The business world has never been more cutthroat so getting an edge on your competitors is extremely important if you want to succeed. 30 years ago few businesses were using the internet to promote their products and services, whereas today it is impossible to function without being a part of the online world. Often the first port of call for any would-be customer is your website so it is crucial that it is clear, well thought out, and easy to navigate. Many people have no idea how to set up their own website and would outsource its design and construction, whereas with a little bit of help and gumption it is perfectly possible to make your own. Here we are going to take a look at the most important things that you will need to make a fantastic business website.
Make it Mobile-Friendly
How many times have you gone to visit a website on your phone, only to find that it won’t upload properly and the formatting is all wrong for the screen size? And I bet that you gave up and immediately went to find what you were looking for elsewhere? Exactly. Many people when designing a website think about how it will be displayed on a desktop computer when actually they should be thinking the opposite as most people conduct searches these days from their mobile device. If a customer comes across a slow or badly designed mobile webpage, then they are going to leave it immediately and you will miss out on the potential business, so rule number one when designing your own website is that it must be mobile-friendly.
Proper Web Hosting
Every single website in the world needs a web host otherwise no other internet users would be able to find the websites. Given business web hosting is as important as this it is vital that the host company is up to the job and can offer the bandwidth that you require at an affordable price. Not only is bandwidth important, but also the uptime of the website. The last thing you want is your website to be down for hours every day as you will be missing out on customers so ensure that it has a reliable track record when it comes to uptime. Some of the free web hosts come with hidden surprises such as a demand to carry their banner advertising on your website, so be wary of the small print before signing any long term contracts.
Choose a Good Domain Name
Your domain name will be an important part of your online presence because people will be actively typing it into search engines. If it is not the name of your company then it should be something that succinctly explains what you do, or is at least related to your business in a tangential manner. It should be short and easy to spell to avoid mistakes, and if possible should not include special characters or numbers. A .com extension will always give you the most exposure and the authority that you are looking for but remember not to pay over the odds, especially if you are just setting out. You may decide to change tack at a later date and you don’t want an expensive domain name on your hands that you can’t sell.
SEO
SEO or search engine optimization is your best friend when it comes to making your website more visible and driving new traffic to it. Take advantage of techniques such as backlinking, keywords, and authority links and you will find that your website quickly rises to the top of search engine ranking lists. Nobody bothers looking at the second page of search results so it is crucial that you do all that you can to make sure that your website appears on page one of a search. Try and receive as many positive reviews as possible to give yourself an authority and promote it using all of your social media platforms to give it as much exposure as possible.
As we have discovered there are many things that you need to consider when it comes to building a fantastic business website. Make sure that it is mobile friendly so that you do not lose customers before they have even started navigating your site, and use a reliable web host that guarantees bandwidth at a reasonable price. SEO is your friend so use it to drive as much traffic as possible and make sure your domain name is short and snappy and easy to remember. If you follow these easy tips then your website stands a chance of being as successful as it possibly can be.
