If you are your local business owner having plumbing, construction, locksmith, or handyman business websites and looking for a Professional website this guide will help you to get the best website design in the local business market.
Here are 10 key steps to getting started and helping your small business website compete effectively in the online marketplace.
Small business needs a website. Here’s how to build
- Building a small business website is important to inform your audience, explain your value proposition, boost brand recognition and drive sales.
- To build a business website, you first need to choose a domain name and secure web hosting. Then, optimize your website to improve your search engine rankings and drive traffic.
- Keep your website up to date and optimized for mobile devices. Also, ensure your site speed is adequate to improve your search engine rankings.
1: Pick the right domain name for your site
Your domain name, also known as your website address, is often the entry point to your site. It is important that it makes a good impression for usability purposes, as well as for search engine optimization (SEO).
Many good things will happen if you pick the right domain name for your business. It will make it easier for your clients to find you and leave a good impression when they arrive.
Here are some tips for coming up with an optimal domain name:
Make it easy to spell. Try not to use slang, made-up, or extremely esoteric words.
Keep it as short as possible. The shorter it is, the easier it is to remember and type correctly.
Research the domain name. Google it to see if a similar website address already exists online, and search on USPTO.gov to make sure it does not contain any registered trademarks.
Create an SEO-friendly URL. When appropriate, try to come up with an SEO-friendly website address that includes keywords and geo-location.
2. Choose a secure and stable web host
You’ll need a host, which is a company that provides the servers, technology, and support required by your business website to be visible on the web. Because hosting your own website might be expensive for your operation, a hosting company will likely play a major role.
Some options for web hosting services include:
- Dream Host
- WPEngine
- A2 Hosting
3. Describe your business clearly
Visitors will immediately get confused if they visit your website and can’t tell what you do or maybe even who you are. It’s vital to let them know who you are and what your business does. Your website should have a separate section for business ideas so your customers can fully understand who you are and what your business is all about.
4. Find a good Content Management System
A Content Management System is a web application that will assist you in creating, editing, and managing your digital content. Different CMS have different features; but most will include content format management, web-based publishing, media library, and use, plugin, and many other functions.
A content management system (CMS) is a software program or application that is used to create and manage digital content. A good CMS will help you maintain your site, and you don’t need much technical knowledge to use it. You should choose a CMS that is designed for your unique needs; different systems are used for different reasons, such as user-friendliness, extensibility, and budget.
5. Optimize your website for search engines
Optimizing your website for search engines makes it easier for people to find it. Strongly optimizing your website for search engines also means you will rank high in search results.
To achieve strong search engine optimization, you should include:
- Fast loading speed
- Ideal website coding
- Security, with an SSL certificate
- Keyword implementation and search
- Mobile Optimization
6. Pick a good e-commerce platform
Choosing an e-commerce platform is not as easy as it might sound. You could hire a web developer to build your business website, but you may also choose an already developed e-commerce platform to save money and time. When you choose a platform, consider:
- Payment and pricing
- SEO friendliness
- Integrations
- Customer service
- Mobile-friendliness
- Scalability
7. Have an engaging website User Interface (UI)
The user interface is the amount of experience in using a website. Having a great UI can help your website turn visitors into buyers and entice them to explore your services or goods further.
Also, easy navigation and easy-to-use UI features will communicate that you know and understand your target audience and their needs. This makes visitors more comfortable and more content and should motivate them to engage with you in improving their general user experience.
8. Set up your payment system
While this step won’t apply to all business websites, companies that want to offer the option for customers to pay online will need to integrate electronic payment systems with their websites. The easiest way to do this is through e-commerce software or small business credit card processing solutions.
Many web hosts offer an in-house shopping cart or integration with e-commerce programs. Do some research to make sure you get a solution that’s easy to work with and flexible enough to meet your needs now and in the future.
9. Market your website on social media
Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Pinterest is the best way to increase your audience reach and alert customers to what’s going on with your company. Whenever you update your website, post about it on your social media outlets, but balance that with genuine, non-promotional engagement.
Also include links to your social media on your website. The most common places to do this are the footer or the ancillary bar (the extra menu in the top right that often holds login or contact links). Learn more about social media for business in our marketer’s guide.
10. Implement a website maintenance plan
Here are some tips to create a small business website maintenance plan:
- Check Webmaster Tools data at least once a month and have any vital errors emailed to you in real-time.
- Use traffic data to learn more about your audience so you can better cater to them.
- Use performance data to optimize and fix warnings and errors.
- Make sure all software is always up to date.
- Run security scans so you know your website is clean of malware and hasn’t been hacked.
- Find on-trend and effective ways to market your business online.
- Allow website users to provide you with feedback about your site.
- Make sure your website is backed up in multiple ways at least once a day and at least 10 days back.
Conclusion
As we can tell after reading this article, creating a great small business Professional website may not be as simple as you first thought. However, if you follow the steps set forth in this article, your small business will have an excellent chance of succeeding in the online marketplace.