When creating a website, especially for the first time, you would want to have a great and smooth experience. There are various ways to start a business website, some of which require technical knowledge and a bit more work than others. But you’re here because you want a hassle-free website builder that doesn’t require technical knowledge.
With the abundance of offerings and different webmaster needs, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all option. In this article, I’ll provide you four easy steps to create a business website and 12 recommended elements to include on your website to make it more professional.
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4 Easy Steps to Create a Professional Business Website
Creating a professional business website is can be a very straightforward process with the right planning. Just follow the steps, and you’re good to go.
1. Choosing a Domain Name for Your Business Website
There are a few things you need to keep in mind when choosing a domain name. Some of them are:
- Keep your domain name short, ideally less than 18 characters.
- Make it easily pronounceable.
- Keep it catchy and brandable.
- Avoid hyphens and double letters.
To create your domain name, you can use domain name generators to see if the name is available and gather up some ideas. Try the Hostinger domain checker to see if your chosen domain name is available.
Once it’s available, you can purchase it immediately. Usually, website builders give the domain name for free along with one of their paid plans. Because the domain name you choose determines its trademark power, you should always choose a descriptive name that clearly distinguishes your product from the competition. I would suggest split testing your domain name using a service like Helpfull.com. By getting external feedback from real people, you can make sure to choose the right domain name that is both descriptive and memorable.
2. Select a Business Website Template
Now, when choosing a business website template on your preferred website builder, you need to keep these things in mind:
- Responsiveness– if the template can adjust to various screen sizes and devices.
- Flexibility and customization– how many adjustments you can make to make the template truly represent your business.
- SEO friendly– if the template has traits desired by search engine algorithms.
Carefully consider your template design from the website builder of your choice. Check whether you can change your template after your website is published as some website builders don’t allow that.
You can see each template’s demo version and mess around with some of the elements before proceeding to edit it. Once you choose a template, you can then customize it to your liking. Usually, it will have a drag-and-drop feature that allows you to move around and resize the website’s elements.
3. Add Content and Create New Pages
Professional business websites should have the following:
- A homepage– this should include a brief description of what you do or who you are.
- About page– write more about yourself (past achievements, work experience, etc.)
- Service or Product page– depending on what you sell.
- Contact page– here you can place your social media, contact information, and email form.
- Blog– write content that expands on your niche, and provides valuable insights.
Once you have the pages, you then need to fill them with content. Ensure that the contents are easy to read, straightforward, and informative. You want your customers to know what you do and find what they are looking for with ease. You can create call-to-actions on your contact page, like adding the links to your social media pages.
4. Publish Your Business Website
The last thing you need to do is publish your website. Usually, website builders will give you web hosting services to publish and run your website immediately.
The hosting types vary from different web-hosting providers, as do the pricing plans. Take your time to choose the right one for you. It’s better to save money than overspend, so don’t pick a plan that you won’t fully utilize.
12 Recommended Elements of a Polished Online Presence
Following the four steps will give you an excellent professional business website. But here are some elements that you should include on your website which will enhance its professionalism:
- A simple site map– this will give customers easy access to what they are looking for, and make it easier for search engine crawlers to index your site.
- A photograph of you as the business owner– this is usually done to prove that you are trustworthy.
- Customer testimonials– you should include a specific section for this. This is to enhance your credibility and trustworthiness.
- Place prominent calls-to-action– to get customers to interact with your website. This can be purchasing or following your social media.
- Regularly updated blog page– keeps your website ranked in Google and showcases your expertise.
- Secure and scalable web hosting plan– as your business grows, traffic will increase. Not only you’ll need a more secure website but also a website that can easily be scaled without causing any downtime or technical issues.
- Install analytics tools– this allows you to monitor your website activities. You can figure out how much traffic is there daily to annually, the bounce rate, any broken links, and many other valuable insights.
- SEO tools– by using these tools, you can optimize your site to rank high on SERPs (search engine result pages).
- FAQ (frequently asked questions) page– this will tell the visitors what they need to know so that it saves your time from answering the same questions repeatedly.
- Privacy Policy page– let visitors know how their personal information will be used on your website.
- 404 Error page– indicates that the page they are trying to visit is no longer available or has moved. From the page, customers should be redirected to the homepage.
- Coupons or discounts– this can be used as an incentive to get visitors to start an interaction with your website, landing it closer to get sales.
Conclusion
You now know the four steps to build a successful business website easily:
- Choosing a Domain Name for Your Business Website
- Select a Business Website Template
- Add Content and Create New Pages
- Publish Your Business Website
I’ve also given you 12 elements that are not necessary but very good to have. All that’s left for you now is to start building your business website. Remember to look at different web hosting providers first and see which one brings the best benefits for you. Good luck!