Small business website guide

So you're setting up a small business and you know you need a website, but where do you start? Right here, with this 5-step guide!

Decide what the aims and goals are The overall aim of your website is what you want it to do - and a remarkable number of people never even think about this!
Your website only has one aim, and once you've figured it out, you can list the individual goals of your website. As an example, let's take this website. The overall aim of the site is to get us clients. The goals are: to provide information about our services, to provide contact information, to build trust in our company and to show we know what the hell we're talking about (hence this articles section).
Decide who your target audience is A website aimed at HR managers of large international corporations is going to be a world away from one aimed at lovers of second-hand books in the West Midlands.
Build up a profile of your typical site visitor. Is he on your site because she's bored at work and wants to waste some time? Or is he in a bit of a hurry and just wants to get your phone number? Why have they come to your website? What is going to make them come back?
Figure out how you are going to market the site A number of companies take a 'Field of Dreams' approach to their site. 'If you build it, they will come'. No they won't. You must tell them about it.
Obviously, finding your site through search engines is going to be one way of getting visitors (there are articles on search engine optimisation on this site). You might also consider online advertising and viral marketing (where you use fun things like quizzes, games or funny pictures to spread the word about your site).

If your target area is local, you might use posters, flyering and local advertising to draw people to your site. The local and national press are also great ways to get the word out about your site - either through advertising or PR.
Find someone to build the site for you Personal recommendations are a good way of finding a web design company to build your site. Don't be afraid to ask questions - how long and how much are good places to start. Have a look at the agency's portfolio and see if you like their previous work.
If you're on a budget, you might think about building the site yourself. Be aware that if you want to do a decent job, you will have to spend an enormous amount of time learning how to do things - not just the design and code, but how to write, how to optimise it for search engines, how to make sure it works in every browser. Of course, if you'll be satisfied with a rubbish site, go right ahead!
Update it You need to decide how the site will be updated before you or your agency starts building it. If it's a big site, your agency might build you a content management system, to allow you to update it yourself. Alternatively, you can buy a programme for updating your website - these are designed to be easy to use. The other option is to have your agency update your site, but this can work out expensive.
Tell everyone about it Tell your friends, neighbours, clients, gran - everyone! If you email people about your site, ask them to forward the email onto their own list. Send out a press release. Submit it to search engines. Ask other relevant sites to link to it. And keep on telling people about your website!

If you found this article useful, why not have a look at our website design services?

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