Small Business Website: How to Create One in 2023?

If you plan on doing business these days, even just as a side hustle, you'll need a website. While Instagram and Facebook will connect potential customers with your products or services, there's nothing quite like a stable and dedicated Web address you can point clients to. Large companies devote entire budgets to professional websites and/or have development teams working exclusively on them, but you don't have to go that far.

These days, even the smallest startup can easily and affordably launch a Web presence. In this guide, we'll show you how, and let you know what to pay attention to along the way.

If business is booming and/or you've made it this far without one, you might be wondering why exactly you need a website. That's a fair question that has a few good answers:

If you've determined that your business needs a website, you have three options for doing so: You can program it yourself, contract the job out to pros, or use tools like website-building software.

Should you possess the coding and Web design skills necessary to create a website, chances are that you've already stopped reading. For everyone else, there are two options:

Assuming that you lack programming knowledge, but have very clear ideas about what your website should look like and a sizable budget, why not allow pros to handle it for you? For this, there are two main options:

• Agencies: These take care of the planning, design, and publishing of a website, offering a variety of related services on the side. Both their size (in terms of staff on the books) and quality mean that you'll pay a premium.
• Freelancers: If you don't have a blank check, these offer a more affordable alternative to agencies, since you'll only be dealing with an individual. Still, it's important to find the right person, capable of bringing your vision to life and willing to communicate with you every step of the way.

How to find agencies/freelancers?

There are dozens of online platforms where you can contract your website project out to eager freelancers and agencies. Among the most well-known are Upwork and Fiverr. On those sorts of sites, you can specify what exactly you're looking for, by searching for "small business website", and thereafter limiting hits by price or other filters. Payments are made directly through the platform, which takes a cut before passing the rest on to the freelancer or agency you've hired.

Of course, you could also search for a freelancer or agency via Google, looking for those that specialize in working with small businesses, or who are from your area.

How much does an agency/freelancer cost?

Depending on the freelancer or agency, costs can range from several hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. We recommend against looking to cut costs if going this route since your end product will be a high-quality, long-term investment in the future of your business.

Especially on platforms like Upwork, you'll likely come across unbelievably attractive offers, however, we strongly caution against letting the price tag for a custom website guide your choice. With lower costs often come compromises in other areas, such as quality, willingness to work, and/or poor communication. Similarly, freelancers can and do work from anywhere with an Internet connection and electricity, making it crucial not to assume that their standards are the same as those in your home country or that of your target market. Should this contrast come to light or be visible once your website goes live, it can adversely impact your reputation or standing.

Alternatively, you could create a website for your small business using something called a site builder, even if you don't have any knowledge of coding or programming. These are user-friendly, online platforms in which you'll be able to manipulate and adjust ready-made content blocks visually which don't require a snippet of code.

In our EXPERTE.com review, we thoroughly assessed 11 of the best site-building solutions. Below, we'll present our Top 3 choices for small businesses:

Wix won our EXPERTE.com review, offering the best all-arounder on the market. The platform combines a nice variety of features, user-friendliness, and top-notch support into what we feel is the best overall package out there.

Particularly appealing for those looking to create a small business website are the testimonials, contact forms, and other ready-made elements. In terms of ecommerce and marketing, Wix also cuts a fine figure.

In addition, Wix has two editors: Along with its regular one, the platform offers a simplified, AI-assisted editor for beginners. As might be expected, the latter (ADI editor) severely limits its users' customization options, so we advise using the former. Even for newcomers, the standard editor isn't all-too-hard to get a feel for.

And should the features that Wix comes with out of the box not provide what you need, you can check out the platform's app market, which includes seemingly endless numbers of extensions and add-ons.

If you're interested in seeing exactly how site building with Wix is, be sure to have a look at our step-by-step guide.

In comparison to Wix, with Squarespace you'll be more tied to the platform's design presets. However, the templates are eye-catching: Squarespace actually made a name for itself with its striking and elegant templates, which have helped to elevate thousands of businesses in the digital sphere.

New content blocks are added as "sections" and cover key elements like contact forms, FAQs, or team pages, as well as branch-specific content like tour information or reservations.

Supposing that your business is working internationally, we should point out that Squarespace doesn't handle the creation of multi-lingual websites as elegantly as other platforms. In addition, it lacks a true app market, offering only a few extensions.

MyWebsite by IONOS is a bit more complicated to get a feel for than the other platforms we've introduced above, however, learning to use it is worth it: Based on Duda, you can personalize your website to a considerable degree, customizing each content element to your exact preferences.

Creating multi-lingual websites is straightforward, and in terms of ecommerce, IONOS cuts a good figure. All content blocks important for small and large businesses are offered.

Personalization is important since the design templates offered by IONOS weren't as appealing to us as those of its competitors. It is unfortunate though that IONOS doesn't have an app marketplace.

Your website should be a reflection of your taste and preferences, however, a few elements should be present:

Your homepage is your digital shop window and where your visitors will first connect with your business. As such, make sure that they feel welcome and encouraged to have a look around by clearly presenting which products or services you offer. Finally, try to provide some information about what differentiates you from your competitors.

Make sure that you avoid plastering your homepage with generic stock photos, meaningless phrases, or huge blocks of text. Instead, use high-quality visual material and succinct and proven ad or marketing copy. First-time shoppers want to get to know the business they're intending to work with, but also, what they have to offer. As such, try to look at your homepage through the eyes of your visitors.

Visitors to your website should be able to readily find what they're looking for. This requires intuitive navigation menus since these make it possible to divide your website into pages and subpages that are logically organized.

Most website builders make creating navigation menus very straightforward, even automatically adding new pages to them. At the same time, make sure that your navigation menus aren't overloaded, and that important information doesn't get buried on subpages.

What exactly are customers looking for from your business - and how much do your goods or services cost? Help visitors to your site by clearly presenting your services or offers along with price tags.

Keep things simple on your homepage. Detailed origin stories about how your business got started, or what your corporate philosophy have their place, and it's on your 'About Us' page.

Those who click on this page want to know more about your business, your team, or who you are. Make sure that the information is current, accurate, transparent, and sympathetic. After all, the end goal is to leave a good impression.

Let visitors to your site know how they can get in touch with you. Site builders offer ready-made contact pages, meaning that all you'll have to do is supply a current email address, phone number, or other information. Such forms can usually be customized to your exact needs.

One of the most important resources for potential customers are testimonials and reviews left by others speaking to the quality of your past work or projects. Don't downplay these, as they allow you to show off what you've accomplished and how customers have perceived it. Make sure to get your client's permission to use their reviews and/or name when promoting your goods or services.

Then there are a few pages that relate to legal aspects of running a business online, namely, the Imprint and Privacy Policy.

If planning to do business in the European Union, having an imprint might be a legal requirement. This should include your business's name, your full name, the business's address, and contact options (telephone number and email address). Depending on what sort of business you're operating, this can vary.

Privacy policies are also legally required according to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This must specify what you will do with the information visitors to your site leave behind. A suitable policy could be drawn up by your legal representative, or, you could use one of the samples that are available online.

Do you want to market your goods or services online? You can with most site builders, however, you'll need to purchase an ecommerce subscription, which can cost a bit more than the standard plan. Businesses focused on selling online can also take advantage of dedicated platforms like Shopify: Alongside classic site-building features, these offer comprehensive dashboards for managing your products, payments, and shipping.

To see how to set up an online store and find out which ecommerce platform is best for doing so, be sure to consult our EXPERTE.com guide.

Websites are a must these days, even for small businesses. If you can't code, don't worry, you can contract the job out to an agency or freelancer, or give things a go yourself with a site builder.

While expensive, paying pros to build a website for your business gives you maximum flexibility, freedom, and control over how the final product looks. Site builders, on the other hand, cost considerably less and are easy enough for anyone to use, even beginners or those with no coding knowledge. Still, just how much you'll be able to achieve depends on which platform you wind up using. Among the best choices for small businesses are Wix, Squarespace, and MyWebsite by IONOS.

Comprehensive reviews for both site builders and ecommerce platforms are available on EXPERTE.com.