Web Design For Small Business – An Introduction

Local business web design, in contrast to the very competitive, enterprise-based marketing landscape (which typically requires large investments of time and money) can pay off relatively quickly. The problem however is individuals with small businesses may not have as much time to spend, or don’t know where to begin when it comes to creating their own website.

This article aims to inform you about what to consider when hiring website designers for your small business, whether you actually need one in the first place, and much more – all without getting too technical to begin with.

Do I need a website for my small business?

First of all, ask yourself this question. Typically, unless you have really unusual, specific reasons why a website on the internet is not your focus (such as privacy from competitors) – you are going to benefit long-term from a web presence that showcases, promotes and attracts customers to your local business. This is just one of the reasons for why a website for a small business like yours is important. Small business web designers can help alleviate the burden of the website installation and design process from start to finish.

What are the three benefits to a professional online presence for your small business?

There are numerous benefits of having a website for your small business. Although this post would last multiple pages if we listed them all here, here are just a few to get started:

1. Business Promotion

To promote and build your brand, engaging in small business website promotion lies in your favour. Marketing, whether traditional advertising or digital-based, is most effective reaching people by multiple mediums. One such medium, is having your own website: with a domain name, attractive pages and design unique to your brand. This shows customers what you’re all about, who you are and why they should use your local small business over somebody else’s.

2. Get More Customers For Your Business

This point ties in to the first. Some people do not use social media like Facebook or Instagram since it does not suit them, or they don’t know how to use it. Particularly if you have a elderly target demographic. They will be more accustomed to searching what they need in Google like ‘Catering Services Near Me’ and seeing all the local businesses pop up on the first page results.

3. Maintain Your Professionalism

Having your own website for your local business makes you appear an authority in your sector. With the help of training resources online or a expert advisor, you can target words your customers are searching for like ‘Dry Cleaners in Dallas Texas’, create posts around the topic of Dry Cleaners in Dallas Texas, and appear incredibly professional and strengthen authority in your industry.

Should I Hire A Small Business Website Designer or Agency?

As a business, often hiring a web agency can be an attractive option particularly if you are a small to medium enterprise. If you’re desiring to have other services included in your web design such as Social Media listing management or other marketing services then go with a website design agency. The typical downside however is for most small/independent businesses, going with web agency pricing is not needed and in fact significantly expensive for the purposes of setting up a simple but professionally appealing website. But ultimately, the decision is up to you whether you want to entrust a web design agency or a web designer working freelance themselves.

What is the difference between hosting and domain?

The short, non-technical answer to this question is that a domain is the address someone types in their web browser such as Google Chrome or Internet Explorer, to visit a website. For example, they might type in google.com to visit google. And if they are searching for certain words in google search itself such as ‘coffee shops near me’, the results that will come up will have their own unique domains such as bestcoffeeshopintexas.com

In contrast, hosting refers to a service that ‘hosts’ your website on the internet. A domain name is half of the equation. Without the hosting, you would not be able to create pages, upload pictures to showcase to your customers or share your websites to other people and in turn, the world.

Do I Have To Buy a Domain Name?

Yes – for a professionally appealing website, a domain name is a necessity. One way local businesses can easily distinguish amongst their local competitors, is to include their brand name inside their domain name. What domain name do you think looks more professional looking: facebook.com/LuxuryCoffeeBarChicago or https://luxurycoffeebarchicago.com?

Sometimes however, you can get the domain name at no cost for your first year bundled in with a web hosting plan. But this is truly dependant on what the deals the web hosting company has on offer.

Can You Host Your Own Domain?

Some business owners may be eager or ambitious to do everything themselves, including host their own domain name without relying on the support of a web hosting provider. Chances are if you’re reading this you are not ready for this yet. This is because this is a huge technical undertaking. You would need to own your own ‘Server’, which is not really required for small business owners – more so for large enterprises with demanding workloads per month. In our opinion, you needn’t worry about hosting your own domain and go with a web hosting company that hosts your domain for you.

Does My Web Design Matter?

Yes, your web design does matter. Think about being in the shoes of your target demographic that would be close or even ready to purchase your service or product. What will they think if they visit your website and it looks like it is from 1998 all low quality? How would they feel if they visited a modern-looking, professionally designed website instead? Of course, not all services need a really fancy website with animations and pretty pictures, but these are the sort of questions you need to be asking yourself about how your customers see and digest your brand.

What makes a good website for a small business?

Although the word “good” can mean different things to different people, ultimately – we define good as unique, striking websites that get straight to the point in terms of brand messaging and identity. Also websites that separate themselves from other local business competitors you may have been battling with.

Also consider the importance of a site that is well maintained and not left idle, unless that is a decision you have made. A good website designer also offers website management services for small businesses which helps your website compete with any of your competitors on platforms like Google or Bing.

What is website styling?

Website styling most commonly refers to the concept of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for web design and development.

CSS is a technical subject that local business owners do not have to learn in depth or at all and can outsource it. But, in a nutshell – everything to do with the color, text size, fonts of text and animations of your website, all falls under the term of ‘CSS’ and web styling generally.

What are the costs of building a website for a small business?

We believe simple but effective business website designs should not cost a great deal. However the reality is small business owners may spend much more than necessary whether choosing a web design agency best served for enterprises or larger projects. This is where small business website design quotes increase dramatically. We sincerely believe your next website should cost under $1000, and is something actually very important to us.

Learn more about small business web design pricing

MaestroSites – A Web Designer For Small Business

MaestroSites are website designers for small companies. Contact MaestroSites today for a no obligation, free discussion about your aims for your new website.

Alternatively, you can read more about Maestrosites on this page.