New Business Owner: Tips for Creating Your First Website [VIDEO]

If you're a new business owner, you know how critical a good website is for your early success. In this video, we'll break down some simple tips to help make your first website stand out and be successful right from the start. You'll be able to focus on growing your business while your website drives in leads and creates exposure.

Key Takeaways

1. Keep it Simple:
   Communicate clearly with easy words, short sentences, and lots of pictures or videos.

2. Design with Your Customer in Mind:
   Ensure essential information like menus, contact details, and hours are easy to find.

3. Mobile-Friendly:
   Your site must look good and work well on mobile devices.

4. Highlight Your Uniqueness:
   Showcase what makes your business special to stand out.

5. Keep it Fresh:
   Regularly update your website to keep information accurate and current.

Video Transcript

If you're a new business owner you know how critical a good website is going to be to your early success. It's how customers are going to find you and turn into leads for your new business. So in this video we're going to break down quick and easy some simple tips to help make your first website stand out and be successful right from the get-go so you don't have to spend time going back to the drawing board working on a website. You can just focus on growing your business and let your website drive in those leads and create exposure for your business. So I'm going to share this based on my 15 years of experience working with small businesses, local business owners helping them build websites that are successful for their business and this is also brought to you by Mighty Sites, the $9 a month simple professional website platform for local businesses. Let's get started.

Okay but first, why does your website matter? Think of your website as your digital storefront, right? It's where your customers come to see what you're all about. A great website can invite them in, make them feel at home and encourage them to browse and buy your products and services. And here's the good news: in today's age a good website doesn't have to break the bank nor does it have to take you hours to do. Here are some simple things that you should think about that are going to help your website be successful from the start. Number one, keep it simple. Imagine you're telling a sixth grader about your business—that's how your website should communicate: easy words, short sentences, lots of pictures or videos that show what you do. Number two, design with your customer in mind. Think about what your customer needs to find. They came to your website for a reason. What is the main reason they're coming? Is it to find your menu if you're a restaurant? Make sure your menu is easy to find. Is it to find your contact information? Is it to find your hours? Just like if they're in your store talking to you in person, you want them to find what they need most without getting lost. You want to present that information quickly and easily for your customer.

Number three, it's got to look good and work well on mobile. Lots of people will visit your website from their phone. Make sure your site looks good and works well on a small screen. If it doesn't, they might leave and not come back. Number four, just be sure that it pops out what makes you special. So whatever that reason is that your customer should choose you—whatever is your unique selling proposition—highlight what makes your business unique. This could be your story, your process, or something only you offer in the area. Make sure they remember you right from the beginning. And five, keep it fresh. Update your website. Make sure it's up to date with the latest hours, business information, services you offer—all of that. It shows you're active and engaged with your customers and it also helps them trust if the website looks updated and has updated information. Trust that it's accurate and be more likely to contact you.

Alright, now here are the pitfalls that you definitely want to avoid. Number one, don't overcomplicate it. A cluttered website is pretty messy, right? Too much information, too many colors, too many images can overwhelm your visitors. Just keep it clean and focused. And two, avoid hidden information. Don't make it difficult for people to find essential information. I was on a website the other day for a restaurant—it was impossible to find their menu. It was like buried and the links didn't work right. Not a good experience. I didn't eat at that restaurant. Make sure they can contact you, find your prices, your services, your products, your menu. If it's too hard, they might just give up. Alright, number three, don't ignore basic SEO. That just means search engine optimization—showing up in Google. So just use simple relevant words on your website that someone might type into a search engine. That's how you best make sure that Google understands exactly what your business is about. Four, make sure your website loads fast. Good news if you are using Mighty Sites (link below), Mighty Sites is a super fast loading website. But you just want to make sure people don't have to wait around. If you build a website with large images and videos that are too slow, website takes too long to load—people just leave. Alright, and avoid doing it all alone. Building a website might feel like a huge task. It's okay to ask for help—whether it's a friend who's good with a computer or a professional, just getting some help matters. And again you can have somebody help you with your Mighty Site but try it first—it's pretty straightforward and simple. Alright, so let's get started. Use these tips as your guide, don't be afraid to show the world what makes your business special. Hey, and hit that like and subscribe button so you can tune in to more great videos and stay around. See you in this next video—we're going to teach you how to create more visibility for your business. Talk to you soon.