Top #5 Secrets to create a Great Business Website… On a Budget!

Ken Builder is MD of www.WebEden.co.uk and gives us his 5 Top Tips for creating a Website to stand out from your competitors

In these heady days of rapid digital innovation, maybe more than ever before, there are opportunities out there for any budding entrepreneur with a big idea but only a small budget.  So what are the tricks to creating an online business on a budget that will not only be a success, but will last?

Tip 1 – Take advantage of the latest developments in DIY website building

These days, you don’t need to be under 17 and have spent the last 5 years, bedroom-bound and glued to a computer screen to be able to create your own all-singing and professional looking business website. With online DIY website building tools such as WebEden.co.uk, (admitted bias!) even a total beginner can choose from literally 1000s of pre-designed templates and, by using very simple drag and drop software, create the exact look and feel they want for their new venture.

Beginner packages are free with WebEden and this includes your website, it’s hosting and a domain name.  Accounts can be upgraded at a low monthly cost to gain additional services, email boxes, extra bandwidth etc .

Tip 2 – Make sure your homepage is ‘outstanding’

That’s not to say that you’re very proud of it and think the text you’ve written is witty and clever – that is to say that it stands out, that it’s impactful and gives a stylish and efficient demonstration of your company and what it offers.

Tip 3 – Know your customers

Utilise the ever more comprehensive analytics packages on your website, such as Google analytics for example. With these free tools you can track and analyse seemingly unlimited details of website visitor patterns and behaviour.  How are your customers finding you? What time of day do they visit? What pages do they dwell on and which do they leave immediately? By studying this data, you will start to build up a vivid picture of who your customers are, what they like and, more importantly, what they don’t.

Tip 4 – Know your competitors

Being a successful business on the internet, or anywhere else, is not necessarily about doing things differently than your competitors, but doing them better. Make the online experience for your customers as engaging, efficient and satisfying as possible. What better way to start than to educate yourself on what others in the field are doing, both poorly and brilliantly.

Tip 5 – Stay on top of it

Websites are never finished. The most successful are commonly those which are nurtured, tended to consistently and respected as an integral part of the business. 

LASTLY – Look to the FUTURE!! Among others, American banking powerhouse Morgan Stanley is predicting that the mobile web will be bigger than desktop internet use by 2015. Having a mobile optimised version of a business website has become essential. For just a few pounds a month, your website can be fully optimised for every mobile phone screen. This means they are far quicker to load and easier to navigate for any of your potential customers on the move.

Ken Builder is MD of www.WebEden.co.uk

Many of our readers and advertisers at What’s On 4 Me (www.whatson4me.co.uk) are business owners already or they are looking to turn their hobby into a business. 

If you have a service that will help them – get in touch now marilyn@whatson4me.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you!

Tags: beginner packages, creating a website, digital innovation, google, ideas, inspiration, Ken Builder, marketing, news, Small Business Support, success, visitor patterns, webeden, Website Design, www.WebEden.co.uk