10 Tips for Building Your First Business Website
Having a professional website is important for pretty much every business. Getting started can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Are you ready for your first business website, but don’t know how to get started? Here are a few tips to get started:
1. Have a clear goal!
If you want your business to serve a certain purpose then you need to build it around that purpose. Trying to build a website without a clear goal will only waste you money and time (and your designer’s time).
2. State your purpose clearly.
Tell customers what you can do for them. Be precise, because your visitors won’t spend a lot of time reading through pages and pages of content just to figure out what your purpose is.
3. Use Call to Actions!
Another way to make your goals very clear to visitors is to utilize calls to action. Do you want them to sign up for your newsletter? If so, add a form on your main page. Do you want them to shop through your new products? Then tell them that.
4. Own your domain name and choose a reliable web host.
There is nothing more professional looking that a .com, .net, .org, etc. (as opposed to a website.wordpress.com). There are also plenty of different web hosts to pick from. Bluehost and Hostgator are two that I use.
5. Plan out your sitemap.
Figure out what you want your site map to look like before building or hiring someone to build your site. Your may choose to go with a few basic pages (About us, Services, etc.) or maybe you want multiple pages to discuss your different services. These are all things to consider BEFORE building your website.
6. Consider future growth.
Where do you picture your business in the next year or two? If you expect to grow quickly then think carefully before choosing platforms like Wix. If you end up outgrowing your platform then transferring all you site content will be a pain.
7. Seek out some inspiration and narrow your design direction down.
This can help you figure out what you’re looking for in a website as well as help your web designer narrow down what you are looking for in your website design.
8. Make sure your customers know your face.
Many new business want to seem a lot bigger than they really are, but that’s not always beneficial. Customers like to know who they are working with so consider including a photo of yourself or your team.
9. Make sure your website is responsive (mobile ready).
But no matter what type of content you decide to include on your website, make sure that the site itself is responsive (mobile friendly). Having a site that isn’t mobile optimized can drive away customers, hurt your SEO and look unprofessional.
10. Make changes as you go.
A live website is never complete. Continue adding elements to your website as you go along, keeping you customers/clients needs in mind.
If you are ready to launch your first business website and are in need of assistance, contact The StartUp Pro for your free consultation!