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TABLE OF CONTENTS
According to a recent survey here at Bizee, 57% of business owners — whether with brick-and-mortar stores or online shops — make a majority of their sales thanks to their websites. Despite how easy it is to discover businesses on the internet, our survey found that only one in four small businesses set up an online store last year.
“We are in a digital age,” says Channing Muller, Principal at DCM Communications. “If you don’t have a website, fewer people are able to find you. If they don't see a website, they could very well think you are out of business OR not a legitimate one. Websites = social proof. They are just as much a requirement of doing business as a bank account.”
Whether you're looking to start a business or you've had a business for some time, setting up your website now will get you leagues ahead of the competition. This guide includes seven clear-cut steps for building a small business website — plus web design tips, examples of stunning web design, and the do's and don'ts of creating a small business website.
7 Steps to Building a Small Business Website
Follow these seven essential steps to create a small business website design and make it live:
1. Create a Domain Name
Your domain name is the name of your website, and you want it to be as close to your business name as possible. You can buy a domain name individually, or it may come with your website hosting or content management system, which are both explained in the following sections.
Keep your domain name short and easy to spell, and try to use ".com" as your domain extension, as it's the easiest for customers to remember. If you have a brick-and-mortar or localized business, consider getting creative and adding your location, such as "NYCDogWalker.com."
If you find the perfect domain name and want to claim it immediately, purchase it from a site that will sell you a domain name individually, such as:
Need help coming up with a business name? Try our Business Name Search Tool to find all the names available in your state:
Nicole Bowman
Nicole Bowman is a freelance writer who thinks turning research into stories is the best gig ever. She started writing billboards back in 2002, worked in book publishing in New York for many years and now she creates all sorts of engaging content for the web. Nicole lives in Rehoboth Beach, DE, with her husband, two sons and their poodle, Tootsie. She loves the great outdoors, bookstores and tennis.
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