receive better traffic.

At the very least, a business website should have:

• a home page
• an about us
• contact us
• product pages

If you want to attract more traffic, you would want to consider a blog page when you make a website. This can help you air out your message and talk to your potential clients.

4. Start Adding Plugins

From this point forward, you would want to start adding plugins that can help you manage your website. If you hire a digital marketer, they will recommend a few things that can help make your time more manageable.

Some of the recommended plugins to build a website is a type of builder, SEO plugins like Yoast and All In One SEO and utility plugins.

Take note that the more plugins you add, the bigger the chances that your small business website design slows down. Make sure you also have security plugins to protect you from hacking and DDOS. If possible, add analytics plugins to help you track your site statistics.

5. Start Ranking Your Website

Setting up a website does not stop once your site is running. The next move you want is to start digital marketing to get your business to rank.

There are many techniques that you can use out there, including SEO and PPC advertising. You would want to start by populating your business website with content. Start keyword research and find the phrases that can give you visibility.

At the very least, your website creation should include the right media and video. You want to add proper page titles or phrases that identify your brand and industry.

Some Key Takeaways When You Build A Website

From this point, you would want to decide to do a few things. One thing you want is to create a sitemap to help Google index your pages.

When you make a website, integrate a responsive design from start to finish. Responsive design is useful when people are browsing from mobile. Small business website design should be mobile-ready to get better site traffic.

Add Google Map embeds to your contact us page and add your location. This will help show you up on Google’s local SEO and help customers navigate.

If you have timings, add your opening and closing schedule to help your customers who want to visit your brick and mortar business.

Build Your Small Business Website Now

When you make a website, you want to make sure that everything is correct from start to finish. Don’t skip a step and make sure your website is both appealing. It’s crucial that your small business website performs well.

If all of this is still overwhelming to you or you don’t have the time to start from scratch, there’s another way.

You need Samson Web Design to help you now.

From design, marketing to optimisation, you get expert service from start to finish. With over 10 years of experience, build a website that’s both functional and beautiful.

Talk to us and discover how a full-service agency can help.