Attracting new customers can be a stressful, expensive, and time-consuming task for many small businesses. Convincing prospective clients that you are the best choice for them can be even harder.
Fortunately, creating a website for your small business is an excellent way to let people know who you are and what you have to offer. It gives you access to a whole new market and enables you to reach a wider audience.
In this article, we’ll go over some of the benefits of building and growing website for your small company. We’ll then discuss some strategies to help you grow your business with a website. Finally, we’ll show you how to get started with a WordPress site. Let’s dive right in!
Why You Need a Website for Your Small Business
Creating a website is an excellent way for small businesses to promote and sell their products. It also helps customers learn more about who you are and what you do. Additionally, websites tend to be very cost-effective, and possibly more affordable than traditional advertising.
Without an online presence, you are relying primarily on word of mouth and paid advertising to find new customers. By building a website for your small business, you’re opening the doors to a whole new range of customers who may be interested in what you’re selling.
Additionally, a website can help you build an online community for your business. Whether it’s through a blog or a forum, this is a fantastic way to keep customers engaged and up-to-date. It can also help educate customers on your products by answering common queries and providing solutions to specific issues.
How to Amplify Your Small Business with a Website
Now that we’ve discussed some of the benefits of setting up a website, let’s look at how you can use one to grow your small business.
1. Choose a Good Domain Name
A domain name is an address that users enter into their browser to find your website, such as mycompany.com. Getting your domain name right is an important factor in the success of your site. It gives people a quick and memorable way to find you online, and can also improve your business’ visibility.
When choosing a domain, it’s important that you use either your business name or keywords relating to your products or service. If you have a long or unusual business name, you might need to find a way to shorten it and make it catchy.
2. Create a User-Friendly Website Design
The design of your small business website is one of the most influential factors when it comes to converting visitors into customers. If users are unable to quickly and easily find the information they’re looking for, chances are they’ll leave without making a purchase.
One web design principle to focus on is coherence. Spacing between different elements should remain consistent site-wide, as should things like colors and typography.
You might also want to consider your use of white space. If your pages are too cluttered, it might be difficult for users to find relevant products or information.
At Built By WordPress.com, we offer professional website design services for all types of businesses:
A user-friendly design will encourage users to spend longer on your site. This can help you sell more products and generate more leads.
3. Utilize Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of strategically choosing keywords to help your site rank higher in Google search results:
This is vital for small businesses. It is a free and highly effective way to drive traffic to your website and promote your products.
Keywords are at the center of any SEO strategy. Each page should contain a few words and phrases that directly relate to the products or services that you sell. You can use a tool like Yoast SEO to optimize your business website for higher rankings.
4. Publish New Content Regularly
Once your site is up and running, it’s important that you create new content on a regular basis. By publishing things like case studies and blog posts, you can keep your site fresh and encourage visitors to return to your site.
You can use keyword research tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find content ideas based on popular search terms:
Additionally, you can look at what your competitors are publishing. You can try to produce similar content, but provide more value to your customers.
5. Offer International Shipping
Many small businesses only offer domestic shipping. However, by setting up a website for your business, you can reach a global audience and start delivering products to multiple destinations.
By shipping to anywhere in the world, you’re expanding your reach into international markets. This way, more people will be able to buy your products, which can lead to more sales and higher revenue.
Shipping internationally can be intimidating when starting out. To mitigate this fear, you could do some research on customs and shipping regulations in your target countries. This can help avoid expensive fines and delays.
You may have to make some changes to your packaging, too. Due to increased fees when shipping overseas, it may be necessary to use smaller and lighter packaging. Remember that you’ll need to display all shipping conditions and fees on your website.
How to Get Started with a Website
WordPress is one of the best platforms for building a fully customized website for your small business. The software is free and open-source, and you’ll find plenty of support online.
First, you’ll need to purchase a domain name. You’ll also need to get web hosting, so that you can make your site live.
Once you have hosting and a domain name, it’s time to select a theme for your site. There are thousands of free designs available in the WordPress Themes Directory:
Many business websites will also require a plugin like WooCommerce to power their online stores. Fortunately, you can install this tool for free from the WordPress Plugins Directory:
You can then take some time to familiarize yourself with the WordPress dashboard. You can customize the theme by uploading your business logo and using your brand colors. You’ll also need to create important pages, such as your About and Contact pages.
Grow Your Small Business with a Website
Getting new customers can often be challenging. Fortunately, building a website is a simple and cost-effective way to increase brand awareness and grow your business.
To recap, you can amplify your small business with a website using these strategies:
- Choose a good domain name that reflects your brand and products.
- Create a user-friendly business website design.
- Use keywords to rank higher in Google search results.
- Publish new content regularly to keep your site fresh and your audience engaged.
- Offer international shipping to reach a global audience.
Do you need help setting up a website for your small business? Built By WordPress.com can help you with that.
