Start-up Websites

by: Paula Mottshaw

Things to think about when creating your website

Potential clients and customers conduct research before purchasing goods and services. They read articles, talk to friends and colleagues, review Google search results, and visit company websites. Having a website is part of doing business. As a start-up business, you likely have a lot of work that needs to be done. Stress intensifies even more if you are a one-person business and are responsible for everything, including your shoestring budget. Even if you have limited funds, you can still have an online presence with a great website.

Make the most of your budget:

Purchase a domain name (www.yourwebsite.com). The name should make sense for your business, and be as short as you can make it because you will be using your website name on your business card, letterhead, and promotional items. Purchasing your domain name is something you can do yourself.

Wait to purchase hosting. The company where you purchased your domain name may sell hosting services, but don’t feel pressured to purchase. Just because a hosting company is cheap, doesn’t mean that they are good. You get what you pay for –you really do!

Plan. Take time to think about what you need. Maybe all you need is a basic site with a few pages. Or, if you are selling a product, you may need an e-commerce site to enable you to sell your product online. Look around at different web sites (including competitor sites) and take notes about what you like and don’t like.

Work with a professional. Work with someone who knows what they are doing who can deliver a well-designed site that can help you meet your business (and sales) goals. You need a website that is easy to navigate, easy to read, and contains all needed elements.

“Work with someone who knows what they are doing who can deliver a well-designed site that can help you meet your business (and sales) goals.”

Start small. Start with a site that has a few pages (a smaller site costs less to build), and add more pages as your business grows. Maybe all you need right now are a product (or services) page to talk about what you are selling, an about page (to talk about you and your business), and a contact page. Ask yourself if you really need a custom website (custom sites are usually expensive to build), or can your designer customize a template instead?

Ask for an open-source content management system. An open source system will allow you to take control of your site and do many of your own updates. Open-source systems (e.g. Joomla and WordPress) are in the public domain so anyone can download and use for free. Watch out for those proprietary content management systems that can tie you to a specific company and/ or cost money.

Create meaningful content. Think about what you need. You may have much of what you need right now. Take a look at anything you have written for your company (e.g. PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, etc.). It might be a matter of editing and re-formatting for the web. No one knows your business better than you do, and creating some of your own content will help you to keep control of your budget.

Take the process one step at a time, and you will get there.

Paula Mottshaw specializes in web design and graphic design (print materials) for healthcare and non-profits. She can be reached at pmottshaw@mysimpledesignsolution.com.

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