Small Business Web Site

For most small businesses, the main reason to have a Web site is to attract customers.

That's why it's important to design your site with visitors in mind.

A Web site can be an invaluable marketing tool for any business.

It provides a means of promoting products and services, delivering information, and establishing credibility.

If you're just getting started with your own business, the Web site can be a way to connect with potential customers who might otherwise never hear about you.

You don't need to spend a lot of money on a professional designer to get the results you want.

If you plan carefully and follow some basic guidelines, you can create an effective Web site yourself.

It doesn't take much time or technical expertise if you follow these steps:

1. Determine your goals for the site

The first step in deciding what to put on your web site is to determine what the goals of the site are.

The most common mistake small businesses make when they set up a new web site is to focus on the wrong things.

This is not surprising, because they are often trying to mimic their competitors, who themselves may have gotten it wrong.

You should not list your products on your home page; you should not have a page of links; you should not have a page of customer testimonials.

You should only have those things if they directly serve the goals of your site.

In general, you should have as little on your home page as possible.

2. Choose your content

While designing your Web site, take the time to think about your purpose.

What do you want your site to accomplish? Do you want to sell a product, promote your business, or make money from advertising? It's best to keep the goals of your Web site simple and well-defined from the beginning.

Anyone who has ever tried to make a Web site "do everything" knows how frustrating the process can be.

Once you know what the focus of your Web site will be (for example, selling widgets), you can begin thinking about how to design it. Start by writing down a list of all the things that you would like visitors to see on each page.

For instance, if you are going to sell widgets on your site, you might want visitors to see:

Images of the widgets that are for sale

Prices of the widgets

Ordering information (i.e., how they order widgets)

Shipping information and policies

Contact information for customer service questions

When writing down this list, don't worry about whether any of these items are possible or even feasible at this point; just write down your ideas.

3. Choose your design elements

If you are going to make a small business web site, remember that it has three main elements:

Your main content

The navigation (menu)

The layout (design)

Most people think that the last is most important, but actually it's the third - your content. This is what will make people come back again and again.

You need to think about what you want to say on your website. What are the things that will keep people coming back? Then decide how to get those things onto your site.

It may be helpful to use a template - a pre-designed website layout.

This will help you concentrate on creating a good site, rather than trying to figure out how to put all the pieces together.

You can find many templates for your small business web site on the Internet and many of them are free!

4. Build your pages

Your home page is the most important page on your site. It is where your visitors will most likely start their visit.

Components of a well-designed home page include:

* A clear statement of who you are, what you do, and why visitors should care

* Clear navigation to all of the other pages on your site

* A compelling offer or call to action

* Contact information and links to social media profiles

5. Test and publish

Before you publish your site, test it on all the major browsers.

That'ss a good idea anyway; you don't want to get a nasty surprise when your site goes live.

Butt in this case, it's especially important, because a common way people use search engines is to type in the name of something they've heard of, and if you're lucky yours will be the first result.

Iff that fails, they'll try variations on the name; if none of those work, they'll search on some text from your site.

In Soo if someone tries to find you and can't, you lose.

You are now ready to test and publish your pages so that others can view them on the Web.

Small Business Web Site