How To Build A Small Business Website (In 2020) – Free Beginner’s Guide

Ann Martin | Posted on April 10, 2022 |

For any small business, the amount of people you reach determines the overall success of the company. A website for your small business is the best way to reach the maximum number of potential clients. In today’s world of automation can be a daunting task. Whether your company’s business is done online, a website will allow you to advertise and let customers search for you more easily. Basically, your website is your online business card with all the information your customers need to know about your company and its services.

You can create your own business website without having to hire a web developer. Creating a website for your business has never been easier. Let’s take a look at how you can create your own business website.

Before creating a website

No need to hire an expensive web-developer or have any coding experience. Creating your own website is as easy as following our step-by-step guide.

What will you learn?

How to choose a domain name that matches your business
How To Buy Website Hosting
How to install WordPress
How to design and structure your website
What content should your website include?
How to use add-ons and extensions to add features to your website

WordPress is a program that helps millions of small businesses build their websites. In fact, WordPress is responsible for getting 32% of all websites online.

In the past, coding skills were required to be able to design and create a custom website. WordPress ignores the need for coding by offering a variety of pre-made templates as well as extensions and add-ons.

The following step-by-step instructions will show you how easy it is to set up your small business website with WordPress.

Step 1: What you will need

Before creating your small business website, you will need both a domain name and website hosting. Domain name is the name of your website such as yourcompanyname.com. Website hosting means where all your online files will be.

Now that you have domain name and website hosting, let’s move on.

Step 2: Set up your website

You need to buy your domain name and hosting. Setting up a website for a new company can seem a bit expensive. Typically, a domain name costs 14.99 per year and hosting costs about $ 7.99 per month.

Since WordPress has two different forms, you need to decide which form is right for you. WordPress.com is a hosted solution when WordPress.org is self-hosted.

It is recommended that you use WordPress.org as it will give you instant access to all the features.

Bluehost is the official hosting partner of WordPress and we recommend using it to set up your website. Bluehost is offering our users a great deal. The offer includes a free domain name, free SSl and 60% discount on hosting. This means you can set up and run your website for as low as 3.95 per month.

This is when you buy your domain name and hosting.

Step 3: Select a domain name

A domain name adds credibility to your business and can make a memorable domain name different. Take some time to come up with a suitable domain name that is relevant to your business. Now that you have your domain name, here are some tips and tricks to move you forward:

Visit the Bluehost website and click “Start Now”
You will then be asked to choose your pricing plan

After selecting your plan, click “Select”. On the next page, enter your domain name

We’ve also included some helpful tips to help you choose the perfect domain name:

An .com website is easy for customers to remember
Your domain name should be linked to your business, using either your company name or trade
If the first domain name you choose is not available, you may end up trying to add a location or geographic area. This increases the chances of getting local business.
Make sure it’s simple, easy to remember and easy to pronounce

Step 4: Install WordPress

Once your domain name is selected, you will enter account information such as business name, address and contact information.

You will be presented with additional options that you can purchase if you wish. However, we do not need them now and if you want to add them, they will be available later

You will then be asked for your payment information and after receiving your payment you will receive a confirmation email explaining how to login to your web hosting control panel.

WordPress will be installed for you through Bluehost. Hosting Dashboard is where you can login directly to your WordPress website.

The WordPress admin area is where you manage your website and change settings as well as add new content. The admin area is presented after you login.

Step 5: Create your content layout

You need to come up with a simple design that is easy to navigate. Successful small business websites follow an ideal format. You can choose your layout by clicking “Pages” and then “Add New Page”.

Remember to keep it simple at first. Our goal is to build a foundation for the growth of our site. Start with a title and a few words about the company. Add a few pictures but you don’t want your website to look crowded or cluttered. As your website grows you can always add more.

Below is a basic list of the most common pages used in a small business layout:

Homepage – This is where you get to know the company and attract customers. You may want to provide a summary of your services and give potential clients a call to action such as “call us” or “send us an email”.
About Us – This is where your clients really get to know you and the company. You can include things like how you got started, company values and goals to serve your clients.
Products or Services – Here you will find a list of the services or products you provide with a brief description of each. Each listing should have its own title with a price or a call to action to ask for a quote.
Contact Us – This way your clients will know where to reach you. The page should be dedicated to listing your business address, phone number and email address.

Other pages may be added as needed, but be sure to keep them relevant to your company. Review pages and pages are common to each individual service.

Step 6: Choose a design

Your website needs to have some flare. While WordPress has its own simple templates that you can use, there are thousands of other pre-made templates from which you can choose to give your website the right look.

We recommend keeping it simple. A confusing background can be confusing and difficult to navigate.

Most business websites use a design that has a navigation menu at the top and a brief welcome at the bottom. Here you can use a call to action such as “Keep reading to learn more” or “Click on the About Us page to meet our team!”

Once you’ve installed the perfect design for your website, you’ll be able to customize it with a variety of settings that change the look. To play with these features, click “Display” in the WordPress admin area and then “Customize”.

Customizing your website lets you change background colors, add menus, move sections, and more. When you have finished customizing your layout, you need to click “Publish”. Otherwise, the page will not be saved.

WordPress has over 50,000 free plugins that allow you to advertise new features like contact forms and Google Analytics. With over 50,000 plugins available, we’re sure you’ll find everything you need for your website

Creating a website for your small business can be a daunting task. Remember to focus on your content without being too irrational. Simplicity is the key to creating a successful business website. We hope we’ve been able to provide you with helpful information that makes you feel excited about creating your own website. We wish your new website and small business success for next year!