{"id":1049225,"date":"2024-12-06T01:05:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T06:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/ca\/?p=1049225"},"modified":"2024-12-12T01:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-12T06:26:00","slug":"how-to-build-a-business-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/ca\/make-money-online\/how-to-build-a-business-website","title":{"rendered":"How to build a business website"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have a business, you need a website. If you sell products, you could increase sales by listing your goods online. Perhaps you\u2019ve been putting off building a business website, but with this guide, we\u2019ll help you get a site up and running in no time.<\/p>

What do I need to build a business website?<\/h3>

The most important thing is the content<\/strong>. Then, you need what is known as a web host<\/strong>. You also need a domain name <\/strong>(also called the web address). You should also invest in a sweet-looking design<\/strong> and save some time and resources for marketing<\/strong>.<\/p>

Content<\/h4>

Your website needs to serve a purpose. It could be a simple business-card-like site, with contact information for your company, opening times, a few details about what you do and some neat pictures of work you\u2019ve delivered or your facilities. However, those kinds of sites, while useful, are quite common.<\/p>

Content is really the key element of your website<\/strong><\/p>

Go a step further than building a basic website, and offer something of value to potential visitors. Have you worked in an industry for a long time? Do you have a particular skill (like freelance writing<\/a>) or a unique perspective? Create a blog to share the latest industry news or post useful advice and tips. You\u2019ll establish your business as a trustworthy, recognized source of authority and show you\u2019re communicative. Posting also helps get your business site onto search engines like Google and bring in new customers.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

If you plan on building an online store, put in some time to make the product descriptions and images as good as they can possibly be. Include lots of details, sizing information and colour variations. This will reduce the need for a customer to break off during the purchasing process to phone you and ask for more information, boosting successful conversions.<\/p>

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I have gone to some company sites, which felt so clinical and far-removed that I just moved on, while others leave you desperate to give away your money.<\/p>

Ben Gribbin, former web designer and long-time, frequent internet shopper<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Whatever content you make, remember that it creates a lasting<\/em> impression on the website visitor\u2019s mind.<\/p>

Design<\/h4>

Having the best content on the internet is all well and good, but if people cannot navigate your website readily, they won\u2019t find it. Look up common design conventions and stick to them, don\u2019t try to be a trendsetter. Simple is almost always better.<\/p>

Try to limit the number of fonts you use and remember, just like cheese and wine, there are recommended typeface pairings. If you already have a logo and brand identity, use those fonts or at least complementary ones. Pick colours that match your brand, but don\u2019t go overboard. Have a cohesive and appropriate colour palette in place throughout.<\/p>

Think about goal conversions<\/strong><\/p>

Try not to overwhelm your visitor with too many options. Create a clear funnel for people to arrive at your conversion point, which could be ordering something from your online store or quickly finding your contact details for support.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

Good design helps your customers achieve their goals when visiting your business website. It leaves a lasting impression in their minds and helps them remember your company. Bad design will get in the way, causing problems and frustration while still making an impression on a person\u2014just not a good one.<\/p>

Don\u2019t forget smartphone and tablet users, who make up a large amount of internet traffic. The beautiful website you\u2019ve made might look great on a laptop or desktop, but you need to make sure you\u2019ve optimized it for smaller screens. This is called responsive design<\/strong>. Since 2019, Google has been prioritizing mobile-friendly websites in its listings.<\/p>

It\u2019s possible to remove pictures and scale or rearrange page things, depending on the screen and device used to view your site. Try it out on our site. Grab the edge of your browser window and make it narrower. See how the design changes?<\/p>

Hosting<\/h4>

If you think of a website as a building, then hosting is the plot of land it sits on. Without land, you haven\u2019t got a building, and just like real land, you need to pay for it. In reality, you pay a website host for a portion of a server (or in some cases, an entire server) that\u2019s connected to the internet. When people type in your web address or click a link to it from Google, they are served up your website.<\/p>

There are thousands of web hosts online, so shop around. Prices vary massively, depending on how much space you need (how large your website is), how much traffic or bandwidth you require (the volume of visitors you need to handle) and whether you want web hosting suited to a specific type of website.<\/p>

Website address<\/h4>

If we\u2019re continuing with the idea that a website is like a building, the website address is how people find your site. In the internet world, this is called a domain name<\/strong>. Unlike normal street addresses, you get to choose your own domain.<\/p>

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You want it to be memorable first and foremost, with explanatory keywords included as a bonus.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How to pick a domain name<\/strong><\/p>

For example, if your business is called Jed\u2019s Fruit and Veg, you could go for the domain: jedsfruitandveg.ca. It\u2019s relatively short and memorable. But you could shorten it to jedsfruitnveg.ca, stylizing it as Jed\u2019s Fruit \u2018N Veg. If that domain isn\u2019t available, you could try fruitandvegbyjed.ca or something area specific like fruitandvegbc.ca.<\/p><\/div><\/article>

Play around with what\u2019s available and get creative. But remember, you\u2019ll have to give your web address over the phone, so it should be simple and clear.<\/p>

Domain names are always lower case and can only include numbers and dashes. Also, make sure multiple words put together in your domain name don\u2019t accidentally spell anything naughty. One of the more famous examples is an IT recycling company called itscrap.com.<\/p>

How do I actually make a website? 4 methods<\/h3>

There are many ways to build a website. You can do it yourself or you can employ someone. Here\u2019s a breakdown of each method with pros and cons.<\/p>

DIY coding<\/h4>

Medium difficulty \u25c6 Time: 1\u20132 days<\/strong><\/p>

\"Make<\/p>

If you go the DIY route, you\u2019ll need to learn HTML\/CSS, the coding languages used to build webpages. Then you\u2019ll have to create a design from scratch. There are free courses on YouTube as well as paid ones on skill-learning sites like Udemy.<\/p>

It\u2019s possible to download free and open source apps to code with like Atom and Brackets.io, but Adobe Creative Cloud is the industry package for doing this. Included are apps like Photoshop (for editing photos and creating website layouts), Illustrator (for creating pro-looking scalable logos and graphics) and Dreamweaver (a dedicated website building program with the ability to edit code and create designs with a \u201cWhat You See Is What You Get\u201d (WYSIWYG) editor), among heaps of other professional-grade apps.<\/p>

Once you\u2019re done, it\u2019s time to go live. You need to set up your domain name and use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client to upload your files, using the details provided by your website host provider.<\/p>

Pros of DIY business website coding<\/h5>