Why And How To Create A Website For Small Businesses

Small business: How to start a website

Today, having a business goes hand in hand with having a website for the business. It is a great marketing tool to increase your business' outreach. Especially with most of the commercial activities going online, owing to the pandemic, the advantages of having a website are being realized, which has given a huge impetus to e-commerce.

Cyberspace is no longer dominated by billion-dollar companies and small businesses are mushrooming on it, giving a wider choice to consumers and receiving profitable returns. 

If you too are looking to exploit this opportunity and make headway with your business, then there is no better time than now. However, before going to the how’s of starting a website, let’s know the why’s.

Why start a website?

Engagement

• Engaging viewers with your content helps create leads for your business. Through your website, you can stimulate interest among your viewers, and it can prove to be an effective tool to pitch your products or services.

Outreach

• Starting a website will help you venture beyond a particular geographical location. The internet offers immense opportunities to expand your customer base and cater to them. 

Credibility

• Having a website dedicated to your business adds to its credibility in as much as the viewers can browse through the images, videos, content, and very importantly, the reviews of prior customers, thereby instilling a sense of confidence in your business. 

Convenience

• Apart from emanating information, a website entails tools for customers which can make their shopping experience smoother. Knowing about the availability of the products as well as a smooth payment gateway will add to the convenience of the customers and the functionality of the website. 

The above-mentioned attributes are as significant for a business as its core operation itself.

How to start a website?

The following pointers help understand how to start a website for your small business,

Choose a domain name

• Finding a relevant, contemporary, and tasteful domain name is an essential aspect of creating a website. It does not necessarily have to be suggestive of the website, but nonetheless, relevant to it. 
• The domain name will be associated with your business and would, therefore, require careful and meticulous consideration. 

Plan your website

• You should be clear as to what to include on and exclude from the website you have created. While some of the tools might accelerate your business, others might simply be adding on to your expenses. 
• Hence, see what suits the best interests of your business and plan it in a way to convey the best features of your website and business tersely, so as to garner interest and make a great first impression. 

Optimization

• Optimize the relevant keywords on your websites to appear on the front page of the search engine and consequently, host more traffic on the website created. 
• You can either conduct thorough research yourself or get this service from an SEO specialist. Other than SEO optimization, optimize your website in a way that could run well on both a desktop as well as a phone, thereby making it more accessible. 

Publish and advertise

• After you are done with creating and curating content for your website, decide on a date to launch it. However, start advertising and spreading the word on social media and many other platforms before the launch itself and create interest among the potential customers to make them look forward to the launch.
• You can choose to announce introductory offers for the same or incentivize by way of a giveaway or rewards, in order to get your first flow of traffic. 

These are some of the basic factors of venturing into cyberspace with your business. It is a very broad field that entails numerous features and tools that could suit your business. Therefore, once you create and launch a website, you can adjust it accordingly depending on the requirements of your business as well as your audience base.

Conclusion

Creating a website can be a one-time job, however, maintaining one is a continuous activity that goes parallelly with your business, hence, plan it effectively and get going!

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Frequently asked questions

1. How do I create my own website for my business?

• In order to get started, select a domain name first and claim it. Then, you can work on the design of the website and include elements ranging from templates to widgets and plugins. Lastly, add content and market your website well. 

2. How much does it cost to build a website for a small business?

• The costs associated with creating a website depend upon the individual requirements that impact the size and other factors of the website. You can save a great deal of money by creating the website yourself using website development applications. 

3. How to make a small business website?

• You might want to opt for a website development platform. Select your domain name and make sure to find a host as well, for enhanced convenience. Then, design your website as per your requirements and see what will resonate better with your target viewers. 

4. Can I alone make my business website?

• If you do not wish to engage the services of a professional website developer, then you may opt for building that website yourself. Choose an appropriate website building platform and remain up to date with its maintenance.

5. How much does it cost to start your own website?

• Although the figures vary with different demands and sizes of the website, a website should take around USD 100-200 to get created and then a monthly maintenance fee of half of the price to continue.