Why Create a Business Website?

A business website is a great way to advertise your company or explain what your organization is all about. When you start a business, you want to make sure that people know how to find you so that they can buy your products or engage with your services.

Unlike a social media page, a business website will show a bit about how the company was created and what makes you special. This is the place where you can go into a bit more detail about your business. So, learning how to create a business website is essential when first starting out.

How to Create a Business Website in Seven Easy Steps?

When learning how to create a business website, you should follow these seven steps:

1. Determine the primary purpose of the website

Before building your website, you have to determine its primary purpose. A business website can be for general information about your company or for selling your products/services.

Make sure you know exactly what you want to do with the website before creating it so that you can decide what information will be on your business website.

2. Decide your domain name

When creating a business website, you need to find a unique name that will work for your company. Ideally, your website should have the same name as your company or something close to your business name.

For example, if your company name is Lucy’s Flowers, your domain could be www.lucysflowers.com or lucyflower.com. Either of these is close to the business name and might be something people would search for if they are looking for your business.

You might find that the domain name you want for your business website has already been taken. If that is the case, you can become more creative with your domain name or check to see if the website is operational. If it is not operational, you might be able to buy the domain, but this could be expensive, so check your budget before deciding.

3. Pick a Web Host

When picking a web host for your business website, start off by looking at your budget and decide if you can afford to pay for the hosting. Web hosting companies such as Squarespace have different packages for different price ranges, which means you could get a package that caters to your budget and needs.

Web hosting companies also have pre-built website design templates that you can pick from. These templates are a great way to create a business website as it takes a lot of the guesswork out of the process. The templates have everything laid out; all you have to do is fill in your information.

It should also be pointed out that when you are looking into how to create a business website, you might find that steps 2 and 3 are combined. This is because some web hosting companies also provide an option to buy a domain or create a free website if your budget is tight. The free website, though, will have advertising for the web hosting company, so make sure this is really what you want before creating your business website.

4. Create Your Business Website Design

You can either hire a professional web designer or use the guidance of the web host’s templates if you are creating your own business website. If the latter is the case, you can choose a template that has the right type of pages (Home, About etc.) and a look that will work for your business.

When building your business website, make sure that the colour scheme and branding are the same as what you already have created for your business. The website should look like an extension of your brand and something that your customers or clients will be able to recognize as yours.

Related: All About Employer Branding

At a minimum, make sure to have the following pages:

• Home
• About
• Services/Products
• Contact Us

If you have the above pages on your business website, people who visit the site will know what they need to understand your business.

5. Add a Call to Action

A call to action is when a website has words such as “Learn More,” “Sign Up Now,” or “Contact Us” that connect with and yet stand out from the main content of the page. These words have links that will take the visitor to a corresponding page within your website. These are used to get the customer/client to interact with your website, which is a great way of maintaining their interest in your company.

Having a call to action on different pages will give customers a reason to stay on your business website and find out more or possibly buy something from your company. Making it easy for potential customers or clients to contact your business is a great way to gain new business, so calls to action should be applied to all business websites.

6. Set up Payment System/Scheduling System (if needed)

If your company sells products or services, you will need to add a payment system or online scheduling system to your business website. These types of systems are often offered within web hosting systems, so they could be an easy addition to your business website.

Having these systems set up before you launch your business website will mean that any new customers will be able to immediately buy your products or engage your services. This is essential for any company that wants to sell products as people are less likely to buy your products if they cannot pay for them immediately.

7. Test and Launch Your Business Website

The last step in creating your business website is to test the website. While testing, you should ensure that all the pages have the correct information and can load on both a computer and a cellphone.

You should also ensure that any links or calls to action also take the visitor to the correct page so that customers are given the best possible experience on your business website. Once you’ve checked everything, you can launch your website, making it available to the public.

What to do Once You’re Done Creating Your Business Website?

Once you’ve finished creating your business website, the next step is to market your website on all your social media accounts. To do this, you can create an eye-catching post that will show your existing customers a few features of your website.

For example, take a few screenshots or use the photos you used for the website to show your followers what you’ve created. Also, remember to link your new business website to all your accounts so people can find it easily.

Make sure to also maintain your website so that information is always accurate and the pages are always running smoothly. You might want to go through your website as a visitor every once in a while to ensure that the customer experience continues to be excellent.

Finally, if you have the money, you can hire a search engine optimization (SEO) specialist to help you gain more traction. An SEO specialist can go through your website and suggest ways in which it can be optimized to gain more visitors. This is a great way to increase your business’s visibility and increase your revenue.

Though it can be daunting when first looking into how to create a business website, the above steps should make it a bit easier. 

Related: 10 Steps to Starting a Business (With FAQs and Answers)