Every new business needs a website to legitimize its existence because the internet has been around for almost two decades now.
During this relatively short period of time, we’ve already forgotten most brick-and-mortar marketing strategies and means, replacing them with online solutions.
How to Set up a Small Website Without Breaking the Bank?
Since you want to open a small business website, let’s presume you already have decided on its primary purpose and target audience. So, let’s get down to the technical details.
Pick up a hosting provider
This is the first and most important thing you have to do. Since you are on a tight budget, you have to consider either a shared hosting plan or a VPS.
Price
You can pick up a local, national or global provider. Whichever you choose, don’t base your choice on their introductory offer alone. Rather, contact a customer service representative and ask for a detailed quote.
Also Read: Learning the Ropes: Ways to Start an Online Business At Home
Domain name
Suppose you’ve picked up a free domain name matching your brand. Most web hosting providers offer a free domain name for the first year, but you’ll have to pay after that.
As you probably know, the .com and .org domains are the most expensive. Try to find a hosting provider that offers the two most popular domains at a reasonable price.
Use pre-built templates to design and create your website
If you want to keep costs low, set up a WordPress website. You can use WordPress.com and enjoy a managed hosting + website creation combo.
Alternatively, you can download the site-building software from WordPress.org and host the site wherever you want.
Scalability
WordPress provides all of the essential plugins you’ll need for free, so you’ll be fine if you need a simple website with a few essential functions. When your business grows, you can download paid plugins or add extra functionalities to the site.
Also Read: How to Write A Business Plan For Your Business Loan Application?
Maintenance
Another advantage of setting up a WordPress website is that once it’s up and working, the site will require little administration. You’ll probably have to spend some time getting to know the UI, though.
You only have to install the latest security patches and keep the essential plugins up-to-date. Your hosting provider will probably offer you a security bundle with their plan. Some security features become paid for after the introductory period.
Make your site visible
Now that you have a functional business website, you must let people know about it. Link it to your business’s social accounts.
Meta tags & keywords
The inbuilt SEO editor of your WordPress site will tell you where and how to integrate keywords and meta tags into your content so that it ranks high in a Google search.
Visuals
If you want your site to get noticed, upload original and eye-catching photos in the right places. People sometimes buy with their eyes, not their minds.
Link-building
You can swap links with other popular websites in the sector, thus helping one another to win more customers. You can also write articles on other sites and insert links to yours.
Updated content
To keep your website popular, you must regularly update its visual and written content. Take a short content writing course or watch a YouTube tutorial to keep costs down.
Start selling
No business website is worth a dime if it’s not selling your products or services.
If you’ve set up a WordPress website, you’ve killed two birds with one stone! The platform provides unmatched content management opportunities, plus the ability to integrate the most powerful e-commerce tool, WooCommerce.
If you want something different, you can integrate the Shopify plugin into your WordPress site with a few extra clicks.
Sales funnel
If you have in-stock products that need to start selling quickly, you can build a sales funnel instead of a regular website. The cheapest builder is Sisteme.io, as its basic plan is absolutely free.
