Back to basics: Building your business website from scratch
Did you know that around 60% of small businesses don’t have a business website? As less and less people flock to the high street, online sales continue to soar, especially over the last five years.
Consumers no longer have to wait in long queues, or find their size is out of stock. They now have access to everything they want at the touch of a button, readily available to them 24/7 and delivered to them within the hour or same day.
Websites are a powerful platform. It instantly becomes your shop window, marketing channel, main income generator – the list is endless. Which is why it’s so surprising that over half of businesses are not leaping into the wonderful world of the web.
Where you do start? If you’re a business owner looking for some tips and insight, then you’ve come to the right place. This is our guide on setting up your first website, without having to cost you an arm and a leg.
AHEAD OF CREATING YOUR WEBSITE
- Goals: Before deep diving into creating your website, stop to think about its goal and the main message you want to convey to your audience. The layout and style of your website will completely depend on this.
- Domain: Your domain name will depend on your business. Choose a domain that matches your business name or what you do as much as possible. Try to keep it short, memorable and avoid abbreviations, acronyms and numbers. This will make it easy for potential customers to find your website and remember the name of your company. You can search for and register your desired domain name for an annual fee with a web hosting company. The process is quite straightforward – you just enter your chosen URL into a box to verify its availability. If it’s available – you’re in luck! If you already have a domain name and just want to connect it to a web development platform, some platforms such as Wix.com have the option for you to connect them together.
- Hosting: Hosting means you are essentially ‘renting’ space on a server for your website files to reside. A website needs to be hosted on a dedicated web server in order to make it available on the internet. In many cases, you can get domain name registration and web hosting services from the same provider.
- Create a Detailed Site Map: Your site map will help you organise what content that needs to be on your site, and help you avoid creating unnecessary duplicate pages.
CREATING THE WEBSITE
Wix.com example pop-up template
When it comes to designing and building a business website, you can DIY it, use an online website builder or hire someone else to do it for you. It might seem intimidating to create your own website, but platforms such as Wix.com are perfect for entrepreneurs looking for a creative, and simple-to-use web builder with hundreds of customisable templates.
For a more personalised approach, head to Wix Code and customise your website like never before. Depending on your field or the purpose of your
Wix.com example template for beauty
website, you can include numerous features to make it more appealing – a booking section, live chat, music videos, database or submission form.
There are numerous ways to create a website – from online web development platforms to hiring web developers. Overall, it’s a great investment as it represents your brand, help increase your fan base and eventually increase your income. So take the time out to carefully plan your website thoroughly.