Creating a business website can seem daunting, but with expert insight, it becomes a manageable task. The first step is to choose a business website template that aligns with your brand and goals, drawing inspiration from top examples. Once you have a design in mind, selecting a reliable web host and a memorable domain name will set a strong foundation for your online presence. Finally, optimizing your site for SEO and focusing on user experience will enhance your visibility and customer engagement. This guide will provide valuable tips on making a website just right for your business!
Every great business idea deserves—and requires—a great business website. And while there was a time when building a website was a complex, time consuming and expensive process, those days are long behind us. Now, website creation is accessible to everyone, no matter how tech savvy (or tech averse) you might be.
With an intuitive, user-friendly website building platform like Wix, anyone can learn how to make a business website complete with fully customizable features, enterprise-grade security and built-in tools for managing and growing your business. All it takes is 10 simple steps; let’s get started.
01. Pick a business website template
Start by taking a look through our top picks for some of the best business websites and best business website examples. This will give you some inspiration ahead of creating your own.
As you set out to choose a template, thoroughly search the different categories to find the best match for your business goals and persona. Whether it’s a tech startup site, a construction company website or anything in between, you should consider the look and feel (modern, simplistic, retro, etc.) that you want your specific business website to express. You should also consider the most important pages and features that would benefit your business. Dafna Rabin, template design team lead with Wix, suggests doing this as step one.
Next, Dafna suggests considering the content you intend to create on your website, and to base the template around that. Do you intend to write a blog? Do you want a large image or video on your homepage? What story is your content telling about your business? These are all decisions that impact which template you choose.
“Think about the flow of the content and the story that you want to tell your users,” Dafna recommends. “What is the first thing they see? What is the second? What is the main call to action (CTA) that you need on your website? What is the most important information that you want your users to see?”
Finally, your template should accurately reflect your brand. “Make sure you fit the website to your brand colors and that your logo is well positioned,” Rabin advises.
02. Choose a web host and domain name
To get online, you need a web hosting provider for others to discover your website.
Next, you’ll need to get a domain name, also known as your website address, and connect it to your hosting provider. Selecting a strong domain name will add credibility to your business site and provide visibility for your brand. Ideally, it should match your business name for consistency. If you’re stuck on the naming front, try Wix’s free Business Name Generator and domain name search tool to see what’s available.
Additionally, you should follow these best practices when picking a domain name:
Make it easy to pronounce and spell: Your domain name should be easily shareable and understandable.
Keep it brief: Shorter names are user-friendly and easier to remember. Typing a lengthy name into the address bar is more susceptible to typos than a short name.
Be unique and consistent: You want to stand out against the crowd. It’s also a good idea to keep your domain name in line with your brand, paving the way for a cohesive online presence.
Avoid numbers and hyphens: These are often too confusing (is it 5 or five?) or difficult to remember. Hyphens, in particular, are easy to misplace when typing.
Need help finding a catchy title for your domain name? Use a domain name generator for inspiration and ideas that will help your business site stand out.
You’ll also need to consider what domain extension you want to use:
- .de domain
- .xyz domain
- .co domain
- .ch domain
- .be domain
- .store domain
- .info domain
- .tv domain
- .company domain
- .digital domain
- .ca domain
- .fr domain
03. Optimize for SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process ensuring websites can rank well on search engines through organic queries. Why is this so important? Rebecca Tomasis, SEO expert for Wix Blogs, explains: “The higher you rank in search, and the more keywords you rank for—the greater your visibility, traffic and potential for conversions or sales.”
Though there is a lot to learn about how to get your business found on Google, you can begin by implementing some of these essential SEO strategies on your site:
Find relevant keywords: You’ll need to do keyword research to better understand what your potential customers search for—the exact phrases or words they use to find specific products, services and solutions. Implementing these keywords naturally on your website, from the page heading and content to the image alt text, will help improve your rank in relevant search results. “Make sure your content is helpful and answers the intent behind the search term as directly and as clearly as possible,” advises Rebecca.
Improve your website performance: Website performance impacts your site’s position on search engine results. Your web pages should fully load or display in both desktop and mobile browsers in one to two seconds. Some ways to improve your website performance include uploading correct image sizes, for example, using JPEG files over PNG, and avoiding overloading your web pages with content.
Add a meta description: This is the short summary of your website that appears below your URL in search results or social shares. Having strong, keyword-optimized meta description copy can enhance your website’s click-through rate, boosting your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
04. Focus on the user experience
An effective website design will influence how your customers perceive you and your brand. Moreover, creating a good user experience can help your visitors feel satisfied with your business and can positively affect your website’s traffic, conversion and bounce rates.
When you’re done editing your website, check how it feels live. “You need to check it in the browser; check how it looks and scrolls,” says Dafna. “Check it on mobile (which a lot of times people forget to do). Check it in other screen resolutions and make sure everything is visible, everything is accessible and people can read it.”
Additionally, you’ll want to pay attention to the following:
Navigation menu: Website navigation can make or break a user’s experience. To optimize navigation and satisfy visitors, choose the right menu for your audience and site. For example, the classic menu is placed at the top of every web page (the site’s header). Or the hamburger menu, a widely recognizable yet simple three-line icon, that’s more commonly used on mobile websites.
Calls to action (CTA): A CTA button is an element with the goal of getting people to take a certain action, such as “contact,” “buy,” “subscribe” or “submit.” An effective CTA depends on the text, color, size, shape and even placement on your site, all of which entice a user to click and move towards making a purchase or filling a contact form.
Social media links: The social media icons or links displayed on your site can affect the user experience. You can add X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or Instagram icons in your copy to help visitors further engage with your business. Place them prominently in headers and footers as reminders to visitors, or integrate live social media feeds. Additionally, you can implement a social bar to your site, linking visitors directly to any of your social channels.
05. Build relevant pages
In learning how to create a website, you’ll discover that having multiple pages is a must for your business. This allows you to cover a broad range of content, products or services and nearly every nut and bolt of your venture.
Consider these essential pages when deciding what to include on a business website:
Homepage: Often compared to being the storefront of your business, an attractive homepage will hook your potential customers if it’s inviting and easy to navigate. Ensure this by using eye-catching images or videos, as well as readable fonts. Also place strategic calls to action throughout your site to guide visitors to take further steps.
About: Prospective clients want to know who you are and what distinguishes you from competitors. An “About Us” page effectively communicates this vital information, as well as your business’s story, goals, values and mission statement. If you have a particularly small business, you can also consider adding a professional bio to this page. Not sure where to begin? Wix’s AI text generator can create an “About” page for you in seconds. Our guide to how to write a bio can also help.
Contact: A contact page is the best way for potential customers to get in touch with you. This page should include all your contact information, such as location, business phone number, social media links, business email address and a short contact form.
Online store: With online sales on the rise, it has become essential for many businesses to adapt to an eCommerce model. Setting up an online store comes with several benefits, as advanced web tools can help you manage and scale your small business. These include everything from managing order fulfillment and creating a customized checkout experience for customers to accepting payments. Once you’ve decided how to make your eCommerce site, you’ll be able to streamline all your operations from a single powerful dashboard—on desktop and mobile.
Bookings page: If you’re a service provider, you know that extending convenience and efficiency to potential clients is a crucial part of your business. Adding an online scheduling software to your site will allow you to seamlessly accept bookings and payments. An all-in-one booking solution lets you manage your calendars for clients and staff, plus sell membership plans, subscriptions and open trial sessions. It also allows you to host sessions via Zoom, enabling you to reach larger audiences and build your clientele.
