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Small Business Websites: How to Make Yours More Compelling [Infographic]

July 31, 2017 By Gail Gardner 11 Comments

By now, every small business should realize they need a website. But according to CNBC, 45% of small businesses still don’t have a site in 2017. Even if you only have local clients, they should be able to easily find you online. But that doesn’t mean you should settle for a 1990s one-page business card style website.

Small Business Websites: How to Make Yours More Compelling

Your goals for your website should dictate where you build it and what you put on it. An ecommerce site is very different from a site for a local small business. Websites that rank online have content worth linking to and sharing. Ask yourself these questions:

  1. Do you want to build the site yourself using a website builder or have it built for you?
  2. Will you regularly publish new content? If yes, you need a site with a blog built in.
  3. Who will market it? Is that something you will do in-house or outsource?

Creating the site is just the beginning. You also need to promote it. With the answers to the above questions in hand, consider the options available.

Done For You Websites With Marketing

There are many website builders available for the do-it-yourself inclined. But many small business owners are not into being creative or are busy running their company. They may want to consider a company that creates small business websites and also markets them.

Or, they can hire a developer to create the site and a different agency to market it.  Often, the website creator is also put on retainer to update it regularly, create backups, and assist with any technical issues.  Content is typically created by writers or copywriters, although some site developers also create content.

The reason you might hire one agency to build and market your site is that marketing agencies often have conversion optimization experts on staff. Developers who work with optimizers learn what design elements increase conversions.  This is especially important for lead generation and ecommerce sites.

The more you expect your site to accomplish, the more important the design and marketing are.  It is critical to choose the right developer and marketers from the beginning. I recommend you get referrals from people who have actually worked with them, ideally from someone experienced in what they’re recommending.

Many people sound like they know what they’re talking about or have great marketing, but are not very accomplished. Until you have worked on a project with someone, you won’t know how good or bad they are or if they communicate clearly.

Website Builders

There are many DIY website building platforms. The best way to choose between them is to read reviews to get the real scoop on how good the support is. Look for reviewers in your niche if you have specialized requirements. They may reveal pros and cons you need to know.

Before you choose, make sure they:

  1. Are fully SEO-optimizable
  2. Have a blog, if you intend to use one
  3. Support the addition of social media icons

Read the fine print as some may require long-term contracts. And do read all the reviews, both positive and negative. G2Crowd.com is a good place to find the most comprehensive reviews. Search the best website builder category.

WordPress

One of the best ways to attract incoming links to help your site rank in search engines is by blogging once a week. That is why a quarter of all websites are built on WordPress. If you want someone to install, host or maintain WordPress for you, contact us and we’ll recommend someone great.

Why Small Businesses Should Blog

We can also teach you how to use WordPress, create custom images, and fill in the image and SEO fields. Self-hosted WordPress is an excellent choice if you are serious about regularly publishing content. Our influential-writers can create the content for you if you prefer.

E-commerce Platforms

If you plan to have a large store with hundreds of products, you will want to consider using an e-commerce platform. Research carefully because which you choose can make a huge difference in how well your site ranks and converts.

For small stores, you can use WordPress plugins like WooCommerce. Read our post Can You Run a Huge Store on WooCommerce for more information.

55 Features for Successful Small Business Websites [Infographic]

Building a website is complicated, but the features it needs to have are not unknown. This infographic lays them all out in a visual way:

55 Features for a Successful Small Business Website [Infographic]Click image to see the original.

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Gail Gardner

Small Business Marketing Strategist at GrowMap
Gail Gardner is the founder of GrowMap.com. She is a Small Business Marketing Strategist she mentors small businesses, bloggers, and freelancers. After 23 years in the field with IBM and 5.5 years managing AdWords accounts, her focus shifted to small business marketing strategy. GrowMap.com is listed by Cision as a Top 100 Site for Marketers and has received three Small Business Influencer Awards from Small Business Trends. Named by D&B a Top 50 SMB Influencer on Twitter, you can follow Gail @GrowMap and on LinkedIn.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Pinterest profileMy Tumblr blogMy YouTube channel

Latest posts by Gail Gardner (see all)

  • Powerful Keyword Research: the Key to Attracting More Traffic - April 5, 2018
  • Making Money with Your Blog – Part 1 – Understanding Affiliate Programs - August 25, 2017
  • Looking to Scale Up? Get Your Employees on the Right Track Through eLearning Systems - August 2, 2017

Filed Under: Small Business Advice, Web Design / Basics Tagged With: business blogs, website builders

Comments

  1. Harish Kumar says

    April 10, 2018 at 2:41 am

    Hi admin
    Thanks a lot for this quality article, I am facing some difficulties in creating a website, now I got some clear idea, the picturized explanation is really impressive and actionable.I am going to create my new website.I bookmarked your website for my reference.keep doing this great work.

    Reply
  2. Nav says

    April 2, 2018 at 6:19 am

    Great work Gail. You have not missed a single point. Best structure for user and search engine friendly small business website

    Reply
  3. Shoaib Raza says

    August 2, 2017 at 10:20 am

    well google search sniper is very quickly index the post have the graph and these post are easily ranked in search engines. Good article about graph.

    Reply
  4. Nathan Ambrose says

    August 1, 2017 at 6:20 pm

    H Gail.

    As Mark said, it’s still a problem to convince many small businesses of the need for a website. And you rightly said that blogging is important too.

    So many people tell me that they don’t need a website to blog, as they have a Facebook page. Well, they may well have one, but it’s not theirs to keep. Neither is the content that they blog there.

    The best thing for us to do is just continue to benefit from our websites. Eventually, some will come to our websites (not Facebook pages) to hire us.

    Thanks for sharing. Tweeting soon to my followers.

    Nathan.
    Nathan Ambrose would love you to read ..Do you teach your new clients to fish?My Profile

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      August 2, 2017 at 12:39 am

      Hi Nathan,

      So true. I always tell people not to build their business on someone else’s land (like Facebook). Even if they don’t toss you out for no reason, few people will see what you post there. Trying to find any particular information again is so difficult. Facebook ads are about the only thing that works there – if you can target them well.

      I believe that using Facebook or Google Plus and giving up your own site is a mistake. Using free blogs you don’t control can also be a mistake. Some get deleted. Medium suddenly stop supporting some paying customers. StumbleUpon deleted years of content without warning and giving no opportunity to save it. Your own site is safest.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Marketing With Instagram: It is Very Doable!My Profile

      Reply
  5. Patrick says

    August 1, 2017 at 1:41 pm

    This infographic is extremely helpful. I will be saving it and following it religiously. It’s got so many great ideas and tips. Thanks so much for the post.
    Patrick would love you to read ..What’s In A Name? Does Naming Your Portal Increase Intranet Adoption?My Profile

    Reply
  6. YGProducers says

    August 1, 2017 at 5:22 am

    Hi, Gail, you are doing an amazing job. I visit your blog regularly and I wish you never stop writing..

    Please do check my website and let me know where it can be improved. i will really appreciate it

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      August 1, 2017 at 2:50 pm

      Hello,

      You did not leave the URL to your site in your comment, so I can’t visit it.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Marketing With Instagram: It is Very Doable!My Profile

      Reply
  7. Lisa Koudel says

    August 1, 2017 at 2:53 am

    Hi, Your blog really helps full & awesome scripted. To get more visitor & traffic you need the more online presence in the local business listing.

    Reply
  8. Mark says

    July 31, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    Thanks for sharing several eye opening points Gail!

    Oddly enough, a few years back,I had seen a similar figure about
    how many hard working small business owners or service providers,
    for whatever reasons, still don’t have a website.

    And unfortunately, the figures haven’t changed much.I really enjoyed
    you extremely informative infographic, as well as the slideshare type
    of presentation as well.

    Clearly there are far more benefits to be gained, from having some
    sort of web presence, than not having one.

    Thanks for pointing out and sharing the many potential benefits to be gained
    rather inexpensively.
    Mark would love you to read ..How To Give Your Creative Entrepreneurial Ideas The Boost It Really Needs!My Profile

    Reply
    • Gail Gardner says

      July 31, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      Hi Mark,

      Thank you for making the time to comment. Yes, it seems strange that the number of small businesses that still don’t have sites never seems to go down much. I didn’t make that infographic, but I did find it very useful.
      Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Using a Personal Cell Phone, at Your Employer’s Request, Is a Good Thing (and Why)My Profile

      Reply

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