Should I, or shouldn’t I, the thought most likely running through many business owners minds when the Internet started becoming mainstream. Now it’s more like; if you don’t have an online presence, you’re missing out. And while this online presence varies depending on the businesses need, how does one get started? Chloe Marchbank sets out five simple steps to follow to get your business online. – Stuart Lowman
By Chloe Marchbank*
When the seeds of a business idea are planted in your mind, you’ll want to head off to create a million things. One of those things will include making a website – but, there’s a logical way to do things step-by-step. So, slow yourself down and follow these tips.
Plan the business – and what the website will give you
Before you dive too deep into investing in a website, know exactly why you’re going to create a site, and what you want it to achieve. Then once you’ve done that, decide when you’re going to launch. Will you build an entire site and refuse to go live until it’s pristine? Or will you create a minimum viable product – essentially a site with enough features to enable your business to exist online – and add pages and features from there?
Most businesses will want to see that their services, products and contact pages are well polished before going live. As you progress you might need to do more than this, but in the embryonic stages it might just pay to get started and begin winning clients and customers.
Pick a domain name
This is one of the most important decisions you’ll make when setting up your site. Finding something that hasn’t been used already, is memorable enough to recall (and pronounce correctly), but also sums up your business, is pivotal. It needs to possess the potential to be brandable and searchable, and not so long or complicated that people will stumble over it when they say it.
But, don’t just think about the name. Think about the extension too – .com is still the most memorable, even if you’re based in the UK. Finally, don’t go for something that confuses you with another brand as doing so could mean you’ll face legal action. Moz has a definitive guide to picking a brand name here.
Buying a hosting plan
You could attempt to set up a hosting service yourself, but why bother when there is so much scope online for doing this instantly? Using a company for VPS hosting is the simplest solution – you could set up multiple websites (particularly useful if you want a landing page or a test site while you’re building the ‘proper’ version), with your own choice of disk space and bandwidth, and multiple email accounts too. You’ll also gain the support and security that a professional web host confers. You might also want to combine the domain names and hosting plan from one company, for ease.
Develop the content
Once the site is up and running, what will you do next? An interesting, intuitive experience will draw customers in and retain them. How you accomplish this largely depends on the business itself. You might create a blog that’s regularly updated and packed with interesting and relevant industry information and SEO friendly. You might plant Calls to Action in intelligent places, encouraging people to take up great offers. You might decorate the site with great branding, and photographs and slideshows that attract and keep people’s attention.
Promotion
Finally, think about making a regular content calendar to help you promote your business, or even enlist a content marketing company to plan a campaign for you. Plan the growth of your social media presence in conjunction with your site, as this will help you to develop a brand and build a following of advocates. You might even put an advert in a print product.
None of these are ‘quick tips’ or overnight fixes. Instead, they’re ideas and will take time and patience to implement, but they are achievable – even if they seem a long way away when you sit down at the start with a blank piece of paper.
- Chloe Marchbank is an enthusiastic freelance writer, currently working for various businesses across a variety of sectors. As a recent English graduate from Nottingham Trent University, she is passionate about gaining experience and making a name for herself
