Do you have a small business?
Are you tired of paying for expensive hosting?
Want a professional-looking website for your small business? It’s easier than you think!
With the advent of technology and the increase in the use of the internet in day-to-day life, promoting the business, especially for a new startup, is becoming a necessity. A website is like your window to the world of customers.
Suppose you are making a small business website in 2022. In that case, you need WordPress and a remote WordPress developer as it is one of the most reliable and cost-effective Content Management systems (CMS) to make websites.
Why use WordPress for a small business website?
The CMS (content management system) is a powerful tool that can be overwhelming — but with the proper guidance and some practice, you’ll be able to use it to build a beautiful website for your small business.
WordPress is an excellent platform for building a small business website because it’s free to use, easy to set up, and allows you to customize the design of your site.
You can choose from thousands of themes to find a design that suits your needs and fits your brand. And with WordPress, you have complete control over the content of your website.
It doesn’t require any technical knowledge to set up or maintain a WordPress website – it’s all done using a simple, user-friendly interface.
You can manage every aspect of your site without needing to touch a single line of code. If you ever run into any problems, you can find helpful answers in the WordPress documentation or on numerous online forums. This makes WordPress one of the best ways to create a small business website.
Guide to Making a Small Business Website in 2022
A website is one of the essential elements of your business. It’s your storefront and a crucial part of your marketing strategy.
While many small businesses are nervous about building a website, you don’t need to be a professional web developer to learn how to create a small business website. This guide will show you how to create a successful website to help you reach your goals.
Step 1. Create a business plan and set goals for your business
The first question is, what do you want to achieve with your website? You might have several goals, so list them out and then order them by priority. This will help you make decisions as you move forward with your website development process.
You need to take stock of your assets, make projections for your business, and determine how your website can help you achieve your goals. Creating a small business website is not just about having an online presence; it’s about growing your business and making the most of digital marketing opportunities.
Step 2. Select a good domain name
A domain name is your website address on the internet, e.g., www.mybizname.com. A good domain name helps search engines find your website and is vital for your customers to remember. You can purchase a domain name through your website builder or register it elsewhere (e.g., GoDaddy, Google Domains).
Although you may be tempted to use your name or your business name, there are several reasons why it’s better to use a more unique and memorable domain name.
Step 3. Choose a web hosting provider
Website hosting services give you the space on their servers to store your website’s data (code, images, etc.). Do not settle for cheap hosting services as they may come with limited features, and it may be difficult for your site to scale up when needed.
A good host will provide fast loading speeds, secure servers, and reliable customer service. A bad one will leave you with slow loading times, hacked databases, and lost business due to downtime.
Step 4. Choose a suitable WordPress website theme
Choose a responsive theme (the pages adjust automatically to fit any computer screen) and SEO-friendly (search engine optimization). An SEO-friendly theme will use a clean HTML code and include keywords that search engine bots can read and index.
It is also vital for your theme to be compatible with all major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge, and IE11+. A good rule of thumb is to ensure that your homepage can be displayed on a mobile device in under 500 pixels. Check for enough real estate for navigation menus, headings, images, and text widgets on mobile devices.
Step 5. Configure WordPress settings and add content
To configure WordPress settings and add content, you must go to your website dashboard. The URL of your website dashboard is admin.example.com or example.com/wp-admin, where example.com is the name of the website you are building. Here you can add a title for your website, write some content for it, and customize the colors and looks of your website.
You can also edit and configure the settings by clicking on the small gear icon on the right side of your admin dashboard.
Step 6. Choose plugins to extend the functionality of your business site
Plugins are software add-ons that extend the functionality of your WordPress site. They can provide anything from advanced security to slick eCommerce features or perhaps some marketing tools for free. There are thousands of plugins available for free on WordPress.org and more than 55,000 premium plugins are on the market today.
Once you’ve found a plugin that meets your needs, please install and activate it on your website by following the instructions in its documentation. This will give you access to a whole new range of functionality, allowing you to create more complex functionality on your site.
Step 7. Configure an eCommerce platform if selling online is part of your business plan
If you want to sell products or services directly through your website, you’ll need to set up an eCommerce solution. Many options are available, but the most common and reliable option is WooCommerce.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that adds shopping cart functionality to your site. It’s a powerful platform for selling physical and digital products, and it integrates seamlessly with the rest of your website.
WooCommerce powers 22% of the top 1 million eCommerce sites globally.
Step 8. Make the site search engine-friendly by optimizing site content and using SEO plugins (like Yoast SEO)
Every aspect of your website has to be optimized for the best results. This includes both on-page and off-page SEO elements.
Therefore, make sure that you create optimized content for every website page. Also, set up Google Analytics to track and measure the performance of your marketing campaigns.
A bonus tip: You can also use free WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO to streamline and automate your SEO efforts.
Also, read – What is Not a Benefit of Google Analytics Remarketing?
Step 9. Launch the website, share with customers, and track stats with Google Analytics
You can also use Google Analytics to get insights into how users interact with your site. You’ll need to add this tracking code to your website, which you can find in the “Property” section of Google Analytics. This code tracks how many people visit your website and what they do while there.
If you plan to use Google Ads, Facebook ads, or any other kind of paid traffic, you must have this set up to track whether these ads are converting into sales on your website.
Bottom Line
The good news is that you can build a great small business website with or without web design experience. With the right tools and resources, you can quickly and easily build a fully functional site that will help you promote your products and services online.
