Regardless of the type of business you run, you’ll need a business website. But how do you build a great one? Fortunately, technological advancements have recently caught up with the enormous demand for tools that make creating websites easier. Creating your own great business website without any prior knowledge of web design has never been simpler.
Here are 5 essential steps for getting started whether you want to create a new company website or improve your existing one.
1. Purchase website hosting and domain name
A company that provides the technology and services required for a website to be seen on the internet is known as a website host or website hosting provider. You link your domain name to your website host so that the visitors who access your site address are directed to the site you have stored on your hosting account.
Depending on the kind of technology and support you want, hosting services might cost anywhere from $2 to $100+ per month. However, cheap web hosting and domain don’t have to mean subpar quality. It all depends on the provider, as well as the type of server you choose (shared or dedicated) so be sure to do your research before committing. You can also get a discount if you purchase an annual as opposed to a monthly plan.
2. Make your site easy to navigate
To make sure your website visitors can find what they are looking for quickly and easily, your navigation needs to be simple and intuitive. Start by limiting your top-level navigation menu to five properly named tabs, with relevant pages categorized beneath them. In addition, no matter where your visitors land on your site, you should provide a direct path back to the homepage.
Be sure to also keep your design as straightforward as you can. The use of fonts, colors, and GIFs should be kept to a minimum because these elements can draw attention away from the website’s main focus. Try to keep your paragraphs around six lines in length and use bullet points to increase the information’s readability and scannability.
3. Translate your website
Increased sales, a stronger brand image, and improved foreign search engine results make up a few of the many advantages of translating your website. If you are interested in making your website multilingual to expand your audience, and you are wondering how to translate a website in the first place, there are two key ways to do it:
- Human translation. As long as you identify individuals who are fluent in both the source and target languages and who are knowledgeable about the site’s subject matter, human translation has the advantage of being extremely accurate. On the other hand, getting the translated pages back from the translator might be expensive and time-consuming.
- Machine translation. This type of translation uses artificial intelligence to translate text from one language to another, also known as automatic translation. As the algorithms used in machine translation continue to improve, so does the accuracy of the end result. Text translation tools like Google Translate or Deepl can help you translate texts from any site. Still, to make the most of it, machine translation output should ideally be reviewed, and whenever applicable, posted-edited by a human translator.
4. Make sure your copy is customer-oriented
For a great business website, provide your prospects with pertinent information that will keep them interested. Offer them something of value and increase their confidence in your knowledge. Try to consider the customer’s perspective when creating the content for your website. What information would be useful to you if you were a potential customer? What level of experience or knowledge do you already possess, and what would you need more clarification on?
You may keep visitors on your site longer and increase the likelihood that you’ll forge a long-lasting relationship with them that leads to a sale by focusing on your content from the viewpoint of your target market.
5. Make your site mobile responsive
A website must be responsive to mobile devices for success. More than one-third of American adults complete all of their online shopping through a mobile device. American adults spend more than five hours per day on their phones. Likewise, the mobile website for your company needs to provide a good UX.
Potential clients could exit your website in favor of a competitor if they find it challenging to read. Or if it’s difficult to use on a mobile device. This leads us to our next point. Poor mobile UX has a negative effect on your website’s search engine rankings. Additionally, it makes it harder for users to locate it through a Google search.
Final thoughts
Nowadays, all businesses need to have an internet presence. With the numerous website design tools accessible, creating a great business website isn’t very challenging. The tips listed here will help you get started. They will make your small company website more competitive in the internet market, regardless of the software you use.
