Starting a business online as a first time entrepreneur is no easy feat and certainly requires a lot of effort to be put into it right from the very beginning. Most established entrepreneurs believe that making your home based business a success takes a perfect blend of experience and knowledge. Experience that comes with learning from the successes and mistakes you make along the way, while Knowledge comes from knowing everything possible about the business idea you are looking to develop.
However, one of the major things you cannot afford to leave undone when starting up any home based business or looking to exploit the countless internet business opportunities available for first time entrepreneurs, is setting up a Small Business Website. Without a strong online presence, you as a small business owner are likely to lose out on opportunities which might prove costly to your business in the long run.
A well-built and professionally designed website is definitely among the most valuable tools you can have in your arsenal for starting a home based business. A fully functioning home based business website serves as your face to the whole world and allows you to take your home based business to unimaginable heights. The remarkable thing about having a small business website is that it gives people who are searching for your service the opportunity to find you easily, no matter the type of home based business you are running.
Related: Kickstarting a Successful Business Website
Before setting up a website, it is important for you to know that your small business website should be created in such a way that it reflects the image of what your home based business is all about. See your small business website as a partner or employee working round the clock to make sure your business stays ahead of the competition.
1. Determine the purpose of your website
The very first thing to do when setting up your website is to determine the purpose of your website in order to get a clear image on how to further develop it. Is it going to be a static presentation website or do you want to add e-commerce options or a blog?
2. Select a domain name
The next step is to select a domain name. Make sure choose a domain name that easily tells your customers or visitors to your site what your home based business is all about. Keep in mind that the domain name should be unique, easy to pronounce and to remember. One of the best place to get your domain name registered for as low as $0.99 is Go Daddy .
3. Create the structure of the website
Before you start designing your home based business website, you need to outline the structure and the content based on the purpose previously set. Regardless of the profile of your business, every website should have these 5 pages: Homepage, About us, Products and services, Testimonials and Contact.
4. Choose a Web host
The next step will be to choose a Web Host for your website. The key things to consider when choosing a web host are speed, customer support and reliability. Once you are able to get a web hosting company that can successfully provide you with all three, then your small business website will be up and running before you know it.
5. Select the website-building platform
If for any reason you decide to create your own small business website all by yourself, then “Do-it-yourself” website-building platforms like WordPress, Jimdo or Joomla are the best to start with.
They have numerous high-quality and user friendly free website templates and themes that you can make use of. The only disadvantage of building a small business website without any proper training on web design is that you may end up overlooking some vital design elements that a trained designer wouldn’t miss. Although WordPress, Jimdo or Joomla offer amazing content management solutions (CMS) for their free website, you may need to acquire some rudimentary knowledge on how to make a website before deciding to build one yourself.
Making use of a web design company can also serve as another means of setting up your small business website, if you have the extra expense to spare. However before contacting any web design company for their services, it’s advisable that you first compare one or more companies in terms of price and service delivery. One easy way of doing this is to evaluate their after sales services such SEO services, e-commerce or logo designing services for your small business websites. After a thorough evaluation of their services, you can then go ahead to choose whichever company that will give you the best result in terms of digital marketing strategies and also provide useful small business tips for your home based business.
Whether you choose to set up a free website by yourself or outsource the building of your website to a web designer, it is absolutely important that your website contains all the essential components that a home based business website requires to compete favorable with other websites offering similar products and services.
Once you have concluded the process of setting up a small business website for your home based business, the next logical step to follow would be to promote your website and you can do that through listing your website in online directories, joining online communities frequented by your potential clients, using social media networking sites, etc. You can research e-books, articles and resource websites for information on how to utilize this new form of digital marketing to expand your business even in a harsh economy.
Related: How Small Companies Should Use Social Media to Promote Their Business
If you come across any challenges that have to do with online marketing or applying tested home based business advertising techniques to your small business, you can always search for Top 10 Resource Websites for Startup Entrepreneurs to find useful small business help tips and advice on how to make your small business website work for you.
