Congratulations on taking the first step to creating a website for your small business! Your website will be a key part of your marketing and branding efforts, and you want to put your best foot forward.

Luckily, there are various site-building platforms out there, including the uber-effective and popular WordPress. With a little guidance, you can craft a top-notch website that wows your customers and helps you achieve your business goals. Vector Logos has provided some industry secrets to creating an outstanding website.

Choose the Right Website Builder

You don’t have to hire a web designer to get a stellar website. There are many different website builders on the market these days. But how do you know which one is right for you and your small business?

For starters, you want to look for a platform that is user-friendly and offers robust features. Additionally, it should be affordable and scalable and offer support in case you run into any snags along the way. And finally, it should be popular enough that there is a large community of users who can offer advice and support.

By those criteria, WordPress is one of the best options out there. Kinsta explains that it’s used by millions of people worldwide, has an intuitive interface, and offers tons of features and plugins to make your site look and function just the way you want it to.

Implement Important Plugins

Plugins are what make WordPress so versatile and powerful. There are plugins for just about everything you could possibly want to do with your website, from adding contact forms and social media sharing buttons to improving your site’s speed and security.

While there are literally thousands of plugins to choose from, there are a few key ones that every small business owner should implement on their WordPress site. These include:

• Yoast SEO for improving your site’s search engine optimization,
• WPForms for easily creating forms and surveys,
• HubSpot Marketing is free for tracking website visitors and leads,
• Jetpack for security and performance enhancements, and
• W3 Total Cache for caching pages and speeding up your site.

What is Valuable Content? 

Producing high-quality content for your website is essential to ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Not only does good content provide value for your website visitors, but it can also help you to rank higher for relevant keywords and phrases. But how do you know for certain that you’re bringing the right content to the table?

One of the surest ways to produce valuable content for your website is by using search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. By incorporating keywords and phrases into your content, you can help to improve your ranking in SERPs. Also, Adjust suggests that you consider implementing other SEO tactics, such as optimizing your site’s metadata and boosting its click-through rate (CTR).

Also, make sure that you understand your target audience when creating any kind of content. Take time to research your ideal customers, their demographics, pain points, and where they hang out online. Then, you’ll be armed with information to direct your content strategy.

Produce High-Quality Visuals

What people see when they come to your site is critical, so create engaging visual content for your audience. Videos are incredibly popular now, especially with younger audiences, but visuals in general are key. Infographics, for instance, are a great way to visually represent information about your business, your processes, or your impact. Not sure how to make one? Check this out! There are free templates available that you simply plug your information into to create a beautiful – and informative – infographic in no time.

Another key visual is your logo. Having a simple, tasteful, yet recognizable logo is also incredibly important for your marketing efforts because this is how you develop brand recognition. Work with a company like Vector Logos to create something that reflects your business and will help you to build your branding across all marketing.

Use Analytics to Track Your Progress

A significant benefit of having a website is that it lets you track your progress over time using analytics tools. Google Analytics is a free service that provides detailed website traffic data. This information can be very helpful in understanding who is visiting your site, what they’re interested in, how they found you, and whether or not they’re converting into leads or customers. Tracking this data regularly allows you to make adjustments to improve your site’s performance over time.

Start Building Your Website Today

Creating a great website doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. By using a top-notch website builder, developing a memorable logo, and creating audience-focused marketing, you can design a fantastic site that takes your small business to the next level. So what are you waiting for? Get started today!

Text credit: Elena Stewart

Photo credit: Pexels