Website Planning: How to Get Started on Your Small Business Website
There are almost 28 million small businesses in the US. Many of those small businesses either have a website that is lacking in design and function or no website at all.
If your business doesn’t have a website, you are missing a powerful tool that helps you build trust and authority. Continue reading this article to learn the best website planning steps so you can create a website that works.
Website Planning Tips for Small Business
1. Choose the Best Hosting for Your Needs
Your website needs a place to live on the internet. Your hosting is where your website lives. Understanding types of web hosting is important as you are making this choice.
You can find hosting that is managed for you, hosting your take care of in-house, and many other levels of options. Do your research on how much bandwidth and other important resources you need before you set up your hosting.
2. Determine the Look You Want for Your Website
The way your website looks will determine how people perceive your company. If people land on your website and it looks like it was designed by an amateur, they are likely to think your business is an amateur business.
Beyond having a website that is high-quality, you need to decide what message you want to send when people visit. Are you showcasing a specific product or service? Are you aiming to bring awareness to a certain topic of importance to your company?
Design what is most important to you and you’ll be able to determine what you want to put on your website and how you want it displayed.
If you aren’t a website designer, it can take a while to figure out how to position elements of your website. If there are deeper issues, you may need a developer to change code on your website so make sure to have experts on call even if you plan on DIYing the project.
3. Make Your Website Easy to Navigate
When people land on your website, they need to be able to get to where they want to go easily. The hiccup in this plan is that many people aren’t sure where they want to go. You need to help them go through your website with ease.
Having a website that is easy to navigate isn’t only important because it makes your visitor’s experience better. Having an easy to navigate website is important because it also helps your search engine optimization.
Your website should have a menu that has the most important options available at all times. Your website also should have inner links that point to other helpful articles and other resources.
Increase Website Effectiveness
Now that you understand more about website planning, you may feel a little overwhelmed.
There is a lot to do when you are creating a website that serves your clients. Read our blog post about why your website user experience matters to learn even more today.