Your brand or business does not exist if it does not have a website. This is not a dire warning, but rather the reality of today's digital age. After all, if you don't have a dedicated business website, how will a potential client find you?

Building a website from scratch can be a daunting task for many startups, small businesses, and professional practices. Even more so if you're also working hard to get your business off the ground. Furthermore, you may have come across some truly stunning web designs and functionalities and convinced yourself that you will never be able to replicate them.

Here are 10 key steps to getting started and helping your business website compete effectively in the online marketplace if you are looking to build a new startup website or make your current site more effective.

#1. Define your objective

Whether you are developing a website for your business, your blog, or your portfolio, stating your objective helps optimize the benefits of your online presence. A thorough comprehension of your purpose can assist you in shaping your brand identity and deciding which assets and design impacts to include on your website. You may wish to consider the following:

1. Blog
2. Gallery of images Social media links
3. Online shop
4. Chat function
5. Members section

After you have determined the goal of your website, you will need to establish your brand identity. This is another factor that will influence the design of your website, from the tone of your microcopy to the color of your buttons.

#2. Perform competitor research

To create an interesting website from start, it is essential to identify your target audience and conduct research on your competition. You will need to determine the type of material that your potential visitors are interested in and the information they are seeking.

To accomplish this, conduct a Google search for websites comparable to what you envisage for your own. Examine the relevant pages to determine the type of content they offer, such as blogs, community forums, social media feeds, testimonials, and Q&A sections.

#3. Select A Website Platform

To develop a website, you will need a platform to design and administer it on. A website platform or builder is essentially a collection of technologies that enable the publication of web pages and blog entries. To create a completely working and customized website from scratch, you will need to know some code.

Website builders are extremely helpful if you lack coding knowledge or experience. They provide means to create a website without requiring knowledge of coding languages such as HTML or CSS. There are currently a variety of website builders available. WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, and Weebly are popular website development platforms.

#4. Obtain a domain name and web hosting account

After selecting a platform, you will require a web hosting account and domain name. Both will assist you in making your website and its information accessible to internet visitors.

A domain name is the name of your website and is frequently also your website's address, however, this is not always the case. A domain name is how Internet users will be able to call and recognize your website's name or type it into a web browser to access your homepage. For instance, our domain is FruitJar.com. There are numerous web hosting service providers such as GoDaddy and Bluehost with competitively priced packages and numerous extras available nowadays.

Modify Your Site's Basic Settings: Now that your website is live and accessible online, it is time to add some personal touches. Colors, brand elements, logos, and designs are introduced now. You should already have a notion of how to brand your website based on its intended purpose. Consider whether it will be an eCommerce website, a blog, or a freelance/agency website when choosing a design perspective for your site.

#5. Install a WordPress motif

Now we reach the first step of the enjoyable process, which involves making your website attractive. WordPress themes are the simplest way for a non-technical person to create a website with a professional appearance.

Themes are a collection of templates and stylesheets used to modify or correct the appearance and style of a website powered by WordPress. They can be modified, controlled, altered, and added via the WordPress administration panel's Appearance section.

Each gives your website a distinct appearance, layout, and set of features. There are WordPress Photography Themes designed specifically for photography-based websites, for instance.

Similarly, there are specialized themes for eCommerce websites, agency websites, cuisine blogs, news websites, and even business websites.

Because WordPress is such a popular platform, there are thousands of free and commercial themes, such as Divi builder, Avada, and Pixelgrade, that are suitable for any niche. So, regardless of how basic or complex you like your website to appear, there is a free or premium theme for you.

#6. Prioritize your content

To ensure that your site's users feel at ease and at home when exploring, it is essential to maintain it as organized as possible. Consider hierarchy: you'll want to place your most captivating and significant information above the fold (i.e., the portion of your website that visitors can see without having to scroll).

In addition, keep in mind that some of your readers are merely scanning your text. Consider how you may optimize your design so your audience can get the most out of your material to make their life easier and make your content stand out.

Consider which written content can be made more consumable and visually appealing by incorporating audiovisual elements (videos, images and animations, infographics for example). Choose a larger font size or a color that contrasts with the background to make key headers and other essential pieces of content stand out more than others.

#7. Tailor Your WordPress Theme

Once you've selected a theme, it's time to modify it to your exact specifications. The precise methods for customizing your theme will vary depending on the theme you choose, but here are some useful guidelines that apply to the majority of themes.

Go to the top-left menu of your WordPress dashboard, pick Appearance, and then select Themes. Additional customization options include a slider (if your theme offers this feature), background images, a site logo if you have one, and your site's colors.

#8. Modify Your Sidebar and Widget Areas

Customizing your sidebar and widgets is an important element of website creation. Sidebars are simply bars that allow you to display more content on your website without altering its layout. Widgets, on the other hand, are pre-built modules designed to bring specific functions to your websites, such as a search bar, a subscription box, or the most recent blog entries. Most websites feature a sidebar that displays categories, filters, and any other information a visitor may need to browse the site's content more. For online retailers, the sidebar may simply serve as a way to display recently viewed items and provide quick access to the shopping basket.

#9. Install Plugins to Increase Functionality

A plugin is a little piece of software that allows you to add a collection of unique features to your WordPress website. Consider it pre-written code that enables your website to accomplish more. Alternatively, you might have written code to add this capability to your website. Plugins are the answer to this problem. WordPress plugins are developed in a programming language to integrate seamlessly with the platform, making them simple to use for both novices and experts.

These tools increase the overall functionality of your website because the WordPress platform may lack certain essential features. Downloading and installing a plugin is therefore the only option to add that feature to your website.

#10. Optimize for SEO

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving a website such that its pages rank higher on search engine results pages. When building a new website from scratch, it is essential to optimize the site so that Google can find it. The greater your visibility, the greater the likelihood that prospective customers will discover your website and book your services, purchase your items or read your blog.

There are free solutions that will guide you through each stage and help you improve your website's Google rating by:

1. Assisting you in locating and implementing the ideal keywords
2. Providing advice on the optimal content layout
3. Enabling the use of SEO titles and meta descriptions
4. Compatibility with Google Search Console

Last Words

As you can see from this post, developing a fantastic website for a small business may not be as simple as you imagined. If you follow the procedures outlined in this article, however, your small business will have a great chance of prospering in the internet economy.