Setting up a website for the very first time can be a huge challenge, particularly if you wouldn’t describe yourself as technically-minded. However, for businesses looking to stay relevant in terms of marketing trends and consumer behaviour patterns, a website for a business is a must.
More than ever before, a potential customer will use the internet to find a product or a service and if you are not appearing in that list of results then you are missing out on a huge volume of business leads.
A website can make the difference between a highly successful business and one that struggles to attract new customers. If you are fortunate enough to have a long list of returning customers then you are probably doing okay but what about in the future? Can you afford to not pick up any new business? Of course, for local tradesmen there will always be ‘word of mouth’ referrals but people increasingly want to see a tradesman’s online ratings or visit their website before they make a decision.
If you are reading this article then you have probably already decided that you need to set up a website for your business. We have made things a bit easier for you by providing some tips to help you along the way:
Research your web host options
You will need a web host provider to give you some server space so that your website can exist online. There are many different types of hosting companies available and they offer many different levels of service and features, so it is an area that needs some consideration before you make your choice. You can get free hosting, cheap hosting and pretty expensive hosting, so if budget is a big factor for you, take a look at the various offerings of each different type of host.
You can get shared web hosting services, which is a popular option for small business websites that do not want to spend a large amount of money on their host. Free hosting has a lot of limitations, so make sure you understand what you are taking on before you invest time in building a website using a free hosting solution.
Content management
Who is going to be updating your website? You will need to make changes at some point, so make sure that whoever needs to update it knows how to use the content management system. For many reasons, a lot of businesses choose to use WordPress for their CMS, as it is one of the most straightforward systems for updating content.
Content plans are good too, don’t just set up a website and expect it to work well without any future work involved. Great content is what attracts new visitors to your website, so time should be spent on making it as good as possible.
Keeping content up to date and adding new content will keep it fresh and SEO friendly. Which brings us to our next point:
Understanding SEO
If you are not looking to pay for website traffic then you will need to rely on organic traffic through SEO-friendly content. The world of SEO covers many aspects from using keywords to creating in-depth content. Knowing how and when to spend time on SEO will help to ensure that your website performs well in rankings and that potential customers can easily find you. If you haven’t heard about Google algorithms then that is a good starting point and then keep up to date with SEO trends from leading marketing experts.
