10 Effortless Steps To Create A Small Business Website In Kenya!

Irrespective of your business niche, you need to create a small business website. Nowadays, whether it’s a freelancer or an electronic shop, everyone is launching a website. And there is no limit to who can create a small business website.

Having designed dozens of small business websites, we, TechFyBiz, understand every step of the way. We understand the journey of developing the website to having it rank on the first page of Google. In this article, we break down the process into ten easy-to-follow steps.

Steps To Creating A Small Business Website

The steps below will help your launch your small business website and create a brand around it. In the end, you will understand how you can increase sales and return on investment

Let’s start!

1. Domain Name

To build a small business website, you need to secure a domain name. But what is a domain name? A domain name is an address for your small business website. Let’s expound on that.

Long before the internet, every home needed an address to receive letters. The physical address was not similar to any other. Every address was independently associated with a certain home. A domain name works the same way.

A domain name is your online address that directs every visitor to your website. If you have a business name already, you can use it as the domain(if it’s available). However, if it’s not available, you can get more creative.

Here are some of the important factors to observe when coming up with the domain name for your small business website.

• • • Spelling and length. Your domain name should be easy to spell and remember. Additionally, keep the domain name short. Shorter domain names are easy to remember and spell. Your visitors should be able to easily and correctly type the domain name on the URL.
    • Domain extension. Select a domain name extension that properly matches your field of operation. The most common domain extensions you have probably come across include .ac, .org, .gov, .com, .co.ke etc. Your small business website would be perfect running on a .com extension. Otherwise, a .com domain name is always more appropriate.
    • Avoid symbols and numbers. Your domain name should be easy to remember. We can’t insist more on how important that is. You will agree that numbers and symbols aren’t easy to remember. Therefore, avoid them.
    • Consider growth. Your small business website won’t always be “small”. The domain name of your small business website should be broad. For example, when Facebook acquired WhatsApp and Instagram, they renamed it Metaverse. Metaverse is broader than Facebook and allows the company to acquire the other brands.
    • SEO-friendly Domains. Choosing an SEO-friendly domain name for your small business website is the best decision you can ever make. For example, if you retail mobile phones within Nairobi, you can have a domain name like “www.nairobiphones.com”.
    • Confirm Availability. Create a list of the probable domain names for your small business website. Upon completing compiling the list, confirm whether the domain name is available. To research availability, you can google it to check its existence.

Now that you have a domain name for your small business website, it’s time to hop to the next step—renting space on the web; web hosting.

2. Web Hosting

Web hosting is similar to renting a space on the internet where you can store data. Let’s break this down. Your small business website will have content in different formats, including videos, images, code, and written content. Therefore, you need to have enough storage for all this.

To create a small business website, you must connect the domain name (address) and the hosting account (rented space). Therefore, once the visitor enters your domain name in the search bar, it will direct them to your small business website stored in the hosting provider’s database.

Hosting packages vary between $3 and $150 per month, depending on the specifications you want. The price increases with storage, among other factors. Here are a few factors to consider when selecting a hosting package or provider.

• • • A Dedicated Server. It is one of the most expensive packages and often ranges between $100 and ups to $1000 per month. But why is it that expensive? The package dedicates a whole server to your site alone. Therefore, your website will perform optimally and more securely. Since you aim to create a small business website, this may not be the best option. However, you can always upgrade with time.
    • A Shared Hosting. This package is relatively cheaper but often exposes you to security risks. A shared hosting package is a single server shared amongst several customers. The downside of sharing a server is that site performance may be poor. Additionally, it exposes you to security risks, especially if one website is compromised.
    • Virtual Private Server. They typically cost between $20 and $50 monthly. The package represents a server that has been virtually partitioned and acts as a single different server. As a result, it gives you a mix of security, performance, and affordability.

Some of the most internationally recognized web hosting providers include:

• • • Hostgator
    • Namecheap
    • Bluehost
    • SiteGround
    • InMotion
    • DreamHost

Some of the factors to consider before selecting a web hosting service provider include:

• • • Supportive Customer support. As you create your small business website, you will probably run into a technical problem that requires support. Therefore, your preferred provider should be a company you can easily contact via phone or live chat. Email support alone can be frustrating especially when you have to wait hours before getting a reply.
    • User-Friendly CPanel Interface. If you don’t know much about websites yet, you might know about the Cpanel. You access the server through the Cpanel. In your journey to create a small business website, you will often use the Cpanel. The best hosting provider should have a friendly Cpanel, not a terminal that only uses commands.
    • Optimum Server Security. Explore their measures on security before purchasing a domain or hosting. Activities such as backups and installing SSL certificates should be effortless. Check how often the hosting provider performs server maintenance, amongst other measures.
    • The Uptime guarantee. Uptime is the amount of time a server stays up and running. Most hosting providers list the uptime in percentage form. A good web hosting service should provide an uptime guarantee of 99.95%. Avoid web hosting providers that have an uptime of 99.90% or less.

Other factors to consider when selecting a small business website hosting provider include email options, domain additions, account limitations, etc.

3. Content Management Software(CMS)

If you have no technical knowledge of webpages and databases, you, without a doubt, need Content Management Software (CMS). A Content Management System (CMS) is software that helps you create and manage your website content.

To create a small business website and maintain it, you need a user-friendly, extensive, and budget-friendly CMS. There are dozens of CMS software that you can choose from depending on your needs and reasons. Here is a list of the top five most popular:

• • • WordPress. It is the most popular CMS and has dozens of available resources online. Additionally, the support community and WordPress developers are easy to find. Therefore, you can easily find themes and plugins to customize your small business website.
      What’s more, WordPress is free and easy to install from your Cpanel. You don’t have to worry about the customization as website developers and designer agencies are easy to find. One such web developing agency is TechFyBiz. We recommend WordPress to our customers who want to create a small business website.
      WordPress powers 40% of the over 1.7 billion websites. The CMS runs some of the most popular websites, including Sony music, Playstation Blog, TechCrunch, Spotify Newsroom, and Cpanel. What’s more, the White House has been using WordPress since 2018.
      However, one downside of WordPress is the security. Due to its popularity, most hackers target the websites that run on it. But you can easily overcome the challenge by regularly updating plugins and maintenance.
    • Drupal. Like WordPress, Drupal is a popular CMS that assures flexibility and the second-largest support community. Drupal CMS powered the White House website from 2008 until 2018 when it witched to WordPress. Drupal is notably safer than WordPress but has lesser themes and plugins than the latter.
    • Joomla. In third place is Joomla! The CMS stands out in SEO and security compared to WordPress. However, the support community is considerably less compared to WordPress.
    • Wix. It is a user-friendly drag and drops CMS. Unlike WordPress, Wix is available via a monthly subscription, and you get access to templates. The advantage of using Wix is that you have a short learning curve.
    • Squarespace. Like Wix, Squarespace is a drag and drop CMS that you can subscribe to monthly or annually. Squarespace eliminates the need to hire a web designer because you can easily drag and drop elements. The pricing aspects include website design, maintenance, support, metrics, and more. Squarespace is less extensive and less flexible.

4. Choose an e-commerce Platform(If applicable)

To create a small business website where you can retail products, you need to install an e-commerce platform. An eCommerce platform helps you organize products, manage payment systems, and increase potential profits.

Here are some of the notable eCommerce platforms:

• • • WooCommerce. It is the most popular e-commerce extension for a WordPress platform. The platform has many plugins available that help you manage an online store. WooCommerce plugins are classified under two categories; free and premium. Customizing a WooComerce small business website may not be easy, especially if you aren’t a tech-savvy. Therefore, you will need to hire a web developer or an agency like TechFyBiz.
    • Shopify. The platform allows you to create a small business website and customize it to an online store. Using Shopify, you can manage your products, payments, and shipping of products. However, unlike WooCommerce, it is a standalone platform. So, your Shopify store will be separate from your small business website. However, you can always add a Shopify integration plugin.
      The features of Shopify are easy to customize without the need of a developer. The platform offers unlimited products, reports, and analytics about your Shopify store. However, the platform gives you less control over your platform than WooCommerce.
    • GoDaddy Online Store. Similar to Shopify, GoDaddy is a stand-alone subscription eCommerce platform. GoDaddy features easy to set up and use templates that you can integrate with social media, SEO tools, and more.

5. Define Your Business

The platforms are now set. Optimize your small business website for readability. Let the visitors understand what your business is all about. Most visitors will land on the homepage when you create a small business website. Therefore, optimize this page to describe what you are and do. Additionally, make the navigation menus easy to spot, especially the “about us” page.

6. Optimize on User Interface

To create a small business website with a return on investment and optimize the user interface. One of the best questions to guide you through optimizing your user interface is; “How easy is it for users to navigate your small business website?”

However, you don’t need to worry about it as you can hire a good web designer and developer. If you are looking to hire a professional web developer, contact TechFyBiz today.

Reports indicate that 95% of visitors distrust a small business website based on the design. Create a small business website with an enhanced UX design to increase engagement, conversions, and revenue.

Here are some of the tips to prioritize on the website:

• • • Use graphics, easy-to-read fonts, and optimized graphics. Ensure the small business website is easy to read and the images load fast. But why is speed important? First, Google penalizes slow websites by not ranking them. Additionally, your small website visitors do not have the whole day to wait for your website to load. A fast-loading website creates a professional outlook for your business.
    • Before creating a small business website, research what your competition is doing. Explore what other small business websites within your niche are doing. If the design is working for them, it should work for your business too.
      Additionally, you need to research the persona of your small business website visitors. Once you understand your audience, it will be easy to design and develop a website that achieves its purpose.
    • Optimize the user navigation, especially the menus. Your small business website design should allow users to access pages, buttons, and other important elements quickly. Ensure the design is consistent such that users can foretell where a certain button or link should be.
    • Avoid complexity in the overall structure of the design. Additionally, create standard pages for your small business website. The standard menu should have a Home, About us, Products/ Services, Our Team, Contact us, etc. You can add other pages that are relevant to your small business website.

To ensure you get the user interface right, hire a professional web designer. At TechFyBiz, we will help you capture your visitor’s persona and design a small business website that converts.

7. Optimize for Search Engine

Once you create a small business website, the journey doesn’t end here. Your small business website needs to be visible on search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of practices that helps search engines like Google index and rank your small business website.

Once you launch your website, the search engine bots crawl it, index it, and rank it based on other available websites in your niche. But what practices help you rank higher?

• • • Keyword Research. Optimize your website content with keywords in your niche. Do keyword research using keyword tools and optimize it on the pages.
    • Optimize the code and the structure of the website. Use the HTML tags the right way. For example, use heading HTML tags properly.
    • Ensure the website loads fast, is secure with an SSL certificate, and is mobile-friendly. Google uses HTTPS as a ranking signal. Neil Patel researched and analyzed over 143827 URLs and discovered that site speed matters to SEO. Therefore, ensure your web developer has exposure and experience in SEO.
    • Positive reviews also help search engines easily rank you because it’s a sign of trustworthiness. Additionally, reviews help you rank in google’s local SEO. Semrush did a study on whether reviews have an impact on local SEO.

Without a doubt, you should never underestimate SEO on your small business website. Ranking on Google and other search engines will enormously increase your ROI. Appearing on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) gives you free traffic to the website. And if your website is perfect, the traffic will convert to sales.

8. Create a Content Strategy Plan

Every small business website needs to have a blog page where you can publish content. But you shouldn’t just create content. You need to have a content strategy to see you produce quantity and quality content.

Google will rank your small business website faster if you consistently publish new and relevant content. Engage your audience through the blog posts. Ask your previous customers to leave reviews, and write testimonials and comments on blog posts.

9. Monitor Your Analytics

Once the small business website is up and running, you need to monitor it. You need to track and analyze the traffic and performance of your small business website.

To monitor the traffic and performance in-depth, you need to install google analytics and google search console. One of the tools that can help you manage these is Webmaster. The tools will help you analyze the backlinks on your site, keyword research, and SEO reports.

If your site uses WordPress CMS, you can easily download the Webmaster plugin and link it with your Google Search Console. The plugin will automate the submission of SEO reports directly to your WordPress Dashboard.

The webmaster will extensively help you track: to

• • • Track the visitors of your small business website. You will easily track daily, weekly, and monthly visits. Additionally, the tool will track the number of views on each page of your site.
    • Using the tool, you can easily know the bounce rate of your website. The bounce rate is how visitors come and leave your website. The bounce rate is crucial in your site’s SEO as Google ranks websites with a low bounce rate higher. The perception behind it is that if more visitors spend more time on the website, it has valuable content.
    • Other important metrics you can track using webmaster include broken links, keywords ranking for your website, crawl errors, etc.

Any small business website that wishes to grow over time can never ignore these tools. Without them, you can never be sure that your efforts are on the right track.

10. Implement a Maintenance Plan

Congratulations! You have successfully created a small business website. But, you need to have a maintenance plan. Don’t allow your website to grow stale. Maintenance schedules are important because they improve your security, help back up your site, and more.

Here are some of the features to check when maintaining your small business website:

• • • Track your site performance. You should often check your metrics, at least only to understand how your audience is reacting to your content. If you find out they love a certain blog post more, it’s time to write more such content.
    • Additionally, the metrics help you fix warnings and errors on your site. For example, a higher bounce rate on a certain page may mean some design problem.
    • Security of your site. You need to scan the security of your small business website. If you’re using a WordPress CMS, update all plugins and check for possible malware.
    • To back up the content of your small business website. You can never be too certain about the future. Therefore, back up your content often and in multiple formats, both online and on local computers. Depending on how often you publish content and the traffic on your site, do backups daily or weekly.

Conclusion

Creating a small business website may not be a walk in the park. It requires dedication, resources, and persistence. However, the above ten steps should help you launch your small business website with ease. In addition, if you prefer to have a set of developers take care of the whole process, contact TechFyBiz today.

Which step was the hardest for you in this blog post? Let us know by leaving a comment in the section below.