Creating Your Own Business Website
About three-quarters of all people searching for goods and services start their search online. As a small business owner, you can’t afford to be without a business website. Hiring a professional to do the job can cost hundreds of dollars or more, but you can create a professional-looking website yourself using free and low-cost tools available online.
Whether you want drag-and-drop simplicity or something more customized that a beginner can still accomplish, your own business website is something you can accomplish in a few simple steps.
Get Your Domain Name
Your domain name is your address on the internet. Everything connected to your business website will begin with your domain name. They cost around $10 to register, plus another, similar fee to renew every year.
Choose a basic name that ties directly to your business name, like jdplumbing.com.
Search one of the many name registrars online to make sure your name is available. A couple of the more popular ones are NameCheap and GoDaddy. Make a list of acceptable names before doing this step - and be ready to purchase as soon as you find one you like. Domain names have a mysterious way of having a price increase the second time anyone searches for them. Fill out a simple form and pay online to get your domain name.
Choose a Website Builder
Your choice of website builder or platform will depend on your technical skills (or those of a handy minion). Each type can vary wildly, and they all have their pros and cons. Turn this into a research project, because the builder is something you’re going to be using a lot in the coming months.
The simplest ones are the drag-and-drop template sites that allow you to build your website from pre-planned designs. If you’re not very artistic and you feel a need to follow a plan, these sites can fit the bill.
The best include Wix, Weebly and Squarespace. Each one offers hundreds of different website designs which you can personalize with details about your business.
If you want more control with your site and you have a bit of experience online, look into WordPress for building your business website. While each WordPress site is built on a chosen template, it still offers a huge variety of add-on gadgets called plugins, each of which adds a different feature to your site. Want to collect email addresses or add a slideshow of business pictures? There’s a plugin for that.
Build Your Site
Easier said than done, right? If you’ve never built a business website before, you probably never noticed what they actually include. At the bare minimum, your site will need:
- A homepage. This is your front page, where you introduce yourself to potential customers
- An about page. Tell the story of your company, giving customers an inside view to your business
- A services page. List all the different types of plumbing services you offer
- An FAQ, or Frequently Asked Questions. You know what they are. Write them down so customers can find them for themselves
- Testimonials. Get great quotes from happy former customers
- Contact page. Give them a way to contact you, including email and phone number
- Optional: a blog. Although not critical for your beginning website, keep this in mind as a great marketing tool in the future
Have you built your own plumbing business website? What platform would you recommend?
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