Creating a business website for your company is currently less expensive and more straightforward than ever before. Learn how to get the most out of website builders, from selecting a domain name to choosing a template for your website.
Take a look at this short reference for an overview of your three choices. It will show you how to work with a designer to construct a stunning website for your business, discuss the pros and cons of utilising a premium website builder like Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify, and provide you with the best practices for using WordPress to create a website from scratch. In addition, we recognise the importance of making cost-effective decisions in light of the rising corporate overheads and the cost of living crisis.
The following are three main approaches to creating a website for your business
- Using a web page builder
- Work with an expert web designer
- Create your site in WordPress
Contents
How to create a website using a website builder
Website builders are an excellent choice for companies who are looking to get online in a hurry, lack technical knowledge and are on a tight budget. With a few dollars a month, you can get up a running building your website. The implemented simple drag-and-drop tools make it easy to build up a great-looking website or online store. You can have your website may be made with the use of tools, templates, and stock photos in a matter of hours. With all this in mind, it’s clear that website builders are a fantastic tool for small business owners.
To create a website using a web builder, you must do the following:
- Choose a website builder you are comfortable with
- Create your website builder account
- Choose a template and start editing
- Publish your website
Finding a web builder that fits your demands in terms of usability, feature set, and access to help in the event of a problem is crucial. We’ve tested the leading options for you to see how they compare.
| Wix | Squarespace | Shopify | GoDaddy | Weebly |
| Best for an all-round website builder for small businesses | Best for design flexibility & businesses looking to scale | Best for dedicated sales features when selling online | Best for Ease of use and simplicity | Best for Value for money |
| Overall Score 4.8/5 | Overall Score 4.8/5 | Overall Score 4.4/5 | Overall Score 4.4/5 | Overall Score 4.0/ 5 |
| Price £3.75-£13.50 until Sept 29 | Price £10-£30 per month | Price $5 – $2,000 per month | Price £4.99-£13.99 per month (first-term discounts available) | Price £0-£28 per month |
| Visit | Visit | Visit | Visit | Visit |
Finding the appropriate web builder is vital; you want to make sure it’s easy to use, has the capabilities you need, and has reliable help if you get stuck. We’ve tested the leading options for you to see how they compare.
After this detailed evaluation, Wix emerged as our top overall site builder for small businesses, edging out Squarespace by a margin. Having said that, let’s quickly examine these two.
Wix
We recommend Wix because it includes:
- An incredible number of templates
- Huge range of features
- First-class design tools
- 24/7 customer support
Squarespace
Some of Squarespace’s features include:
- Support options
- Powerful analytics and reporting features
- Stylish templates
Create your website builder account
This is an extremely simple process; in most cases, you won’t even be required to provide credit card information until you sign up for a premium subscription.
Choose a template and start editing
The decision of which template to use is an important one, and you should have a good selection from which to choose. Wix has over 800 templates that are suitable for practically every industry you can think of, and Squarespace has over 100 templates that are focused on design that you can look through.
Nevertheless, if you want to provide your customers with the finest possible experience when they purchase online, Shopify is the e-commerce platform that you should choose to use. To create an online shop, the eCommerce-focused website builder is, by far, the most effective website builder to use.
Whatever it is that you’re looking for, website builders have a tendency to make the process of selecting a template quite simple. In most cases, you will first be prompted to select your business sector, and then, after making that option, you will be offered a range of templates that have been suggested for you to choose from.
After making your selection, you can immediately begin editing by utilising the tools provided by your web builder to rearrange elements, add images, text, and video, and add anything else that your website requires.
Alternatively, if you’re in a rush, you can develop a site with Artificial Design Intelligence in a matter of minutes using one of the web builders that are available, such as Wix. You really simply need to enter some vital information and make a few design choices, and then, voila, you’ve got yourself a website. After that, you can adjust it to your satisfaction, or you can just get it live.
Publish your website
A domain name is required before you can put your website live on the internet You can get a domain name from several website builders for free for the first year, but after that, you’ll have to spend a certain amount each year to preserve that domain name.
As you can see, a web builder is an excellent option for most small businesses because it allows them to get online quickly, easily, and cheaply.
How to create a website with a web designer
Employing a web designer is the best choice for your company if any of the following conditions are met:
- You want a unique website to wow customers.
- Web builders can’t meet your technological needs.
- Most of the jobs will be outsourced.
- You can afford it.
In a nutshell, it’s a difficult, intricate, and drawn-out procedure, but the payoff might be something absolutely remarkable in the end. However, in order for it to be successful, it is essential to approach things with the appropriate mindset.
How to work with a web designer
When considering web design, you should never forget that the process of developing a new site from scratch or renovating an existing one is a group effort. This is something you should keep in mind at all times. You can’t just hire a company, give them instructions, and expect to have a website delivered to you one month later.
Instead, it’s more like to working with an architect to create your dream home, except that your web designer will also be responsible for the site’s actual design and development.
Choosing a web designer
Make sure you give this choice lots of thought before making a final call. You should hire a designer that is familiar with your field, has a history of creating similar websites, and is easy to communicate with and collaborate with.
Take a look at who created competitor websites and if possible, get in touch with some of its prior customers to get a feel for how they operate.
Requirement for When you start
Your web designer will need to know these things before they can begin working on your site:
- Explain the features and functionality you’re looking for on your website.
- Describe the features you like on other websites in the market.
- When is your expected date of delivery?
- How much are you looking to spend?
Make sure that you and your web designer have a clear understanding of your goals for the site, as well as an estimate of how long and how much it will cost, before signing any contracts.
Contract
Read your web design contract as thoroughly as you would any other legal document. What you’re paying for and not paying for must be clearly spelt out.
Basically, if something isn’t specified in the contract, you may expect to pay more for it, therefore it’s important to know exactly what’s going to happen at each juncture.
The text for your website will typically need to be written by you. If you don’t have the resources to handle this in-house, but still need SEO-friendly writing, consider working with a freelancer copywriter.
Design Process
At various points throughout the process, your website’s design and development will be returned to you for review and input.
Tell your designer if the design is not what you expected because trying to make it fit will just lead to frustration.
However, it is also vital to avoid being too picky; small changes, such as moving items around by an inch or two, won’t have a noticeable impact on anyone and will just serve to irritate your designer.
Testing
It is important to put your website through rigorous testing after it has been created and developed. A thorough website audit involves verifying the functionality of every link, form, site navigation, and user action. Oh, and use a good spell check tool to search for spelling and grammar mistakes in the text.
If you hire a professional web designer, you can have an amazing website created for your company. However, you should be ready to play an active role in the lengthy and costly procedure.
How to create a website with WordPress.org
If any of the following apply to you, you should consider using WordPress.org to build a website for your company:
- Need complete control over your website’s appearance and functionality
- Have the skill to create a website from scratch
- Have some familiarity with the technical aspects of websites.
If you meet these requirements, you can build a custom website at a fraction of the price of hiring a web designer, with the obvious caveat that you’ll have to do nearly all the work yourself.
There are six basic steps to creating a website with WordPress.org:
Choose a domain name and hosting provider
All websites require a domain name, which is the portion of an Internet address that begins with “www.” and ends with “something.com,” as we covered in the web builder section.
A WordPress.org website requires a hosting service. If your domain name is your physical address on the web, then the hosting service is like the land on which your virtual home will be built.
However, not every hosting service is the same. There is a wide range of possibilities available, each with its own set of pros and cons, price tag, and quality of service.
Among all other hosting providers, we found that Bluehost is the best all-around web hosting provider for small businesses among the industry leaders.
Bluehost provides WordPress-specific solutions and has plans starting at just $2.75 per month after a 12-month commitment. They also have excellent server reliability and offer round-the-clock customer assistance. For these reasons, Bluehost is an excellent choice for hosting a WordPress.org site.
Install WordPress
If you already have a web server and a domain name, all you need to do is go to WordPress.org, download, and install WordPress on your server.
Pick a theme for your website
You should give a lot of thought to our theme since it will determine the overall look of your website. There are countless options, ranging from free to hundreds of dollars, so it’s important to spend your time finding a design that works for the site you want to build.
Install necessary plugins
While a theme can get you started with WordPress.org, plugins are what actually make your site shine. Whether you want to increase your site’s SEO or add a live chat feature, there is a plugin for that. Make sure you do your homework before deciding on a plugin to use on your WordPress site.
Complete your necessary pages
Now comes the boring but necessary part: filling out the site’s usual sections like About, Contact, privacy, and disclaimer. These both attract new clients and keep you and your site users safe.
Publish your website
Creating a business website with WordPress.org is the do-it-yourself option. If you want nearly entire control over the creative process and have the technical know-how to do it, this is the way to go. When compared to hiring a web designer, doing it yourself can save you a lot of money, and if you put in the time and effort, you might just be able to come up with the ideal website for your company.
Conclusion
In most cases, a website builder is the best choice for a small business because it allows for a cheap, simple, and fast website creation process. The best site builders, like Wix and Squarespace, guide you every step of the way with intuitive interfaces, beautiful templates, and helpful staff.
When it comes to selling online and expanding your eCommerce store, site builders like Shopify have everything you need.
You may choose to hire a web designer if your goals are more ambitious. Building a custom website from scratch is possible, but it’s a time-consuming and costly endeavour that’s better suited for larger, and more established SMEs.
Finally, business owners who are both technically savvy and have plenty of time on their hands can think about using WordPress.org to create their business website. In comparison to hiring a web designer, you may save a significant amount of money while still getting a one-of-a-kind website. However, you’ll have to put in a lot of effort on your own, so this choice isn’t for everyone.
