If you are a business operating, or planning to operate, in the 21st Century, then it is absolutely vital that you have a web presence in some way. Some businesses choose to live by word of mouth, with their web presence coming from things such as a TripAdvisor review, but ultimately the best presence comes from having your own business website. Below we look at some of the top tips for building a website for your business.
1. Consider a cost-effective solution
Whether you are a standalone e-commerce website or are simply planning to build a website on the side, it is crucial to have some form of business live. This used to be an expensive and long process, with businesses relying on developers who would build the website from code.
New, cost-effective alternatives such as WordPress and Joomla now dominate the website building market as not only are they cost-effective, but they are also extremely user friendly. This means that you could design the whole thing from scratch yourself. Alternatively, you could have someone else set up the website, but you will be able to manage it from there-on-in without having to rely on the same developers or their code.
2. It will take time to build up
Remember that Rome was not built in a day! You cannot expect to have your website perfect and on page one of Google straight away, no matter how much money you throw at it. Accept that it will take time to build up your business website through layers of content, keywords, backlinks, and various other Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tactics.
So when building a website for your business, ensure that you keep SEO in mind!
3. But ensure that you still give it time
While it may be frustrating that it may take a little time and effort to really get your website where you want it to be, it is worth it further down the line. Ensure you regularly keep it running smoothly, updated with the latest features or products, and keep publishing new content to not only help with SEO, but also to keep your readers interested.
4. Think about UX and UI along the way
Remember who you are building your new business website for. While it is, of course, to help with your web presence and, ultimately, sales, it is important to remember that it will be your customers who are using it.
UX and UI refers to user experience and user interface design, and measures how well a customer is able to use and navigate your website. The easier the experience, the more likely it is that you will have a converted customer. This will also help with SEO too, so it is a win-win for your new business website.
Some top tips for UI and UX include having easy-to-use plugins, keeping pages minimalistic and easy to scan, and having a quick-to-find contact form.
5. Make it crystal clear to your customers
It seems obvious, but leading on from the previous point, ensure that the message to your customers is crystal clear. When building a website for your business it will feel a little like a playground, and it can be tempting to throw in as many features, plugins, add-ons, and articles as possible.
But the key is to keep everything consistent, clear, streamlined, and necessary. Your customer should know exactly what it is that your business does, how it does it, and how they can get involved with it.
6. Remember the legal side of things
This is the less glamourous side of website building, but is still necessary nonetheless. Don’t forget to include all necessary legal requirements in your website to save yourself from any future hassle further down the line.
This includes having things such as a copyright statement and a terms and conditions statement on your website. You should only using copyright free or creative commons licensed images throughout from websites such as Unsplash or Pexels.
Have fun building your new website!
The top tips that we have provided above are just some of the factors to consider when it comes to building a new website for your business. Remember that it will take a little patience and dedication, but having an effective web presence online can do wonders for both your business and the relationship that you have with your customers.
