How to Make a Website for Your Business
Formulate a vision for your online presence., Look at the websites of your competitors and other popular businesses., Sketch out your website., Arrange the layout of your content in an easy to follow format., Get help from a designer and developer...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Formulate a vision for your online presence.
Having a website for your business is crucial.
Whether you have a large company that sells lots of merchandise, and you need an Ecommerce component, or you’re a small entrepreneur who sells items from your home.
A business website promotes your company and allows customers a way to engage with you.
Before you can build your website, decide what purpose it will serve.
Ask, then answer the question: "What am I selling?" You may be selling products that are also in physical stores, online only, or a service you provide.
The primary product you sell should be what your website displays most prominently.
People stay on web pages for an average of 15 seconds.
You need to capture attention right away.
Showcase your product as soon as your site page loads.
If you sell clothing or furniture, consider placing a large slider towards the top of the homepage that showcases some of your best products.
If you sell a service like construction and repair, or have a restaurant, consider a large image at the top that shows viewers what to expect from coming to you.Think like your customer.
Ask yourself what you would hope to find from coming to a site like your's.
Provide those solutions as soon as you can on your homepage. -
Step 2: Look at the websites of your competitors and other popular businesses.
If you are making your own business website, chances are you provide somewhat of a niche service, but you can take inspiration from larger companies’ sites.
Say you have a small design studio where you make and refurbish furniture.
Look at the sites of larger, national companies to see how those sites look and operate.
What kind of products are featured, how are the home pages are laid out, and are these sites easy to navigate? Do these sites make it easy to find what you are looking for? Do they provide you with an enticing experience? Pick out an item on another site and start making the steps to buying it.
Take notes on how the checkout process works (You don’t actually have to buy anything).
Write down your impressions.
Consider making two columns.
One for aspects you liked, and one for those you didn't. , Before you jump into actually making your website online, you want to create a wireframe.
Wireframes are simple sketches of your site layout that let you define the information hierarchy of your site.
You can make wireframes using specific apps like InDesign or Balsamiq Mockups, using shapes in a word application like Microsoft Word, or simply sketch on paper. , Look back at the other websites you’ve visited and think about what worked and didn’t work.
You probably want an easy to see navigation bar at the top of your screen.
A navigation bar will allow visitors to go to different pages of interest with ease.
Links to products, different categories or services, an about section, and some contact information is useful.
Think about including a nice header image above your nav bar.
This is a featured graphic that showcases your products and provides a lifestyle image.
Below your navigation bar is the body of your page.
This might include products in a grid, and some information about your company.
At the bottom of your page is a footer.
This will include links to other pages like about or contact pages.
You might want to include a map that shows where your business is located.
A FAQ section, Terms of Use, and social media links.
While it’s a bit of a daunting process, you should sketch out the design of each of your pages.
The site I ♥ wirefames has tons of examples that can give you inspiration.As a general rule, put the most important information at the top and left of your site.
English readers read left to right and top to bottom.
When someone is scanning your page you want to provide the most pertinent info or products toward the top and left. , You can design and build your website fairly easily without having to involve much code.
However, hiring someone or asking a friend who knows how to build websites can really help you create a functional and great looking site.
If you’re not computer savvy, having a professional help you build out your design can help your business.
The quality of design and functionality can mean the difference between a clunky site that people have a hard time using, and a site that generates sales. , Now that you know the purpose of your website and its general layout, it’s time to buy a domain name and hosting service.
A domain registrar is a service that allows you to own your site’s name and web address, and hosts your files on a secure server.There are plenty of services that offer a hosting service as well as tools to help you build a website.
Different services will be better for your needs depending on how comprehensive your site will be.
If you have a small business, a VPS (virtual private server) gives you more resources and can store data more efficiently than a shared server.Don’t just go for the cheapest service.
Sometimes more expensive services offer add-ons like website builders and third-party shopping cart plugins.
Plugins can help you make a nice, operational site.
Additionally, If you skimp on a service, you may encounter problems with your site crashing.
Cheap services can contribute to long loading times, especially when there are a lot of visitors to your site. , You want to make your domain name something that’s not only easy to remember but easy to type.
Keep your domain name short.
Not only does a short name make it easy to remember, but it also makes it easy to type into a browser on any device.
Include a keyword that will help people find your site when searching for a particular product or service.
Say you make and sell furniture, try combining your company name with the words “furniture” or “design”.
If you already use those words in your company’s name, you’re on the right track.
Avoid numbers, hyphens, and hyperbole.
Adjectives like “best” or “top” in your domain name make it sound fake and unreliable. , A website builder, publishing platform, or CMS (content management system) are invaluable tools to build a website.
You want a site that not only looks great and functions well, but which you can easily manage the content of.
There are several platforms that range in capability and ease of use.
Squarespace is an all-in-one platform that lets you build a responsive site (meaning the site works on any size screen).
You can drag and drop elements to your page layout, and host your site directly on Squarespace servers.
In addition, there are features that let you optimize your search engine rankings, and host your online store.
This site is geared more towards creative jobs such as photographers, designers, and writers.
Weebly is another option similar to Squarespace.
Weebly lets you drag and drop to design how your site looks.
There's also a toolbar to incorporate ecommerce elements, videos, and more.
Weebly is a pretty intuitive platform that gives you a solid amount of freedom when designing the look of your site.
It also has a good depth of navigation, allowing you as many drop-down menus and categories as you need.
Drop-downs and categories are useful if you are selling a lot of products.Wix is another option which lets you build a site quickly.
With a drag and drop style, plugins, and templates, Wix is very user-friendly.
You can purchase a personalized domain name directly from your editor and host on Wix's servers.
This builder is great for portfolios.
Wordpress is the most comprehensive CMS that’s full of themes, plugins, and customization options.
If you are more familiar with coding, Wordpress is a good option as most themes let you edit the code.
Depending on your technical ability, Wordpress allows you to build comprehensive websites that let you customize every detail down to the font.
You can purchase themes and install plugins into your site to customize it.
Ecommerce plugins let you set up your site for online purchases, and customize the checkout process.
To really get the most out of Wordpress for your business, you will need the premium option. , Your customer has come to your website for a specific reason.
You want to make it as easy as possible for your customer to navigate your site.
Put your popular products towards the top of your pages.
Include easy to spot buttons so customers can add items to a shopping cart or see more information.
If you provide a service, outline what your service is.
Provide a video and photos of your work.
Include links or buttons to take visitors to pages that will provide further information.
Consider a page or form that lets people easily request a service. , Putting too much on a page and adding too many colors, illustrations, or pictures can hinder your site.
Elements that don’t have a function will not only slow your site down, but frustrate people.
Your business site is here to earn you money and give customers the easiest access to your products and services.
Stick to two or three colors.
If you display your products in a grid, don’t make the background too busy or distracting.
Think of a products page like a wall in a store.
You want to showcase the products, the walls and shelves are just there to hold the products up.
Perhaps you don't sell much, but provide a service like a barbershop.
You don’t sell many products, but you need your website to book appointments and give viewers useful information.
Think about including a video showcasing your shop and skills.
Give viewers pricing tiers, and store hours towards the top of your site.
Include a way for people to book appointments right on your homepage.
Most site builders have plugins which perform these functions. , Create separate pages full of content for each product or type of product you sell.
Use keywords in your descriptions that readers might type in a search bar when looking for that particular product, or information on it.
When selling a product, you want to provide useful information to your customers early.
Explain what the product is made of, its purpose, and why your’s is different from all the other products out there.
When providing a service, include a description of what a customer will receive when purchasing your service.
Explain pricing and pricing tiers. , Page titles are sometimes used at the top of a page, especially on sites that sell many products.
Titles will also show up in your navigation bar.
A page title should simply tell viewers what is on that page.
If you sell clothes on your site, your page titles can be as simple as what item is clothing is on that page.
If you have a page that showcases jeans, title that page "Jeans".
If you have a sales or discounts page, title that page “Sales”.
If you provide a service, title your page with what that service is.
If you repair AC units, then title the page that that provides information about AC repairs, “AC Unit Repair and Service”. , Make more web pages for each new product that you carry or service you provide.
Be sure to include text and images on those pages describing the product or service.
Use words that people would likely use if they were searching online.
Update your web pages often.
Add more information as needed.
Update your product photos.
You may even have to delete pages that are no longer applicable.
Avoid having web pages that only contain pictures.
You should have some text that provides context to the page. , Add links to your other pages.
When referencing your home page, use keywords that you want your home page to be found by.
Instead of just saying "home page" try and include your company's name.
Add social media links and share content from your website to your social pages.
For example, in your about page, link to your homepage when using your company's name.
When discussing what kind of products or services you provide, link to those pages.
Consider adding a blogging component.
Having a blog on your site is great for engaging with customers and building your search engine optimization.
You can provide links to your pages, keep people up to date on new items or services, and share content. -
Step 3: Sketch out your website.
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Step 4: Arrange the layout of your content in an easy to follow format.
-
Step 5: Get help from a designer and developer.
-
Step 6: Register your domain name.
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Step 7: Buy a domain name that uses the name of your business or includes the keywords someone would use to find your primary product or service.
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Step 8: Pick a publishing platform.
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Step 9: Think like your customer.
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Step 10: Focus on making your site look neat and easy to navigate.
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Step 11: Create detailed product descriptions.
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Step 12: Create simple
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Step 13: descriptive page titles.
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Step 14: Expand or edit your site when needed.
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Step 15: Incorporate SEO.
Detailed Guide
Having a website for your business is crucial.
Whether you have a large company that sells lots of merchandise, and you need an Ecommerce component, or you’re a small entrepreneur who sells items from your home.
A business website promotes your company and allows customers a way to engage with you.
Before you can build your website, decide what purpose it will serve.
Ask, then answer the question: "What am I selling?" You may be selling products that are also in physical stores, online only, or a service you provide.
The primary product you sell should be what your website displays most prominently.
People stay on web pages for an average of 15 seconds.
You need to capture attention right away.
Showcase your product as soon as your site page loads.
If you sell clothing or furniture, consider placing a large slider towards the top of the homepage that showcases some of your best products.
If you sell a service like construction and repair, or have a restaurant, consider a large image at the top that shows viewers what to expect from coming to you.Think like your customer.
Ask yourself what you would hope to find from coming to a site like your's.
Provide those solutions as soon as you can on your homepage.
If you are making your own business website, chances are you provide somewhat of a niche service, but you can take inspiration from larger companies’ sites.
Say you have a small design studio where you make and refurbish furniture.
Look at the sites of larger, national companies to see how those sites look and operate.
What kind of products are featured, how are the home pages are laid out, and are these sites easy to navigate? Do these sites make it easy to find what you are looking for? Do they provide you with an enticing experience? Pick out an item on another site and start making the steps to buying it.
Take notes on how the checkout process works (You don’t actually have to buy anything).
Write down your impressions.
Consider making two columns.
One for aspects you liked, and one for those you didn't. , Before you jump into actually making your website online, you want to create a wireframe.
Wireframes are simple sketches of your site layout that let you define the information hierarchy of your site.
You can make wireframes using specific apps like InDesign or Balsamiq Mockups, using shapes in a word application like Microsoft Word, or simply sketch on paper. , Look back at the other websites you’ve visited and think about what worked and didn’t work.
You probably want an easy to see navigation bar at the top of your screen.
A navigation bar will allow visitors to go to different pages of interest with ease.
Links to products, different categories or services, an about section, and some contact information is useful.
Think about including a nice header image above your nav bar.
This is a featured graphic that showcases your products and provides a lifestyle image.
Below your navigation bar is the body of your page.
This might include products in a grid, and some information about your company.
At the bottom of your page is a footer.
This will include links to other pages like about or contact pages.
You might want to include a map that shows where your business is located.
A FAQ section, Terms of Use, and social media links.
While it’s a bit of a daunting process, you should sketch out the design of each of your pages.
The site I ♥ wirefames has tons of examples that can give you inspiration.As a general rule, put the most important information at the top and left of your site.
English readers read left to right and top to bottom.
When someone is scanning your page you want to provide the most pertinent info or products toward the top and left. , You can design and build your website fairly easily without having to involve much code.
However, hiring someone or asking a friend who knows how to build websites can really help you create a functional and great looking site.
If you’re not computer savvy, having a professional help you build out your design can help your business.
The quality of design and functionality can mean the difference between a clunky site that people have a hard time using, and a site that generates sales. , Now that you know the purpose of your website and its general layout, it’s time to buy a domain name and hosting service.
A domain registrar is a service that allows you to own your site’s name and web address, and hosts your files on a secure server.There are plenty of services that offer a hosting service as well as tools to help you build a website.
Different services will be better for your needs depending on how comprehensive your site will be.
If you have a small business, a VPS (virtual private server) gives you more resources and can store data more efficiently than a shared server.Don’t just go for the cheapest service.
Sometimes more expensive services offer add-ons like website builders and third-party shopping cart plugins.
Plugins can help you make a nice, operational site.
Additionally, If you skimp on a service, you may encounter problems with your site crashing.
Cheap services can contribute to long loading times, especially when there are a lot of visitors to your site. , You want to make your domain name something that’s not only easy to remember but easy to type.
Keep your domain name short.
Not only does a short name make it easy to remember, but it also makes it easy to type into a browser on any device.
Include a keyword that will help people find your site when searching for a particular product or service.
Say you make and sell furniture, try combining your company name with the words “furniture” or “design”.
If you already use those words in your company’s name, you’re on the right track.
Avoid numbers, hyphens, and hyperbole.
Adjectives like “best” or “top” in your domain name make it sound fake and unreliable. , A website builder, publishing platform, or CMS (content management system) are invaluable tools to build a website.
You want a site that not only looks great and functions well, but which you can easily manage the content of.
There are several platforms that range in capability and ease of use.
Squarespace is an all-in-one platform that lets you build a responsive site (meaning the site works on any size screen).
You can drag and drop elements to your page layout, and host your site directly on Squarespace servers.
In addition, there are features that let you optimize your search engine rankings, and host your online store.
This site is geared more towards creative jobs such as photographers, designers, and writers.
Weebly is another option similar to Squarespace.
Weebly lets you drag and drop to design how your site looks.
There's also a toolbar to incorporate ecommerce elements, videos, and more.
Weebly is a pretty intuitive platform that gives you a solid amount of freedom when designing the look of your site.
It also has a good depth of navigation, allowing you as many drop-down menus and categories as you need.
Drop-downs and categories are useful if you are selling a lot of products.Wix is another option which lets you build a site quickly.
With a drag and drop style, plugins, and templates, Wix is very user-friendly.
You can purchase a personalized domain name directly from your editor and host on Wix's servers.
This builder is great for portfolios.
Wordpress is the most comprehensive CMS that’s full of themes, plugins, and customization options.
If you are more familiar with coding, Wordpress is a good option as most themes let you edit the code.
Depending on your technical ability, Wordpress allows you to build comprehensive websites that let you customize every detail down to the font.
You can purchase themes and install plugins into your site to customize it.
Ecommerce plugins let you set up your site for online purchases, and customize the checkout process.
To really get the most out of Wordpress for your business, you will need the premium option. , Your customer has come to your website for a specific reason.
You want to make it as easy as possible for your customer to navigate your site.
Put your popular products towards the top of your pages.
Include easy to spot buttons so customers can add items to a shopping cart or see more information.
If you provide a service, outline what your service is.
Provide a video and photos of your work.
Include links or buttons to take visitors to pages that will provide further information.
Consider a page or form that lets people easily request a service. , Putting too much on a page and adding too many colors, illustrations, or pictures can hinder your site.
Elements that don’t have a function will not only slow your site down, but frustrate people.
Your business site is here to earn you money and give customers the easiest access to your products and services.
Stick to two or three colors.
If you display your products in a grid, don’t make the background too busy or distracting.
Think of a products page like a wall in a store.
You want to showcase the products, the walls and shelves are just there to hold the products up.
Perhaps you don't sell much, but provide a service like a barbershop.
You don’t sell many products, but you need your website to book appointments and give viewers useful information.
Think about including a video showcasing your shop and skills.
Give viewers pricing tiers, and store hours towards the top of your site.
Include a way for people to book appointments right on your homepage.
Most site builders have plugins which perform these functions. , Create separate pages full of content for each product or type of product you sell.
Use keywords in your descriptions that readers might type in a search bar when looking for that particular product, or information on it.
When selling a product, you want to provide useful information to your customers early.
Explain what the product is made of, its purpose, and why your’s is different from all the other products out there.
When providing a service, include a description of what a customer will receive when purchasing your service.
Explain pricing and pricing tiers. , Page titles are sometimes used at the top of a page, especially on sites that sell many products.
Titles will also show up in your navigation bar.
A page title should simply tell viewers what is on that page.
If you sell clothes on your site, your page titles can be as simple as what item is clothing is on that page.
If you have a page that showcases jeans, title that page "Jeans".
If you have a sales or discounts page, title that page “Sales”.
If you provide a service, title your page with what that service is.
If you repair AC units, then title the page that that provides information about AC repairs, “AC Unit Repair and Service”. , Make more web pages for each new product that you carry or service you provide.
Be sure to include text and images on those pages describing the product or service.
Use words that people would likely use if they were searching online.
Update your web pages often.
Add more information as needed.
Update your product photos.
You may even have to delete pages that are no longer applicable.
Avoid having web pages that only contain pictures.
You should have some text that provides context to the page. , Add links to your other pages.
When referencing your home page, use keywords that you want your home page to be found by.
Instead of just saying "home page" try and include your company's name.
Add social media links and share content from your website to your social pages.
For example, in your about page, link to your homepage when using your company's name.
When discussing what kind of products or services you provide, link to those pages.
Consider adding a blogging component.
Having a blog on your site is great for engaging with customers and building your search engine optimization.
You can provide links to your pages, keep people up to date on new items or services, and share content.
About the Author
Kelly Peterson
Kelly Peterson is an experienced writer with over 11 years of expertise in lifestyle and practical guides. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Kelly creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
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