How to Create a Website for a Small Business

The Internet is a powerful medium for advertising products and services. Consumers often use the Internet for research prior to making a buying decision because it provides a safe, no-pressure way to evaluate the benefits of a variety of different products. Once the research process is complete, many people actually make their purchase online and have the product shipped to their home. Small business owners can take advantage of this dynamic by creating a professional and interactive website that showcases their product line and allows for online purchases.

Instructions

1. Evaluate your online market space. Brainstorm a list of keyword phrases that your likely customers would use to find solutions to their problems. Search these keywords in the popular search engines and look at the websites you find. Identify five or six keyword phrases from your list that you want to compete on. These keyword phrases will form the core of your website content.

2. Plan your website structure based on your product offerings. Some product lines lend themselves to a web store that provides a catalog of items for purchase. Smaller product lines are often sold through an email list. Site visitors are offered a free report in exchange for subscribing to a newsletter, which gives the site owner the opportunity to send a series of marketing messages over time.

3. Buy a domain name and web hosting service. Select a domain name that reflects the niche market of your business. Domain name registration typically costs less than $10 per year. Web hosting typically costs less than $10 per month.

4. Create website content that uses the keyword phrases you identified earlier. The search engines determine the theme of your site and search results rankings largely based on the words your use in your website content. Write content that reflects your market's interests and provides useful information that offers solutions.

5. Create or obtain a graphical theme and layout for your website. Most web hosting providers offer a selection of professionally designed website themes that can be customized according to your unique business needs. The images and layout of your website are important for creating a professional impression.

6. Obtain merchant services for processing credit card purchases. Most merchant services providers offer technical support to help you integrate their credit card processing services with your website.

7. Upload your content to your web hosting account with the file management interface provided by your web host. Link your pages to ensure easy navigation throughout your website. Test your links and payment processing service to ensure your site functions properly.

8. Promote your website by creating content and posting it on other websites with links leading back to your web pages. The search engines view each link leading back to your website as a vote for the importance of your website. More links leading to your site will cause your site to be listed higher in the search engine results.

9. Advertise your website through banner ads and pay-per-click advertising services. Banners are typically sold on individual sites or across networks of websites. Pay-per-click ads are sold by the major search engines and display next to the search results when a prospect searches for a keyword phrase that you have selected to trigger your ad.

References

• Improve the Web: Create a Small Business Website on a Small Budget
• The Wall Street Journal: How to Create a Successful Web Site For Nothing (or Almost Nothing)