Top 5 Tips for Small Business Owners: How to Create an Affordable & Performing Business Website
- ASC
- Oct 11, 2023
- 4 min read
In today's digital age, having a strong online presence is crucial for your small business. Your website is often the first point of contact with potential customers, and it plays a significant role in shaping their perception of your brand.
However, many small business owners are concerned about the costs associated with building and maintaining a website.
After all, if there's not a substantial amount of money entering the business, it is hard to justify investing in a website... Even though it's one of the most important investments that you (as a small business owner) can make.
Not only this, but even if you build an affordable website, it may be difficult to get that website to generate traffic!
The good news is that creating an effective and affordable business website is entirely possible. In this blog, we'll share the top 5 tips for small business owners to not only create an affordable website, but build one that works.
1. Set Clear Goals and Objectives
Before you start building your website, it's essential to define your goals and objectives.
Ask yourself... What do you want your website to achieve?
Are you looking to increase online sales, generate leads, or simply provide information about your products and services? Understanding your goals will help you make informed decisions about the features and design of your site.
For example, if you're making an e-commerce site, you don't necessarily have to invest in an in-depth scheduling add-on. And, vice-versa, if you're building an agency or service-based business, you don't need to unnecessarily spend money on an online store.
In short, setting your goals helps from over-spending on unnecessary website aspects.
2. Choose the Right Website Builder
For small business owners on a budget, website builders are a godsend.
These platforms offer an easy and cost-effective way to create a professional website. Popular website builders like WordPress, GoDaddy, Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace allow you to design your site without the need for coding skills.
They often come with pre-designed templates, which can save you time and money. ASC Business Consulting recommends starting with a free trial to see which platform aligns best with your needs before committing.
We personally use Wix, and often recommend Wix for the beginner website user.
Another recommendation that we have if a fully-built website isn't your goal out the gate (check out our Episode 2 of our Business Spot Podcast to learn more about this!), then we recommend GoDaddy.
Using this tool, you can buy your domain, and create a simple and effective "coming soon" landing page while you build other aspects of your business.
FYI, this isn't a sponsored post - we just like giving you the best sorts of tips!
3. Focus on Essential Content
Your website's content is king. Concentrate on creating high-quality content that speaks to your target audience.
Highlight your unique selling points, showcase your products or services, and provide valuable information.
This not only helps with SEO but also engages visitors. By emphasizing essential content and optimizing it for search engines, you'll attract organic traffic and save on expensive marketing campaigns.
In other words... Time is money. If you just focus on essential content, and consistent content creation; you can rank better on Google, and generate income and traffic for your site.
4. Optimize for Mobile
With the majority of web traffic coming from mobile devices, it's crucial that your website is mobile-friendly.
Responsive design ensures your site looks and functions well on smartphones and tablets. Many website builders automatically offer responsive templates. Ensuring your site is mobile-friendly can improve user experience, boost your SEO ranking, and save you the cost of developing a separate mobile site.
Most website builders allow you to switch between mobile and desktop view, but we would recommend spending as much time on the mobile version of your site as you do your desktop site.
Prioritize optimizing your mobile traffic for conversions. That is, move potential clients through the sales funnel on your mobile site as fast as possible.
5. Connect your Site to the Rest of your Business
Your website is the digital storefront of your business. Whether you're digital only, e-commerce, an agency, or any other type and size of business...
Your website is the digital face of your business.
But, that's not the only place that your business gets traffic.
Make sure when you're creating your website that you create a social media profile (we recommend Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Pinterest, so long as the profile aligns with your target client) that matches the branding and design of your website.
Not only this, but make sure clients can find your website through your social media, and vice-versa.
In addition to this, make sure that clients can find your website and socials through emails. That way, as you collect emails and grow your email list, people will always be connected to your website and business.
Bonus Tip: Launching an Inexpensive Website
We have one bonus tip for you!
To launch an inexpensive website, always shop around.
Many reputable hosting providers offer affordable options. WordPress is an excellent choice for creating content-rich sites. You can also install various free or low-cost plugins to add functionality to your site.
Go back to step 1 and determine the goal of your site. If it's just to collect emails or give a bit of information, using a tool like GoDaddy can help you create a simple landing page with an email form.
Either of these tools can net you a fully-loaded website or landing page for less than $100.
Creating an Affordable Performance Website
In conclusion, creating an affordable business website is achievable for small business owners.
By following these tips and leveraging website builders and cost-effective strategies, you can establish a strong online presence without straining your budget. Your website is an invaluable asset that can help you reach a broader audience and grow your business, so invest your resources wisely.
If you're looking for guidance on building an affordable and high-performance website, reach out to us at info@assistingstartups.com or visit our contact page to learn more!
Or, if you're looking to just learn more about business, head over to our Business Spot Podcast!
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