In today’s market, it is now absolutely essential to ensure your business has a strong online presence. When starting your own small business, you need to stand out amongst your competition and building a strong web presence will bring you value in terms of building an audience and utilising the internet to make money. Leveraging the power of the internet will allow you to reach audiences in areas of the globe that would otherwise be inaccessible and could be a fantastic opportunity to you and your business.
Whilst it is a tempting option to rely on social media and other hosting websites to set up your own online stores and distribute products, the best way to ensure your brand stays strong and you remain in control is to create your own website that is personal to your business. Having your own website means you are in control and you make the rules. You won’t be surprised with hidden fees or have business disruption if the platform owners decide to change the rules and you’ll have your own online hub which will be the centre of your business.
Creating your own website from scratch may seem like a daunting prospect at first, but the benefits will be reaped in little to no time. Setting up your own website is actually very easy and there is a huge amount of resources online available to aid you in the process.
Here is the process broken down into 5 easy steps.
- Select a domain name – Ideally this will be your business name followed by .com (This is the best option as opposed to other variants such as .co or .uk etc)
- Choose your hosting – There are many options for web site hosting, this is how your website will be kept online for your audience to find.
- Select your website platform – You have several options for how you want your website to be built. You can hire a developer and code it, use an online platform such as WordPress or sign up to companies such as Silky Ocean Studios who allow you freely customise and design your website without needing the knowledge of coding.
- Design your website – Your website design should be clean, easy to navigate and be the hub for your business. Ensure your business branding is well translated into the design! Also take some time to figure of the needs of your website, how much traffic do you intend to visit daily? Asking these questions will help you figure out the best options to go for.
- Incorporate E-Commerce – If you’re selling products, you’ll want the option to allow users to buy online. Depending on which platform you select, there will be different ways to add this option to your website.
Once your website is up and running, be sure to let your audience know! Advertise on your business cards, at networking events and on all your social media channels. If you are concerned with any of the steps involved with creating your own website, there is an abundant amount of resources online to assist you, or you always have the option of outsourcing this task to a web designer or developer.
If you truly do want your business to stand out, your own platform will always be the way to go.
