How to set up a website for your small business

Websites are a key sales and marketing tool for any business. A good website will attract prospective customers, educating them about your products or services and persuading them to find out more about your business.

Websites can serve a variety of purposes, depending on your goals. They can be a branding tool that showcases your expertise and experience, right through to an ecommerce platform from which customers can make direct purchases.

If you’re ready to tell the world about your business, and to start servicing customers, follow the steps below to build a great website.

Outline what you want your website to achieve

The first step in building a successful business website is outlining its purpose – what are your goals?

Some common website goals include:

• Educating customers about you and your business
• Generating leads
• Managing bookings
• Selling products
• Updating customers on your latest news
• Showcasing your brand and expertise
• Introducing your business to new markets

One website can achieve multiple goals, giving you the freedom to build a platform that meets your specific needs, helping you grow your business.

It’s important to know exactly what you want your website to do before you start building it. It will affect how you design and build your site.

Build your website

Step 1: Choose and register your domain name

A ‘domain name’ is simply a website’s address on the internet. For example, anz.com.au is ANZ’s domain name.

This is what your customers will see in their internet search bars for you, it should include your business name.

Check that no-one else is using the domain name you want and then register it through a trusted registrar to prevent others from using it.

The Australian government’s business website includes useful resources for registering ‘.au’ domain names.

Step 2: Select a hosting provider

A hosting provider stores your website on their internet-connected servers, making it possible for customers to access your site. They’re also responsible for keeping that server up and running, and fixing issues that might take your site offline.

There are plenty of hosting services to choose from. It’s important to do some research and select a provider you’re confident is up to the job.

Tip: Speak with other business owners about their providers and check out review sites before committing to a host.

Step 3: Choose a content management system

The content on your website is controlled by software known as a content management system (CMS). Through your CMS, you’ll be able to upload or create new material for your website, or update, edit or remove out-of-date content.

As with hosting providers, there are several CMS options to choose from; research which is the best for your needs.

E-commerce platforms

If your goal is to use your website as an online shop, you might consider:

• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• WooCommerce

Service-based businesses and portfolios

Some CMS solutions that are well-suited to service-based businesses and portfolios include:

• Wix
• Squarespace
• WordPress

Step 4: Design your website

Website design is part of the customer or user experience (UX). If your website looks unprofessional or is difficult to navigate and use, it may put customers off.

Depending on which CMS you’re using, investigate templates (they may come at an additional cost) to give your website a more professional feel. Investing in some standard templates for your website at the point of its creation can save a lot of wasted time down the track. Sometimes it pays to get professional support. You may need to speak to an expert if you think you need help with:

• Complex customisations, like unique design elements or advanced functionalities
• SEO strategies and digital marketing techniques to attract more customers
• Ongoing website maintenance, including security checks and updates

Other important considerations include:

• Does your website’s design match your brand?
• Can your website be accessed on a mobile device?
• Are your menus and buttons easy to understand and navigate?
• Can everyone easily read the content on your website?
• It’s best practice to design a website that’s accessible so it can be accessed by people with a disability. Learn more about accessibility.
• Implement search engine optimisation (SEO) and ongoing performance reporting.

Tip: Make website navigation labels easy for visitors to follow. People expect to see headings like, ‘Services’, ‘About Us’, Contact Us’ – stick with what people are used to so they can find what they want.

Step 5: Creating content for your website

It’s time to start putting interesting and informative content on your website. Think about the customer experience and the buying funnel: attention, interest, desire, action (AIDA). Your website needs to include content that responds to customer needs and relates to all stages of the funnel.

You can grab attention and interest through content like insight articles or relatable blogs, alongside plain-English descriptions of what you offer. Create a desire for your product/service via case studies and customer stories. And make it easy for people to take action by telling them how to contact you/buy from you.

Ensure that your content includes relevant SEO keywords to help drive traffic to your website.

• SEO tips for small business

Step 6: Ensure your website is secure

In 2023/24, Australians reported a cybercrime roughly once every six minutes.^disclaimer Cyberattacks against businesses are not only expensive, but can badly hurt a business’ reputation, so it’s crucial to protect your website.

Cloud-based CMS platform providers will typically manage cybersecurity issues for their clients – but you should always check what’s on offer and make sure your website, and customers, are protected. If you plan to self-host your website, you’ll need to be more vigilant, and it’s sensible to get some professional advice in this area.

Tip: Keep your software and SSL certificates updated and use strong passwords and two-factor authentication to reduce your risk of a cyberattack.

Step 7: Test and launch your website

It’s almost time to go live and give customers a window into your business. Before you do, test the following to ensure your launch runs smoothly:

• Review content:
  • Spelling and grammar: Proofread for errors.
  • Images and videos: Ensure all media files are properly displayed and optimised for fast loading.
• Test functionality:
  • Links: Ensure all internal and external links work.
  • Forms: Test all forms (contact, subscription, etc.) to ensure they submit data properly.
  • Navigation: Confirm that the navigation menu works as expected on all pages.
• Test performance:
  • Loading speed: Check the loading time of your website using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights.
  • Mobile responsiveness: Ensure your site looks and functions well on different devices and screen sizes.
• SEO optimisation:
  • Meta tags: Check that all pages have appropriate meta titles and descriptions.
  • Alt text: Ensure all images have descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO.
• Security checks:
  • SSL certificate: Verify that your site has an SSL certificate and loads over HTTPS.
  • Backup: Ensure you have a recent backup of your site.
• Browser compatibility:
  • Test your website on different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) to ensure it displays correctly.
• Analytics setup:
  • Tracking: Make sure Google Analytics or any other tracking tools are properly set up to monitor your site's performance.
• Legal compliance:
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Service: Ensure these pages are up-to-date and accessible.
  • Cookie consent: Implement a cookie consent banner if required by law.

If everything is working correctly, it’s time to publish your website. Congratulations!

And, don’t forget:

• Make sure your website meets all relevant legal requirements.
• Use monitoring tools and analytics to monitor your website’s performance.
• Ensure customers can easily contact you or your team – provide clear contact details or consider using a chatbot.
• Keep an eye on what’s happening online, responding to negative reviews quickly and constructively.
• Connect your website and social media presence so the customer experience easily flows from one to the other.

Remember: Websites are crucial to business success. By carefully following this guide and being clear on the outcomes you’re trying to achieve, you can build a website that strengthens your brand, connects with customers, and lays the groundwork for growth.