For many people, a business’s website is the first place they go when they want to learn more about a company. A website can help you grow your business, advertise your services or products, tell people what it is you do, and establish credibility. 

As a small business owner, you might be asking yourself, "how can I create a website for my business?" In 2024, you don’t need to hire a professional web designer or developer to create a professional website. Many tools will help you even if you don’t know how to code or design. This guide will show you how to create a business website and give you useful tips on how to get started.

Why Your Small Business Needs a Website

Creating a website is an essential part of an online business. How many times did you instinctively Google a service provider or business when you wanted to learn more? As a business owner, this is what potential customers are likely to do when they want to learn more about you. 

You want to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward with a professional website that clearly represents what you do and what you can offer. Your website is also a way for you to collect potential customer’s emails so you can maintain a relationship with them in the long term.

In 2024, having a website is no longer optional for business owners. According to a study published in August 2024 conducted by IBISWorld, 29 percent of business is conducted online.

Planning Your Website

Once you’ve decided to take the plunge and create your own website, the first thing you’ll want to do is identify your goals and objectives. For example, if you are a massage therapist, you’ll likely want people to find out more about the services you offer, your rates, and where and when you work.

If you own a store, you’ll need e-commerce features so customers can purchase the product directly on the site. For this reason, it’s important to create a site map and plan which pages you’ll need in advance.

Before planning your website, get really clear on your target audience. What are their needs, and how will you speak to those needs on your website?

Choosing a Domain Name

Now that you have an initial roadmap, the next step is to choose a domain name. You want your domain name to be something easy to remember. You could choose the name of your business, but if that’s not available, you’ll need to get creative. 

One idea is to include the industry or service you provide in your domain name. For example, if you’re a divorce lawyer, your domain name could be www.DavidDivorceLaw.com. Adding an industry term will also help increase your SEO.

Three new websites go live every second, so there’s a good chance your ideal domain name may not be available. You’ll also want to choose a domain name extension that is common, like .com. However, you can experiment with alternative common domain name extensions such as .net, .biz and .co.

Domain names are important, but do not let uncertainty about the “perfect name” stop you from building a website. At the end of the day, your business is about connecting with your potential customers, and your domain name is only a small part of your overall branding and service. 

Once you choose a name you’re happy with, you’ll need to register it on a domain name registry like GoDaddy.

Selecting a Website Builder or CMS

You have a name, you have a vision, now it’s time to build your website. There are two routes you can take:

• Squarespace, Wix, or Weebly (website builders)
• WordPress or Drupal (content management systems or CMS)

Website builders come with templates, which make it extremely easy (and fast!) to create a business website. You choose your template, plug in your information, and you can hypothetically launch your website within one day.

However, there are limits to how much you can customize templates, and you may find you need or want a feature that’s simply not available. (For example, you might want to design your blog in a way that your website simply does not support.) 

If you’re not picky about the design, this is by far the easiest way to get a website off the ground. The best website builder for small business needs is often one that allows for ease of use and scalability. Website builders charge a monthly subscription fee, typically around $20 - $30.

The second option is to build a website from scratch using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress (or Joomla or Drupal). This option requires knowledge of code and is much more time and labor-intensive. 

The main benefits, however, are that you will have way more customization options so you can build your dream website. You will typically pay a one-time fee rather than a monthly subscription fee when you choose this option.

For most businesses, especially solopreneurs, consultants, and freelancers, a website builder is the best option. It’s easy to use, easy to update, and much more straightforward to navigate and make changes. 

However, if you have much more advanced needs, choose a CMS, but remember you’ll probably need to hire a web developer and/or designer if you do not know how to code. Many web designers use website builders and are able to customize them to meet your needs, so consider that option as well.

Designing Your Website

Research shows that 94% of first impressions are determined by a website’s design. However, if you’re not a professional graphic designer, there are plenty of ways to make your business website design look outstanding.

This is one of the main benefits of using a website builder — they come with ready-made templates. When you’re choosing a template, search by the different use cases. 

Website builders like Squarespace have templates for portfolios, e-commerce stores, information-based websites and more. These templates can be customized, so if you choose one with blue colors, remember you can change them to your brand’s color theme. Color schemes, fonts and layouts all play a role in the overall design of your website. 

Essential Pages to Include

There are a few essential pages you’ll want to include regardless of the company you’re running or the specific services you are providing:

• Home Page: The home page is usually where people first land. Make sure you give people an immediate sense of who you are and what you’re offering right away.
  
  

• About Us: Potential customers will want to know more about this business. Telling your story helps humanize your business and what you’re selling, whether it’s a product or service. 
  
  

• Products and Services: Tell your customers what you offer and all the details related to it, including your rates or prices. Make it as easy as possible for potential customers to understand what you are offering.
  
  

• Contact Us: Answer any frequently asked questions current and potential customers have and tell visitors how to get in contact with you if they still have questions.
  
  

• Blog/News: Publishing a regular blog can help establish yourself as an authority in your industry, give people more information about your services, and help potential customers feel confident in purchasing from you. For example, if you’re a massage therapist, a blog with tips on health and wellness can go a long way in demonstrating to potential customers that you are a trusted expert in the field. Regularly publishing a blog is an effective content marketing strategy that will increase your search engine optimization (SEO) and help more potential customers reach you. 
  
  

• Testimonials or Reviews: Testimonials and reviews make a huge impact in demonstrating that what you have to offer is valuable and builds social trust. Make sure to include them on your website. 

Adding Functionality to Your Website

Think about the specific needs you have for your website and what functions you’ll need. For example, you may need to set up a payment processor if you are charging customers on your website directly. If you want to generate leads, you’ll need a way to collect emails. 

You may also want to include your social media channels so that clients can stay up to date with you. As you build your website, it’s a good idea to implement SEO best practices as early as possible to improve search engine rankings. You can do this by learning SEO basics online or hiring a professional to do it for you. 

Consider offering your visitors a free gift in exchange for their email. For example, as an e-commerce store, a popular offering is 10 percent off their first purchase. This is an effective way to generate leads because your visitors may not buy the first time they visit your website, but if you collect their email in exchange for something of value, you’ll be able to maintain a relationship with them over time through email. 

Ensuring Mobile-Friendliness

In the last quarter of 2023, more than 58 percent of global website traffic came from mobile devices. Not only that, but 57 percent of users say they won’t even recommend a business that doesn’t have good mobile design. 

Most website builders will automatically adapt to mobile, which makes this process nearly automatic. However, you may need to make some manual adjustments to make sure all of the text and visual elements translate properly from web to mobile.

Optimizing for Search Engines (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of making your website rank higher in search engines like Google so that more people can find you. SEO is an entire subfield of digital marketing with many different best practices and opinions about the best way to do it. However, you only need to start with SEO basics, and you can always improve your SEO strategies as you grow or hire a professional to improve them. 

There are two different types of SEO:

On-page SEO 

On-page SEO involves everything SEO-related that takes place on your website. This includes making use of keywords your potential customers know and use. Basic keyword research will help you identify terms that you can incorporate into your website. You can find these keywords on Google Trends, which shows which keywords are more popular. 

You’ll want to make use of both short-tail keywords, which are short one to two-word phrases but are often harder to rank for, and long-tail keywords, which are multiple words but often easier to rank for. 

On-page SEO includes optimizing your site so that it loads quickly. For example, make sure the images are the right size for easy uploading, you’ve included meta tags, and that the URLs of each page are clear and describe what the page covers.

Off-page SEO

Ensuring Security and Privacy

Making sure your website is secure is an important part of building a website. Make sure you have a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, which encrypts the information users enter on your website (such as their contact and payment information). 

If you collect user data like passwords, you need to ensure you have the right systems in place to keep the information secure. Additionally, website builders and any additional plug-ins that you may choose to use typically release new versions periodically, so you’ll want to make sure you keep them updated so that your website stays secure. 

Testing and Launching Your Website

You’ve worked hard to create your website, and now it’s ready to go live. The last thing you want is to find out later that important links weren’t working or connected. That’s why it’s so important to test your website. Check every link to make sure none are broken, and if you have any forms with input, make sure they work. 

It’s a good idea to get user feedback on your website before you launch it. Ask a few people to navigate through your website and see if anything confuses them. Can they find the About page? Are they able to sign up for your newsletter? Use this feedback to improve your website. 

Here is a quick checklist for smoothly launching your website: 

1. Make sure every webpage is fully functioning and any technical issues have been addressed
2. Ensure all on-page SEO is set up properly
3. Make sure Google Analytics is set up correctly so you can see the traffic and activity 
4. Confirm your domain hosting is pointing to your website and is set up properly 

Maintaining Your Website

The process doesn’t end once you’ve launched your website. You still need to make sure your website is updated and maintained properly. Set up a plan to regularly monitor your website performance and analytics, whether it’s once a month, weekly or quarterly. 

Your analytics will tell you how people are using your website, which pages are most popular, how people are finding you and more. All of this information is helpful to use to optimize both the current content and information as well as future content you publish. 

Case Study

Yoo Direct Health, an alternative healthcare solution, worked with TBH Creative on an aesthetic and functional website redesign with the goal of speaking more directly to patients. After working on the site architecture, content, planning, custom web design and more, the finished product was meant to make it easier for potential patients to connect, navigate and engage. 

“The redesigned website is clearer and represents us better. We’re excited to have our current and future patients use it. It’s easier to navigate and find what you’re looking for in fewer clicks. I also think patients will love our blog as it grows. We plan to use it to provide a lot of insights into our innovative therapies and services,” Min Yoo, Yoo Direct Health’s chief operating officer, told TBH Creative.

Conclusion

Building a website is essential for any business owner. While there are many steps to building a website, do not let the task stop you from building your business and connecting with your potential customers. Instead, start small and build from there. 

There are many ways to make the process easier, including using a website builder and hiring a professional for certain specialized tasks like visual branding or SEO. Your website is the face of your business and it will evolve as your business grows. So focus on the first steps to build it and use these guidelines to put your best foot forward.