Starting a Small Business Website

Seattle Web Design
7 min readMar 13, 2021

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Have you ever been in situations where you are faced with a new challenge that you thought was too much? Maybe the goal was to learn to ski in a week, a few days, or possibly in just a day? In modern-day society, similar challenges like this exist everywhere. In regards, recent technology has done its job in overcoming the stigma of web development.

Did you know that it’s easier to manage content on websites than ever before? The news may be shocking to some, but at the same time, it is not. Over the years many website design trends have made life easier for small businesses and webmasters alike. In fact, while many more innovative tools are now being made accessible, it is now possible for everyone to also craft these beautiful websites.

Hello, What’s your name?

As we take the first few steps into the journey we believe that in nature, Anything and everything begins its life with a given identity. Therefore, respectfully it is ideal to kickstart things off by assigning your website a domain name! What’s so significant about this you may ask? Well, Simply, your website cannot be visited by people until the name is established. Therefore, domain name providers such as GoDaddy, NameCheap, and Hover offer a variety of low-cost services that will take care of all of the registration processes; in terms of having your website up and connected to the internet.

Just a little word from the wise: try to not go overboard with it, a solid name should reinforce all your core values. Putting in the extra thought in your domain will eventually pay dividends. Keep it clean and remember to keep it simple.

Planning when it comes to Small Business Web Design

As the journey approaches the next pit stop. We have come upon one of the first initial tasks of building your website. The responsibility for this phase is by taking on all of the planning processes of the website. Whether it will be an informational or personal website, a site for catalog or brochures, an e-commerce shop, the options are open however you want to take it.

Keep in mind though, the type of website selected will directly affect the appearance and content depending on the topic. This Initial setup is also a good opportunity to do some housekeeping. Similar to an architect, it is good practice to begin mapping out the layout for your website focusing on the navigation structure, images, text, and video placement will furthermore setting the sights up as we move into the development phase.

The Goal to Successful Small Business Web Design

Setting goals are a great way of giving yourself a sense of direction in tackling life’s most difficult tasks. Whether it’s big or small, the first step in achieving your goals is to define them. Subconsciously ask yourself questions that will guide you in formulating expectations for your website. Some of these questions ranging from:

  • Who exactly are my customers going to be and what do I want from them?
  • What do I want my site to accomplish for my business?

Perhaps it could be improving your web store experience, having people play games on your website, or increase monthly visitors on your blogging site, making sure it all aligns with your beliefs. Hitting your goals can be the good first step but most importantly be sure to make them achievable otherwise you will end up being disappointed. Simply by defining your goals, it builds a solid foundation by reinforcing your Ideas and giving the audience a better understanding of your vision.

Lasting Small Business Web Design Impressions

Having too much on the plate might seem like a good thing, but in actuality, it presents big problems. One of the main issues that people face when building their first website is trying to do too much. According to cubicle ninja in the article on the web, facts state that: the average user will take half a second to make up their mind on certain aspects of the website.

If the site is unorganized, cluttered, and loaded with so much content it will just not appeal to the audience. For example, taking a look at this website, it may look like it was done by a rookie website developer. Although the content is here it is just scattered everywhere and not organized well. Therefore it is all about making good first impressions.

The Small Business Web Design

Now that we have everything set into place we come to the point of developing the website. Although this task may seem challenging it is also the most exciting. Long before the coding begins by now you should have an overview of how the website will turn out. In order to start piecing together the blueprints the understanding of HTML, CSS would be a fair advantage. The simple text editor, notepad provides the tool for these languages to be specifically written. Similar to Human Anatomy.

HTML is the bare bones responsible for the basic design scheme containing text, symbols, and pixels. Although HTML made it easier to structure webpages it still had limitations. CSS, the skin. It alters the appearance; blending an array of colors, striking fonts, and bold styles. It saves a lot of work by controlling the layout on multiple webpages all at once. Everything is now taking shape.

The Hosting of a Small Business Website

After you have successfully created your website The next challenge is now to look for your host provider. What’s the big deal? Well, a lot of people are now turning to storage companies for getting more space; hence the same concept also applies to Host Providers. Web hosting provides the spark for all the content residing on your website. The significance surrounding this service allows your site to access the webserver making things visible over the internet for everyone connecting to it.

There are several types of web hosting options available. Bluehost and Dreamhost are known for enhanced security, server monitoring, and troubleshooting abilities. Their exceptional service, reliability, alongside many other features are the main reason why they are by popular demand. Although there are also Free Hosting services, it often comes with many restrictions, fees and just not worth the hassle for a business-focused site.

Promoting a Small Business Website

Imagine being the inventor of the next best thing, something so big that would surely end the use of plastic for good. Sure, you have a website to showcase your invention but the big problem, nobody is here. Just because you have launched your website it will not equal out to supporters right off the bat. Therefore in this phase, the importance of effectively advertising your website will be critical in getting the ball rolling. For starters, there are many services available that can help get the word out. Social media has paved the way for interacting with customers.

The ability to receive instant feedback will benefit businesses throughout. Most SEO will take the hard work away in advertising. By narrowing down specific keywords from your content makes your websites more visible over the internet. In terms, potentially reaching out to the millions; Boosting ad revenue, and earning higher profit margins.

Every Small Business Website Needs Google

The importance of having a proper SEO cannot be understated. Therefore let’s place more emphasis on this topic by introducing google analytics. This free software tool works around your web content by making your presence known on the internet. In order for this to all work, the line of code will need to be embedded into your website; enabling the tracking tool to do its job.

When this has been achieved, it will then be able to record activities and gather information from the users visiting your website. The data then gets collected to the servers and generates key listings on helping you better understand your site. The benefits from the analysis provide you accurate details in helping to improve certain areas of your website. From a business standpoint, it’s extremely useful for targeting your audience. You can learn a lot about your website from this valuable tool.

Small Business Website Maintenance

It may feel like you have already completed everything and that there is nothing else to do. That’s is far from the case though. Have you ever stumbled upon webpages that had missing sections, images, irrelevant content, and things that just looked out of place? Well, chances are that the website has had seen better days. Therefore in order to have your website running at its most optimum levels, it needs regular attention and maintenance. It’s essential to test your website often because environmental changes can always be a factor.

For example, things like web browser updates, new devices compatibility, network or hosting services, or performance issues all present challenges to your website. Staying on top of all these potential disruptions will show the audience your reliability, thus a good way of building up your website’s credibility.

Small Business Web Design Success

Now that we’ve made it to the home stretch. Even though we are so focused on being successful we also have to consider possible failures. Starting an online business can be the riskiest and yet the most satisfying feeling. According to many sources, more than 90% of all Internet business start-ups will fail within the first year. While this may be alarming, just know that this is all just part of the journey.

Rest assured, you can always launch again and come back stronger, others will take notice of how committed you really are and give you another chance. Generally, Small Business Web Design project will not be the end to your success but more of an ongoing project.

First appeared at : https://visualwebz.com/small-business-web-designs/

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Seattle Web Design
Seattle Web Design

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