How to Launch a Business Website Successfully
Last updated on October 9th, 2023 at 12:58 pm
No matter what kind of business you run, whether you’re a freelancer or running a hardware store, you need a good website to be successful. As a webmaster who has worked on over 100 small business websites constructing or marketing, I know what it takes to create an exciting and engaging business website. You may think that hiring a web development company would be sufficient. It is not, as you still need to cross-verify each aspect of your website to be sure.
When you are building a new startup website or attempting to make your current website more effective, here are some tips to help you get started and help your small business website compete effectively in the online market.
Plan Well Before You Begin
Creating a roadmap for your new website ensures that everyone engaged is on the same page, that a timeframe has been defined, and that everyone is aware of their roles, demands, and objectives.
The team should be made up of people with a variety of skills and talents, and the website designer should collect the ideas and combine them into one cohesive concept. When developing a timeline, keep in mind that anything can go wrong, so allow time for damage repair.
Choose a Hosting Plan Wisely
Since hosting will be the home for your URL, it must be of high quality. It’s not something your visitors will notice, but believe us when we say they’ll notice, especially if your website collapses during a traffic surge.
Some small businesses choose a free hosting service, which results in an undesirable visitor being registered under their name (e.g., website.wordpress.com). This will not only make you seem horrible, but it will also cause traffic problems.
When you need to run on a tight budget, shared hosting is an affordable alternative. It’s the equivalent of sharing a room with a roommate. It will save you the trouble of writing the host’s name next to your name, but it will come with its own set of problems, the first of which is your roommate having so many guests that no one can fit into your room. In a shared hosting environment, this means that their excessive traffic will have an influence on your website.
Include a Clear Introduction to your Business
The first thing you should say on your small business website is who you are and what you do, in order for them not to get lost. Display the major homepage banner along with a secondary page banner (if necessary). In addition to a visual representation of your services, the “hero picture”) and subsequent banners include a snippet of text that conveys who you are and what you do. Additionally, make sure that your navigation menus both in the footer and the main menu have links to the “About Us” page so that people can click them and learn more about your company.
Pay Attention to Content, Keywords, & SEO
These three factors will have a significant impact on your website’s search engine rating. A content plan can help you secure higher rankings and increase audience engagement. You’ll probably need experienced writers or brilliant employees within the firm who are willing to offer their experience and skills to make the content distinctive, intriguing, and engaging.
SEO tools like Moz, Ahrefs, and even the Google Ads Keyword Tool can assist you in locating the most popular keywords. While you can undoubtedly train people on how to use these to find the ideal keywords to target, it can be time-consuming and expensive. Smaller businesses may find it more cost-effective to hire a consultant or an agency to implement an SEO plan. According to Travis Jamison, owner of Smash Digital, a fully managed SEO service might be a far more cost-effective solution for many small businesses in the long term.
Pick the Perfect Date to Launch the Website
It may appear like launching your website on a Friday or the day before a major holiday is a fantastic idea. However, this can result in issues that are difficult to handle fast.
For example, your live site may differ from your staging site. Websites are also used in unexpected ways by users. It’s not uncommon for bugs to appear after your site has a steady stream of users. It’s impossible to anticipate every issue that may develop as users interact with your website. It’s not a good idea to launch on the weekend or the day before a holiday because you might not be able to handle any technical issues that develop. Your development staff may be unavailable, and you’ll miss out on the chance presented by the weekend or holiday. It’s preferable to launch in stages so you can keep track of difficulties as they arise.
Make Sure to Include CTAs
Without calls to action, even a well-designed website with appealing information is ineffective. CTAs provide users with something to do with the information they’ve gotten from your site. It completes their contact with your website. It can also help the user progress through your sales funnel.
CTAs should be present on practically every page. They can be used to sway user behavior. It’s normal practice to ask users to read more content and remain longer on your website. You might even request that they share a post or register on your website. CTAs are frequently used on membership sites to persuade visitors to sign up for access to restricted content. CTAs can be carefully used to boost conversions. If you launch your website without them, you’ll be missing out on opportunities.
Create Analytics to Track Performance
You might put off integrating analytics into your website till later when you’re building it. The front end of a website is frequently prioritized, resulting in back-end functionalities being overlooked. You won’t be able to measure web traffic and gain other insights from day one if you don’t include analytics before your website debuts.
Google Analytics, for example, can tell you if your marketing techniques are effective. It also gives you more information about your site’s visitors, allowing you to figure out what isn’t working. If you run an online store, you’ll need Google Analytics Ecommerce Reports to figure out which products are converting the best. In Google Analytics, you may track your lead conversion rate, modifications, and website revenue.
Test Before you Publish your Website
Make sure your site works in all major browsers, including Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Chrome, before publishing it on the web. Verify that each page and feature is displayed, the links are valid, and the format is fluid in every browser. It will take some time, but when you do it now, visitors won’t be complaining about the inability to use specific features in the future.
Be sure your website is mobile-friendly as well, by checking it with your smartphone and tablet. Because Google, as well as other major search engines, are switching to mobile-first indexing, which favors the performance of mobile versions of websites when it comes to search engine rankings, it is imperative that you take this step.
Launch your Business Website
Creating a new website is time-consuming and labor-intensive. It’s also a labor of passion, and you’d like to see all of your hard work pay off. You must ensure that everything goes smoothly on the day of your website’s launch so that the most critical elements are operational when your visitors arrive.
Your website’s design and appearance are crucial, but they are only a part of the equation. For a website to work properly, several back-end functions are required. You may feel assured that you have the most critical tools in place if you avoid the common blunders listed above. This allows you to concentrate on the key tasks at hand, such as meeting user expectations and expanding your business, right from the start.
