I need a website for my small business. Where do I start?

Matthew Green — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 00:30:00 +0000

A website is a strategic marketing tool

Now-a-days a website is the most important part of any sales and marketing plan or strategy. Whether you are new to having a website built or have had previous experience building a website, knowing where to start can make the difference between a good website and a great website.

A successful website project requires a plan

The key to success in any endeavour is planning and preparation. A website is no different. The starting point for a successful website development project is a plan. You can create this plan digitally using a word processor like Microsoft Word or a simple text editor like Notepad. You can do it on your smartphone or on a piece of paper. The important thing is to start and create a plan.

The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.
—Joe Paterno

What goes into a website development plan?

Your website development plan should take into account the following things.

Who will be building my website?
What is my budget for the website?
What domain name do I want for my website?
Do I have a logo and colour scheme?
What problems am I solving for my customers?
What other content and images do I have?

These questions form the skeleton and framework for a successful website project. Take some time and work through the answers. If you are not sure, ask a trusted partner or colleague. In some instances you will need to put a few answers down, as sometimes happens with a domain name. It might be that your desired name is already taken. Have some options, just in case.

Purchasing domain names carefully is a very important aspect of owning a website. Having a website is an important part of running a business. Make sure you are the rightful registered owner of your domain name.

Who will build your website?

You might be able to build your own website but when deciding it’s helpful to ask yourself: Is this the best use of my time? Your business or organisation may be better off with you in the driving seat running and managing it. If this is the case, utilising the services of a professional website development company to build a website for you is a better choice.

Website budget

When it comes to budget, get two or three quotes from different website development companies, if you are not building it yourself. This way you can make a more informed decision around cost. Remember that cost is just one metric (item) in the plan. Don’t base your entire project on just this one variable.

Website branding

As far as the branding goes, you will need a logo and a colour scheme or palette for your website. Do you have this? If not, where will you get it done? As part of our website development process, Tech Warrior can guide you and provide you with a logo and associated branding elements for your website.

Website content

You will need content in the form of text, images and videos for your website. Again, get clear on how you will create this content up front, before you start the process of building a site. A common mistake is to make the website about you and not your customers. Remember a website is there to solve customer problems and answer client questions. It’s much less about you and what you can do. Make sure any content plan covers this approach.

When it comes to building a website, the best place to start is with a comprehensive plan. Work through the elements outlined above and you will have the blueprint for a successful website development project.

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The post I need a website for my small business. Where do I start? appeared first on Tech Warrior.

What is the best WordPress theme for my website?

Matthew Green — Fri, 16 Oct 2020 10:02:50 +0000

There’s a difference between best and popular. Just because something is popular doesn’t make it the best. And, often, something that is the best might not always be the most popular. The same applies when it comes to choosing a WordPress theme for your website. In this article I’ll show you how to decide what the best WordPress theme is for you.

Before choosing a theme for your website it’s useful to answer the following questions.

What kind of website do I want for my business?
How much am I willing to spend?
What is my website experience level?

What kind of website do I want for my business?

Are you just starting out with a website for your business? Is it a do-over, refresh or upgrade? What about adding in extra functions, like an online shop? Planning is key when it comes to doing anything. You wouldn’t build a house without a plan and your website is the same. Spending time upfront getting clear on what your needs are will stand you in good stead down the line.

The expert at anything was once a beginner.
—Helen Hayes

Get clear on what the theme must do for your website. WordPress started out as a tool for blogging and has since evolved into a powerful website management system that runs 34 percent of all websites on the Internet. If you can imagine it, there’s a good chance that you can build that kind of site with WordPress. There’s a but though. The more sophisticated and intricate you want a website to be, the more you will impact the next two factors - cost and experience.

Brainstorm and get as much detail on what your website must do for you and your business. Look at what you want the website to do now, in six months and a year. And then plan for that. At this stage don’t worry about the how. Just get clear at a high level on what your expectations are. Product sales? Weekly updates? Membership of a group or club? And so on.

How much am I willing to spend?

Once you have a clear idea of what the website must do the next step is to consider costs. You can get a free WordPress theme or you can pay for a theme. Theme cost is not the only consideration when it comes to working out a website budget. How much of the website building or development are you doing yourself? How much will you have to get someone else to do? What about where the website will live (be hosted)? Again, it’s useful to make a list and plan so that you can see very clearly all the costs that go into a website. Do you have a logo and colour scheme for the website?

Once you know what your overall website budget is, you can decide more easily how much you want to spend on the theme? Does the budget have room for a fancy theme, with lots of features, or do you have to scale down your expectations a bit?

What is my website experience level?

Nowadays WordPress is much simpler to use than when it started out in 2003. There is still a learning curve involved though. You will need some level of understanding when it comes to the jargon of website development. You will come across terms like domain name registration, hosting, PHP, themes, responsive design, browser compatibility and SEO.

Do you know what they mean? If not, are you prepared to make the investment in learning what they are about? If your business is better off with you at the steering wheel and you can’t take the time to become familiar with these terms, considering a third-party professional website developer to help with the development of your website is a good option.

Much like a recipe there’s an order for putting a website together. Again, things are much easier now than back in the day (1994) when we started out but you will still need to go through the various steps in the correct order. Can you afford to take the time to work them out?

Great theme developers and companies offer dedicated support to assist with their theme and getting it up and running. What happens if something else goes wrong? Can you fix the problem? If not, do you know where to turn for general website help and support?

How to choose the best WordPress theme for my website?

When it comes to picking a theme for your site this usually means you are going the DIY route with the development of your website. Spend some time planning and deciding how much you know and are prepared to learn. Thereafter go through the areas and questions outlined above and you will be well placed, within budget, to make the best choice for you and your business when it comes to choosing the best WordPress theme. Alternatively, you can consider using a professional web development company like Tech Warrior, who have developed a custom website theme that sits at the foundation of all Small Business Websites.

plan – Tech Warrior