How To: Build a Website

by: Lindsey Marino | ChooseWhat.com

For a small business owner, a great website can mean the difference between being visible to customers and being virtually nonexistent.

A website provides a marketing channel for you to advertise and promote your business. In fact, 7 out of 10 people search for a business online and decide on who they will use before ever setting foot in a brick-and-mortar store…and all of their decisions are based on your website! You should have no more excuses for not having a website.

Every business needs a website either to promote their brand, sell products or services or to build a trusted brand reputation. Once you determine the purpose your website will serve for your customers, you need to choose between one of the options below before you can start building your website:

  1.  Build it yourself.

    We highly recommend that any business owner who wants to build his or her own website use a website builder service to do so. Website builders are inexpensive and include all of the tools you need to create an informational website for your business or an e-commerce website that allows you to sell products online. Anyone of any age and of any skill level is able to have a fully-functional website up and running in just a few hours.

    Build a Website 

  2. Hire someone to build your site.

    Hiring a web developer may be a good choice for some people who need a complex or highly customized website. Hiring someone to build your site is more expensive than building your own website, so you probably don’t want to choose this option until your business is doing well enough to invest  in a website that may require more functionality as your business grows.

    If you're interested in hiring a designer to build your site, fill out our short form to get free price quotes for designers in your area.

    For more information to help you decide between building your own website and hiring a web designer, we have created the chart below so you can compare these two options side-by-side.

    You can also find more information by reading our article titled Hiring a Web Designer vs. Building Your Own Website.

    Comparison of a Website Builder Service to Professional Designers

  Professional Website Builders Design Firm
Cost $10-$100/month $2000 - $5000
Customization

You can change the main graphics, insert your company logo,insert your text, insert your pictures, customize the page structure, insert a mapinsert Google Ads and create a store front to sell items (e-commerce sites).

 They create multiple custom graphics, navigation images and logos for a small site with 3-10 pages. They will test JavaScript functionality on a wide variety of web browsers.  They give you more design flexibility and can optimize your site for search engines.
Hosting Website builder services are usually bundled with a hosting plan for a low monthly cost.  In addition to the cost of the design team, hosting space costs extra.
HTML Skills Required None None
Turnaround Time Several Hours 2 weeks - 2months
Maintenance Self-maintained Costs extra
Support Included Usually costs extra after the project (website) has been completed.

*If you to go with a design firm, all of the following steps besides choosing your domain name could be handled by your designer.

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Prepare to set up your website. 

    • Choose a domain name.

      It is important to choose a domain name that best represents your business. You want to choose a name that can serve as a trademark to help brand your business and one that is free of copy right infringement. Read our guide on Naming Your Business for more information on how to name your business.

      Generally, a good domain name for a business is:

      • A .com if possible, rather than a .net or .org
      • Short, simple and easy to remember (a unique word like "Google" is a plus)
      • Easy to spell without any strange characters added
      • Accurately describes your business and what your site represents
      • Related to your product or service, (For example, if you own a mortgage company, play with words such as "mortgage", "interest rate", etc. until you come up with a name that works for you.

    • Register your domain name.

      All the website builders reviewed on ChooseWhat.com       provide you with the option to register your domain name. Most website builders charge an annual fee, but Yola, Web.com and OnlyBusiness.com are providers we have found that include domain registration, with no separate annual fee. If you want to register a domain through GoDaddy, instead of through your website builder (this option might be better if you plan to switch website builder service providers in the future), check out our guide: How to Register a Domain Name.

    • Decide how much hosting space you need.

      A web hosting company allows your website to be publicly accessible online to computers connected to the Internet and provides storage, much like a hard drive on your computer, for your web pages and other associated files, such as images, videos and PDF documents. Most website builders will provide you with a hosting service, but the amount of included web hosting space varies among service providers.

      All the website builders reviewed on ChooseWhat.com       provide you with enough hosting space to host everything you’d want to include on a basic business website, including images, videos and other multimedia files.

      Tip:  We recommend that you sign up for a basic package, and then upgrade if and when you need more hosting space.

      If you plan to create a multimedia-heavy website, then you may want to consider 1&1 or Web.com, which provide you with an unlimited amount of hosting space.  Below are conversion metrics to help you decide:

      1024 Bytes = 1 KB
      1024 KB = 1 MB
      1024 MB = 1 GB

      *One stock photo typically equals 50KB of space.

    • Decide between an informational website and an e-commerce website.

      Informational/Brochure Website: Displays information about your business, such as a list of the services you offer, a menu if you are a restaurant, seasonal specials or discounts, your location, and contact information accompanied by images, videos or PDF files.

      Example: http://www.sitstaylearn.ca/services.php

      E-Commerce Website: Allows you to sell products or services and include tools such as a product catalogue, PayPal button, and shopping cart.  If you want to build an e-commerce site, we suggest Yola’s Silver plan or Weebly’s Pro plan, which both include basic e-commerce tools with their monthly fee. Other services require an upgrade to get these tools.

      Example: http://www.poochieprints.com/order.php
    • Choose a website builder.

      Compare website builder services       and choose one that will meet your needs. Check prices and features included as well as technical support available. Technical support can be important, especially if you don’t have a lot of prior experience creating a website with an online builder. If you are selling products, make sure you check that e-commerce tools are provided when choosing your website builder.

  2. Build your website. 

    Once you’ve chosen your website builder service, simply follow the instructions given by your service provider to get started. But, there are various elements you will want to consider before you start designing your website.

    A few elements of an effective website include a clean and professional look, clear navigation paths, and great copywriting. It is also helpful to have the following things readily accessible before you start building your website:

    • Your company logo
    • Custom image for header (top of any page)
    • Chosen color scheme
    • Branding messages/value proposition
    • Content: text, images, videos, other multimedia
    • Contact information: email address, mailing address, phone number, fax number
    • Description of the company (“About Us”)
    • Product or service descriptions (if you want to sell products online)

  3. Promote your website.

    Finished designing your website? Whether you choose to build your own website or hire a designer, you can benefit from the best practices in our articles below to enhance and promote your website.

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