DIY: Build Your Own Small Business Website
For most small businesses, finding the time and money for marketing often gets put on the back burner. Which is a shame because it is easier than ever to self promote your small business website online for very little money. A combination of a website, social media profiles and basic local search optimization, isn't that hard to do, even for someone with little or no web design experience. And it doesn't take long to set up either.
The foundation of your online marketing efforts will be your website. For a new business just starting out, you don't need to shell out thousands of dollars to get your website built by a professional. Start out by building your own WordPress business website. It is a lot easier than you'd think. To get started you first have to register a domain name. This is the URL people will visit when they're on your website. So if your business is Billy Bob's Burgers you'll want to try and purchase billybobsbugers.com or the closest equivalent. You can purchase domains at Godaddy.com, Name.com, Namescheap.com, Networksolutions.com and a bunch of other places online for a pretty reasonable price.
Once you have your domain name now all you need is hosting. There are tons of hosts available. You want to choose a host that offers the "One Click WordPress Install". Many hosts allow you to purchase domains so that saves a step if you're trying to make this as simple as possible. Once you've purchased your hosting and domain, login to your hosting account and proceed with the 1-Click WordPress Install. Your host should be able to point you in the right direction if you're having trouble finding it.
The best part of working with a WordPress website is, to change the design of your site you simply have to switch to a new theme. Themes are the look and feel of your website. There are many free themes available as well as some really nice premium themes. Find the right theme for your business, upload a logo and some photos and you're ready to go.
WordPress also has a large number of free plugins to extend the functionality of your website. So you can integrate your social media profiles in your website. If you do end up getting stuck, the good thing about using WordPress is, most web designers are already familiar with the platform and will be able to step in and assist you, or make any small changes you need down the road. This means the site is scalable so when your business grows you can add to and upgrade your website as needed.