Taking an existing business online can feel like a challenge. But, learning how to build a website from scratch is easier than ever, especially with modern website builder technology. In this guide, we’ll offers some top tips on how to create a website for your business, breaking the process down into straightforward steps for you to follow.
1. Decide what you need your business website for
2. Research ways of building your business website
3. Set a budget for creating your business website
4. Create a layout for your business website
5. Create your business website’s content
6. Publish and test your business website
7. Market your website
1. Decide what you need your business website for
Before you learn how to make a website, you need to know what your website will have to do. Should people be able to buy a product from your business website? Should they be able to book an appointment? Or will your website just be a place where people can learn more about your business and what you do?
If you settle on a purpose for your website before you create it, you’re far more likely to end up with your own professional website which does what you want it to.
As well as deciding on a main purpose for your website, you should also draw up a list of features you’d like it to have.
If you’re not sure what features your site should have, the best way to find out is by researching the websites of other businesses in the same sector as yours to help inform your decision making. Remember, most small business websites don't have a large number of complex features.
2. Set a budget for your business website
How much are you willing to spend to get a business website? It’s a tough question to answer, especially if you’re not sure of the costs involved.
The price of a website can range from just a few pounds a month for a simple, small business website you create yourself with a website builder, to thousands of pounds in upfront costs for a complex website created by a web designer.
It's important to note that you almost certainly won't have to spend a lot to get a great website. If you’re looking to get a small business website, make sure you don't overpay.
Take time to understand how much a website costs and set a budget so you pay a fair amount for a website that does what you want. Don’t forget, your budget should include the cost of getting someone to create content (words and images) for your website unless you plan to do this all yourself. You'll also need to take into account the cost of a domain name and web host. (Web hosting will be included for most site builder plans.)
You can learn the answer to “how much does a website cost?” here, while this article answers the question “how much should an ecommerce website cost?”
3. Research ways of building your business website
No idea at all about how to build a website? There are a few options available to build your business website and it’s important you pick one that meets your needs.
If you lack technical skills, you’ll probably want to opt for a website builder tool like the one offered by GoDaddy, a WordPress site with a built-in site builder feature (GoDaddy’s WordPress hosting offers a site builder), or hire a professional. You may want to try out the website design software you're planning on using before you commit (GoDaddy offers a free trial for its website maker).
The advantages of a DIY option like a website builder are the ability to make changes to your site whenever you need to, and the low price compared to hiring a web designer. You don't need to be an expert on how to design a website in order to use a site builder.
If you decide to use a web designer, you’ll likely end up paying more for the finished product, but you’ll also be able to have them create a large, bespoke website with complex features.
Whether you opt for a DIY option or a web designer depends on how much you’re willing to spend and what you need your website to do. For the average small business website, you probably don't need to hire a designer. Remember, what makes a website good isn't flashy design, it's providing the features and information that people need.
If you have a list of features that you need your site to have, you can use it to help choose the right option for you.
Once you’ve found an option and a provider that you like, you can start planning how your website will look.
4. Create a layout for your business website
You should already have a list of features your website needs, but where will those features appear on your site? And how will visitors to your site find their way around it?
Sketching out a basic layout for your website will help you answer these questions and make the process of building your site easier. For a small business website, your plan will probably fit on one side of A4 paper, so it shouldn't be too much hard work.
If you’re not sure what your website layout should look like and what pages it should have, revisit websites in your niche and see how they’ve approached the issue. If you have a current site you're looking to replace, you can also use that as a guide.
You’ll almost certainly want your site to have:
- A homepage – a general page providing visitors with information about your business and what it does.
- An about us page – a page giving more details about your business, its history and the people behind it.
- A contact us page – a way for visitors to get in touch.
These pages alone may be enough for a basic small business website, but if you’re planning to sell products online, you’ll also need product pages. If you're offering services, you'll need pages detailing the services you offer.
You’ll also need to plan how visitors will navigate between the pages of your website.
You can learn more about planning the design of your website in this guide.
Most beginner-friendly website builders will make it easy for you to turn this outline into an actual website, or you could pass it on to a designer for them to follow.
5. Create your business website’s content
Once you’ve planned your website, you can start the process of creating content for it.
You’ll need written content and relevant images for each website page you’ve planned, as well as other content you want to include on your site such as logos and menu text.
Remember, you can always hire someone to write your website content for you if there’s a lot of it or you don’t feel comfortable writing it yourself.
You may also want to hire a professional photographer to provide high-quality images for your website. For example, a selection of good product photos can help convince website visitors to make a purchase.
You can learn more about writing website content in this guide, while this guide explains how to take product photos. This guide explains how to create a small business logo.
6. Publish and test your business website
Once you’ve got all your content ready, you can publish your business website and make sure that everything works in the way you expect.
If you’re using a DIY website builder, you’ll have to upload and everything yourself. If you use GoDaddy’s Website Builder and aren’t sure how to use a certain feature or have any other questions, you can contact the GoDaddy Guides on 020 7084 1810.
If you used a web designer, make sure they have everything they need to get your site up and running.
7. Market your business website
Whether you've created a small business website or something much bigger, once your site has launched, you need to make sure people know about it. You can do this by using techniques such as:
- Search engine optimization
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Including your website details on physical branded items such as business cards.
This guide explains more about how to get a new website noticed.
Summing up
Creating a website for your business is easier than ever. With a little research and planning, and the right tools, it’s something that you can do yourself.
If you’re worried that you won’t be able to build a good enough website on your own, you can always hire a web designer, or use GoDaddy’s Web Design Service.
