How to Make a Small Business Website

January 12th, 2024
Creating small business website

A website is an important marketing tool for your business. In this step by step guide, we will show you the most efficient way to create a site for your business. Without coding and extremely fast!

Index

What is a small business website?

Simply put, a web is the visible face of your company. With over 5.16 billion internet users around the world, websites for small businesses make it possible for potential customers to discover and get to know small companies better.

Today, 71% of businesses overall and 73% of small businesses have a website. There are website builders for small businesses that make it possible to set up a business site quickly and with a minimum investment. In this step-by-step guide, we will show you the most efficient way to create your business site with Webnode.

Why does your small business need a website?

Every serious business needs a web to help build a strong, credible online presence. Research shows that 96% of potential customers learn about businesses online and 62% of customers will ignore businesses that don’t have a web presence.

Without a web, your business loses the opportunity to “show up” when someone is searching online for the product or service you offer. If you don’t have a business site you might cost your company potential customers. By having an online footprint in the form of a small business website, your company amplifies its reach and visibility.

Building a small business website also provides an occasion for better customer service and engagement. With it, customers know where to find important information, can reference frequently asked questions, and can easily locate contact information if they need to reach out about anything.

Choosing a website builder for small businesses

There are several factors to consider when choosing a website builder for your small business:

  • Does it have a user-friendly website builder that makes editing fast and simple?
  • Are there pre-defined and customizable templates that align with your business goals and objectives?
  • Is it a secure and reliable platform that you and your customers can trust?
  • Does it provide the option for professional, customized email addresses and domains?
  • Can you smoothly navigate from page to page with a fast loading speed?
  • Does it have SEO tools built in that will help your site be discovered?
  • Is it available in the languages you need to reach your target audience?
  • How much does it cost and is the cost dependent on different factors such as the number of pages or traffic?
  • Will your site be mobile-friendly?
  • Does it include analytics and insight information?
  • Does it have easy-to-reach customer support to help assist you with any questions that come up?

Webnode is an all-in-one website builder that includes all of these elements and more.

Build a website for small business right now

Setting up a website for a small business

The first step is to identify and set up the main elements of a web including the hosting platform, domain name, and content management system. Additionally, some website builders also make it possible to create a professional email account for your business.

  • Hosting platform: The web server where the files that make up your site are placed.
  • Domain name: The name of your site that appears in the search bar. This allows visitors to easily find the server where your site is located. (For example www.mybusinesssite.com)
  • Content Management System: It is the tool you use to design your web and upload your content
  • Professional Email: This allows you to have your domain name in the email address instead of Gmail or other similar services. (For example hi@mybusinesssite.com)

Webnode simplifies the process of setting up a website for a small business by including everything in one place. Additionally, this ensures that all of these elements are compatible with each other. As there is nothing to install, you only need a web browser to create your company’s site with Webnode.

Small business website design

The next step when building a small business website is to focus on the design. This is especially important because visitors judge a business by how its web looks at first glance.

Webnode features a series of predefined, responsive website templates that you can use for building your website. You can filter by category and search for templates made for your field. All elements of each template can be customized to achieve your desired structure and look.

One of the benefits of using templates for your business site is that they have been created by professional designers. This is professional know-how that you can leverage to boost your small business website without paying an additional cost.

Using templates is great because you can simply put in your content and rely on the design and usability of the site. This way, you will have a fully functional web ready within minutes (without coding or expensive design work).

What should a small business website contain?

Using templates is a great place to start when it comes to setting up your structure, but don’t forget to take into consideration how your target audience will be using the site. If you’re not sure where to start, you can visit your competitors’ sites and look for common elements.

The ideal structure should be something like this:

Example of website structure

The structure follows a clear hierarchy from the home page to the most specific pages. Some pages of your site such as the contact page will not need sub-pages. Follow these tips when planning the structure of your web:

  • Reduce the number of clicks needed to reach the most important parts of your web. As a rule of thumb, it should be possible to reach all the pages of your site in less than 3 clicks.
  • Keep the number of main pages below 7. If you need subcategories, balance the number within each category.
  • The simpler the better. It’s easier to scroll down than to search within a complicated menu. If you find yourself adding sub-sub-categories, you probably have made things too complicated.

Main pages

Once the structure is clear, you can also plan how to place content within the most important pages of your site. You don’t need to be too detailed with this–outlining titles, images, and text sections is more than enough to get started.

  • Each page must have only one goal, and all elements on the page must be oriented to guide visitors toward that goal
  • Put the most important things at the top of each page
  • If you want the visitor to do something on that page (eg. fill out a form, click a button, buy, etc.) include a “call to action” at both the beginning and end of the page

Content and Multimedia

Once you have chosen a template and outlined your website structure, it is time to add your content. This is the most important part because it attracts visitors and makes them stay on your site. Your ranking in search engines is also based on your content to a great extent.

Depending on your aim, you will want to highlight different parts of your content.

  • If your goal is to give information to your current clients, the main pieces of content will be contact information, a small presentation of your products or services, and perhaps a reservation form.
  • If you want to get new customers, your content should be focused on promotion. Persuasively explain what you do and why you are better than your competition. How you present your products and services will be the most important part.
  • If you want to sell online, you need to pay special attention to product pages. Don’t forget to build trust with reviews from satisfied customers.

Images

You need to choose the images for your small company website carefully. If you can afford it, use professional photos. Poor-quality images harm the impression of your business. Alternatively, you can look for good-quality stock images in image banks.

Webnode’s website builder includes a large collection of photos that you can use on your site for free. If you use stock images, be sure to avoid those that are commonly used on other sites or that give a false impression of what you’re offering. Also, don’t forget to check the licensing rights to make sure you’re able to use the image freely to promote your products or services.

Another good practice is to include photos of your team on the contact page. This makes your company look more approachable and real.

Video

Video is a great way to present a product or service. Research has found that visitors spend more time on pages with video. However, just like images, video requires a certain level of quality to leave a good impression.

The placement of your video is also important. If it is a short video that presents your company or product, put it at the top of the page. Longer videos with additional information are better placed at the bottom of the page.

Legal aspects

Since May 2018, it has been necessary to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). This means that you need to ask your visitors’ permission to save their data when they visit your web or fill in a form.

Webnode allows you to do this by placing a cookie bar and a consent field on your forms. If you need to, you can implement other third-party solutions through widgets (small pieces of code that you can add to your site to have specific functions).

Don’t forget to include other legal texts such as sale conditions with your company details. Besides it being a requirement, the mere presence of these pages helps to build trust among your visitors.

How much does a small business website cost?

The cost of a business website can vary greatly depending on the characteristics of the site and how you decide to make it.

Firstly, the hosting platform and the domain are fixed costs that you pay annually:

  • You can typically find domains between $10-$30 a year. However, if you want a domain with a special extension (e.g. .consulting, .contractors, .tech) or a popular phrase, it can be more expensive.
  • The prices of the hosting platforms vary according to their characteristics. For a small company website, it can be between $60-$200 per year.

Hiring someone to create your website is usually a one-time payment. For a small site without an online store, the costs are usually:

  • Custom design: A 100% unique design can cost between $1500 and $5000. Depending on the number of hours required and the rates of the designer.
  • Adapted design: If you don’t need a unique design, you can buy a predefined template and ask a designer to adapt it to your taste. The cost of design and adaptation can be between $700 and $1200.
  • Content (photos and text): Depending on the amount of content, a small website with 5 main pages at $60 per hour can cost around $500.

Adding up all the costs, hiring someone to design your website usually costs between $770 and $1,305 for an adapted design and between $1570 to $5,105 for a unique design. You should also think about the content itself. It can cost about $500. 

You can get professional design and professional content (photos and images) with Webnode at a lower cost than if you hired someone to build your site from scratch. Webnode offers a free plan as well as premium website options ranging from $54 to $275.

How can I create a small website for free?

Webnode makes it easy to create a free website for your small business. This is a great option for getting started if you’re on a tight budget.

However, since hosting and the domain name are a cost for the company, your website will be hosted with space limitations and with a shared domain name. For example: www.yourbusiness.webnode.com

Having a site without a domain name gives a somewhat unprofessional image. With Webnode, you can use your unique domain name for as little as $3.95 per month. Using your domain name will also help your position in the search results. For any business, it is a minimal but very important investment.

Promoting and Updating Your Business Website

Building a small business website isn’t where your work ends. Regular updates to your site and promotion of it will help your business see the best results.

Regularly updating content

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is important for helping potential customers find your business. To get traffic through SEO, you need to create quality content. The best way is to include a blog on your web and write regularly using target keywords. With Webnode, you can add a blog at any point.

With a blog, you’ll want to answer the questions that your potential customers may have and provide them with useful information. For example, a company that sells gardening tools can create a blog with tips on maintaining gardens or choosing a mower.

Monitoring website analytics

Monitoring your business site’s analytics regularly can help make data-driven decisions about where to put your time and energy.

With the help of Google Analytics, you’re able to track the number of visitors. As well deep dive into the details on which pages they’re visiting, how much time they’re spending there, what they’re clicking on, and how quickly they leave.

Seeking feedback and making improvements

It’s important to pay attention to any feedback you receive from your site visitors and to regularly ask customers about their experience. With this information, you’ll have a better understanding of how to improve the user experience.

A poor user experience on your web can cause visitors to choose a competitor (with a better functioning site) instead. If you’ve received feedback about your web’s operating performance being less than ideal, it might be time to upgrade your plan for improved loading speeds and features.

Promote your web

In general, there are 2 main ways to promote a web. Pay Per Click (PPC) or Social Media.

With PPC, you can place your web among the paid results on Google or Bing when visitors search for your product or service. If you create a PPC campaign, use the pages of your site focused on your goal (eg. getting a potential customer to contact you or purchase something). You can also create specific pages for your PPC campaign that don’t have to be available in the menu of your site.

Social Media can be an effective tool for driving traffic to your site. It’s important to find the right balance between sales and educational or entertainment content so that your audience remains engaged over time. Whether you’re using TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn, you’ll need to create valuable content to attract your target audience.

Conclusion

Creating a website for your small business is an important step in building credibility, providing your customers with important information, and reaching new customers.

When it comes to setting up a website for a small business, you’ll first need to understand your main goal and target audience. From there, you can create captivating content and design that will resonate with your customers and drive your business toward its goals.

With the help of Webnode’s premium plans or a free website builder for small businesses, you’ll be able to easily produce a beautiful and effective site in as little as an afternoon.

Create Your Website for a Small Business