Are you thinking about bringing your offline business online? Read on to discover what to consider when building a website. In this article, I point out some of the benefits and important aspects that you may want to consider.
It’s not just about Facebook!
I have noticed that some business owners appear to think they will just get by with only having a Facebook page and no website. I think they are really missing out and doing themselves an enormous disservice. Let me explain why!
First of all, having a business website, will bring you:-
- significant engagement along with your customer base,
- more visibility amongst your competitors,
- allows you the flexibility to create sales online,
- also, make appointments online,
- not only that but, the opportunity to collect and grow your email list.
Why Growing an Email List is imperative!
You can grow an email list by connecting with your audience via your contact form or an opt-in, from your website. Putting in place a sound email marketing strategy will give you a way to personally connect with your audience, build trust and offer quality services and information, which can lead to sales. But, more importantly, this customer base belongs to you. But, with Facebook, your contacts belong to Facebook. Owning your own email list not only creates better engagement, but it is also crucial when it involves building your brand, and above all, your email list will definitely increase further as time goes on.
Make Your Website Mobile Responsive
All businesses will benefit extensively from having a well-designed mobile responsive site.
Mobile web use, in particular, is increasing rapidly. When monitoring google analytics for my clients, I would say, half of the traffic to their websites will be through mobile. I spend a fair bit of time on my own mobile, and even more, time ensuring each desktop design is also fully functional and responsive on mobile as well as on different browsers.
You will be giving your customers an exceptional experience when they visit your site on their mobile, and because of that, it will increase the time they spend on your website, which all helps to improve your rankings in the search engines.
What is a Content Management System?
Depending on your needs, there are websites which will cost a fair bit, maybe thousands of pounds and they may also be difficult for owners to manage. Thankfully, with modern developments, we have Content Management Systems that enable business owners to make and maintain their own websites.
So, what is a content management system (CMS? Simply put, it’s an application that is used to manage your web content. It allows different users to be able to log on and create, edit and publish on your website. Adding text is quite simple, it’s just like typing in a word document. You can also upload images, videos etc. There is so much more you can do, but that’s for another article.
What CMS platform should you choose when building your website? There are many to decide on, some are completely free, and others can charge a monthly fee.
Why I Love WordPress
I love WordPress. In fact, I build all of my websites powered by WordPress. I’d go as far as to say, WordPress is the number one open-source Content Management System of all.
I discovered WordPress back in 2006 after I started blogging. In fact, they have been around since 2003 and have kept themselves at the forefront of technology with their regular updates and development.
There is also the added bonus of the 5000 plus and varied free themes, which can certainly make it a hard job for you to pick one. More importantly, it can replicate the bulk, if not all, of the functions of Adobe Business Catalyst by way of plugins. At the time of writing this article, there are more than 55,000 free WordPress plugins available.
Maintaining your WordPress Website
Maintaining a WordPress website does not have to be tricky. WordPress likes to keep everything up to date, and continuously creates newer versions for more features and bug fixes to keep the platform secure and well optimised.
Once you have built your WordPress website, a decent maintenance service will provide security to keep backups, updates and any security concerns at bay.
If you decide to go with a WordPress website, and I do highly recommend it. However, I feel I need to emphasise the potential issues you will have with security if you are not maintaining and looking after your site.
I have seen, time and time again, most owners don’t take the security precautions with their sites seriously, so run into issues later down the road, which ends up costing them more in the long term. The answer is (in some situations) as simple as having a powerful password and username. But it is far better to place in situ a maintenance service and have that peace of mind your site is running securely and effectively. For a really reasonable monthly fee, you will eliminate virtually any concerns or hacking issues.
In Conclusion
Don’t overlook the benefits of having a website. In just a short time with an affordable investment, any business owner can fashion and set up a productive and beautiful website without too much delay, providing them with continuous success within the years to come.
What CMS platform would you choose when building your website?
Great content! I agree with all your points. A lot of people are truely missing out not having websites.
What a great domain name with some eye-catching design. I`m impressed! Your advice on how to build a website is also excellent. I agree its, not all about facebook, indeed for many, facebook has lost a lot of credibility. I used to have a facebook business page but I didn`t find it very effective. I wasted a lot of money. The Cambridge Analytics scandal was the final straw for me, that has impacted on Facebook badly, so my advice to people, is avoid them. Build your own website! Your recommendations are clearly laid out and very good. I`m saving your url and will be back, for more than just the excellent design!
Thanks for the great comments Trevor, The Cambridge Analytics, not heard of that, but will definitely looking into what went on there. thanks
Thanks for this write up on what to consider when building a website. I have plans to own a website soon. Not something very big, but just good enough for affiliate marketing, promotion and blogging. I feel fortunate enough to be reading this article. The knowledge I have acquired from this article will serve a s a guide for me when I finally kickoff the building of my website.
Your Welcome Kelvin, I will be posting more information and tips so be sure to come back and check it out
Hey Jamila, I totally agree with you. Having a website is much better than just advertising your business through social media. As a matter of fact, this is what I used to do before, and I knew something was missing.
I know Platforms like FaceBook for instance is very good to generate traffic. But I think it’s more powerful when you have a website. Having a website means, targeting more people. I mean, who doesn’t search for stuffs on Google? All of us, whenever we need an information about something specific, we always use Google…
Anyway, after realizing something was missing in my business, I then took the decision to build a wordpress website. And now I’m generating more and more traffic from Google, and was able to create a passive income that way.
Thanks for the feedback, and glad to hear you took the next step and built yourself a WordPress website. Glad to hear it’s. doing well and I am sure it will continue to grow and be profitable.
I think engaging on social media is not a percentage of what we can do for ourselves if we have our own website where we can significantly increase our earning potential. I personally have recently been the proud owner of a website I created thanks to Word Press. I’ve also heard positive experiences with the Siterubix website design program, so it’s up to you to decide. Well written article
Hi, Aly, I have come across quite a few businesses that rely on social media alone. But with the recent changes with the pandemic, I believe more and more small businesses will see the benefits.
Hi Jamila, I definitely don’t think it’s wise for a business to rely on facebook alone. The social media platform is not something that everyone wants to use, and that can seriously hamper the reach that your online presence / business will get.
Solid advice for anyone currently in business or looking to improve their results! Thanks for sharing your insights!