Essential Tips For Setting Your Business Website Up
A business website is crucial for operating any sort of business nowadays. Most consumers are either working on their computers or scrolling through their phones, which is why you should reach them through digital channels. Your business website is more than just a place where you can place your products and services. It’s where you can share your vision as a brand to your customers and engage with them to increase their loyalty. You can outsource the process of building your website, or you can do it yourself.
Check these top tips for getting your business website up and running:
1. Choose a Domain Name and Web Host
Your domain name serves as your digital home online. You can choose from the name of your company or, if someone is already using that address, you can opt to add where you’re located. For instance, you can use companyname.com or be more specific with companynamenewyork.com. Another variation includes going for a different top-level domain like .us, .net, or .org. It’s better to use your business name than vague, generic words for your domain name.
Next, find a website host that offers the features and functions that you need for your website at an affordable price. In this process, you’ll be renting web space on the provider’s servers, where you can store the content and media for your website. There are also lots of options available for web hosting. Compare rates and features first before settling for one provider. Read some website hosting reviews to get an idea of which platform works best for your business needs.
2. Determine Must-Have Features and Functions
After choosing your domain name and sourcing a web host provider, identify the goals you want to achieve through your website. This means listing down the must-have features and functions that will create an enjoyable experience for consumers.
If you’re building a membership website, make sure to keep your membership tiers organized. Using this membership website guide, you can set up different levels of the membership that each have their own unique access and pricing. You should create custom user profiles for each level of membership and make sure that members only have access to the content and functions they are entitled to. It’s also important to decide on an appropriate payment method based on the type of membership.
Accepting online payments can make sales transactions more efficient for you and your customers if you’re running a business-to-consumer (B2C) company, or an e-commerce store. Enlist the help of a retail payments processor like Paypal or Stripe, as this is a highly-technical feature. However, you might not need this function if you’re a business-to-business (B2B) company, if you want a customer to contact you to get a customized quote or order.
3. Design The Look of Your Business Website
Focusing on the aesthetics of your business website isn’t just for branding. Design a beautiful digital space with clear navigation enhances the functionality of your domain. With this, your customers can explore your site with ease, while ensuring that they see your products and services.
Coding is one of the skills that you can learn online for free. If you want to be hands-on with the design of your website, you should equip yourself with basic knowledge on how to do it. Fortunately, there are also user-friendly platforms that allow you to choose and customize templates for your brand, often called a CMS (Content Management System). WordPress is popular option, as are Joomla, Square Space, Wix, Shopify and many others.
4. Create Relevant Business Content
Content is the information you publish on your website that’s geared toward your target audience. It can come in various media, like text, audios, photos, and videos. As mentioned above, your business website is more than just a place where you post a catalog of products and services. It’s where you allow your consumers to get to know your brand better.
5. Test Your Business Website
Once you get your business website up and running, always test it before it goes live. Explore the different sections of the domain and look for bugs that may detract from the user experience. A website is essential when running a business these days. It’s where you promote your products and services as well as engage with your customers. The first step toward building a site is to choose a domain name and web host. Then determine the features and functions that your business needs. The layout, navigation, and content of your website are also crucial factors to consider for ensuring an enjoyable experience for users. Before you go live, make sure that you test your domain and look for bugs.
About Fastmetrics, Inc. Building & Business ISP
Since 2002, Fastmetrics is the Bay Area’s only dedicated business ISP. We provide telecommunication services in California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Reliable service – backed by better live and local support. From install to 24-7 proactive monitoring, get treated like a VIP customer. Not a number by a faceless call center. We specialize in managed business internet and phones, dedicated high speed business fiber internet, business WiFi, SIP voice solutions / UCaaS and managed network services. We are a Microsoft and Cisco Meraki Partner. Our team are Certified Cisco Specialists, Ubiquiti Enterprise Wireless Accredited and Polycom Authorized Solution Advisors. We take care of your business network, so you can focus on growth.
