Do you know that more than 1.79 billion people bought a minimum of one item online in 2020?
Your customers are browsing the web for hours on a daily basis. And a good chunk of this time is spent finding businesses and products to buy. So no matter the size of your company, it’s crucial to have an avenue on the web.
Taking your business from offline to online may seem like a daunting task. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This comprehensive article will show you the steps required to get up and running within a week.
Steps to Get Your Business Online
If you are establishing your company online, you will undoubtedly need a strategy for what exactly you want to achieve. Plus, you’ll need to put aside a small budget, along with some effort and time.
Plan a Website
Setting up an Etsy shop or a Facebook page for your business to start selling online might seem like an easy, affordable way to establish your online visibility. But the problem with such portals is that your ability to customize the user experience and content is limited.
In contrast, a website dedicated to your company helps boost your reliability, brand value, and customer referrals.
Take The Shade Shop, for example. A family-owned company since 1918, it sells custom blinds, shutters, draperies, and motorized shades.
Within one year of launching its new website, this local business was able to increase lead generation by 96.90%.
So if you want to get your brand online the right way, a website is the best option. Consider the following factors when strategizing your website:
- Who is your primary customer?
- How do you want them to interact with your website?
- Is your website going to be primarily educational or sales-oriented?
- How much are you willing to spend on the website?
- By what time do you expect the website to be up and running?
You can also analyze your competitors’ websites to know what type of experience visitors expect. Besides, consider the websites you frequent and note what makes them interesting or helpful to you.
Get Web Hosting
Web hosting refers to the platform with which you will store your website online for other people to be able to access it on the web.
You have two choices when it comes to web hosting. One is to use a website builder to develop your website. With most well-known website builders, hosting is already included. So you don’t have to get or manage it separately.
The downside of this approach is limited flexibility. You may not be able to customize your host’s settings to a deeper extent or switch to a different host easily.
The alternative is to use a popular CMS like WordPress. So you’ll have to get the web hosting separately. This way, you’ll have the freedom to change your hosting in the future.
The only disadvantage is that you’ll be the one responsible for handling the hosting service. Also, make sure to consider the below aspects when selecting a web host:
Storage (disk space) – You need to know the amount of storage required. Otherwise, inadequate storage can stifle your progression.
Bandwidth – You should be aware of the expected traffic on your website. If you don’t have adequate bandwidth, your website could fail to load with spikes in traffic.
Backups – Check whether free backups come with your hosting package or if you’ll have to pay for them. And keep tabs on the frequency of backups performed.
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) – Nowadays, if a hosting company does not offer a free SSL certificate in all of its packages, it’s a no-go.
Register a Domain Name
Also known as a web address, a domain name is a word (or words) visitors enter into their browsers to locate your website.
Domain name selection is not a small task. A domain name has to be memorable, short, and a good indicator of what your business does. So when coming up with domain name ideas, bear the following points in mind:
Number of characters: A lengthy name could be hard to recall, while something too short is likely to be misunderstood. So strike the right balance.
Spelling: Uncommon spellings, special characters, and digits (in your domain name) can confuse your target audience and send them away.
Domain name extension: “.com” and “.net” are still among the most popular extensions. So try to pick one of these.
Domain names are purchased from a company known as a domain name registrar. And they also need to be renewed annually. The domain registration fee is different for each company but it is generally around $10-$20 per annum.
Build Your Website
After domain name registration, it’s time to build your website. You can hire a website designer to do the same. But this approach may require you to shell out more money than doing it on your own.
Not only this, you will have to articulate your requirements to this person and assess their performance from time to time.
As we discussed above, the simplest way to create a website is either through a website builder or a CMS such as WordPress.
A website builder handles the technical aspects of creating a website, allowing you to concentrate on content and design. And it does that via ready-made templates, drag-and-drop functionality, or design systems. This makes the process of creating a website as easy as preparing a slideshow.
During this stage, you will get an opportunity to hone your design and branding skills. There are many components to consider, but the main brand elements are your logo, color palette, page structure, menu, visual assets, and mobile responsiveness.
Create Relevant Pages
This may seem like bad news to you, but it’s actually a good thing. Here we go: Your website is not a one-time, set-and-forget deal. That means it will need updates and maintenance from time to time.
Frankly, it’s liberating because you don’t have to feel the pressure of making it perfect from the get-go. All you need is some basic pages to get started. Depending on the nature of your business, these may include:
Homepage: This is the main page that will act as the pathway to all the other pages of your site. So make sure it’s easy to navigate.
Product/services pages: These pages will explain your products and services in detail. So they should be clear and convincing.
For example, if you were selling life coaching packages, your service pages should show which packages you offer, your price and how to contact you.
Contact page: The easier it is to get in touch with you, the more confidence people will have in your brand.
About page: This page gives your origin story, mission, and an introduction to the people behind the business.
Testimonials page: This page lets visitors read about the experience of past customers and how you have helped them.
Implement Basic SEO
68% of online experiences begin with a search engine. So you need to make sure that your target audience can find your website easily. The higher your website ranks in search engines like Google and Bing, the more traffic you’ll get.
This is done through search engine optimization, or SEO. Here are some basic steps you can implement to optimize your website:
Keyword research: What are the words or phrases your prospects often search for online? And which of these are relevant to your business?
By finding and choosing the right keywords, you can come up with topics and questions to address on your website. And the good news is that free tools like Answer The Public and Keyword Surfer can help you with this.
Meta tags: Embed search-engine-friendly tags on each of your website pages. These tags help search engines crawl and understand the content of your website. You can check your website builder’s documentation to see how to do this.
Sitemap: A sitemap is a coded file that helps search engines understand the whole structure of your website, with all its pages. You can use a tool like SitemapGenie to create a sitemap for free, and then submit it to Google Search Console.
Use Visual Aids
Embedding relevant photos and graphics to your website is essential these days to engage different types of prospects. In fact, 51% of content published online in 2021 was visual.
From product photos to screenshots, and background images to infographics, visuals go a long way in enhancing user experience and making your website look more polished.
Finding great images and editing them for your website is easier than ever. Platforms like Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay let you find free stock photos that you can use without violating any copyright laws. Printful also has a Mockup Generator that allows you to place visuals onto a product, bypassing the need for photoshoots or pro design skills.
You can then use an editing tool (like Canva or Picsart) and a compression tool (like TinyPNG or Smush Pro) to edit and optimize your photos for faster loading. This way, the photos will not slow down your website, which is an important factor for both visitors and search engines.
Promote Your Website
No doubt, setting a solid SEO foundation makes a big difference. But it may not be enough, since 61% of marketers say their biggest challenge is generating traffic and leads.
That means you’ll have to rely on more than one tactic to get eyeballs on your website. Here are some ideas to begin with:
Use social media: Online stores with a social media presence have an average of 32% more sales than those that don’t. While you don’t have to invest in every social network out there, you should at least strive to have an active Facebook or Instagram page.
Start an email newsletter: While it’s important to get traffic from search engines and social media, don’t put all your eggs in these baskets only. You never know when their algorithms change and your website takes a hit.
In contrast, having a list of email subscribers gives you direct access to your audience, without having to rely on a 3rd party. So start building an email list and creating email marketing campaigns from day one.
Post high-quality content: Use the topics you identified in keyword research to create fresh content and post it on your website on a regular basis. For example, if you’re a good writer, you can start with blog posts. Or if you’re more comfortable talking in front of the camera, create video content instead.
Final Thoughts on Getting Your Business Online
As discussed before, don’t think of your website as a one-time effort. Getting your business online is one thing, but maintaining a strong online presence is another.
For best results, you’ll need to keep optimizing your website. Posting new content, updating old pages, and making big and small tweaks over time will help make your website the best it can be.
And while you’re at it, also consider setting up a web analytics solution. Google Analytics, for example, is a free option to help keep tabs on what’s working on your website and what’s not. So you can make improvements as needed and continue to grow your business online. All the best!
