A website for your business: Where to start?
We see that anno 2021 many entrepreneurs do not (yet) have a website. Even though your own website is an absolute must these days. Since the advent of Google, you can no longer make it by just being the plumber or electrician 'from the neighbourhood'.
People start looking for where they can get the best plumber or electrician the quickest, who also does the job as cheaply as possible.
Actually, these days this search always starts online. So if you don't have a website yet (social media aside), you don't count.
But where to start? How do you set up a good website that your target group can find? We give you all the tools you need to get off to a flying start! ↓
The first step for building a website
Before you start building, you need to buy the domain name. This is only possible if the domain name is not yet registered, or has already been put up for sale by the current owner.
How to check this? Go to SIDN.nl and enter your favourite domain name. You will immediately see the status of your desired website and: whether you can therefore register it right away.
Does the SIDN website say it is an active website? Less so. But, that doesn't always mean your chance is gone! Go to the website itself and see if it is in use. If not, contact the owner and ask if you can buy over the domain name.
Once you have secured the domain name, you can get started. Just make sure you also get the hosting in order, otherwise your website will never be online.
What is hosting? Hosting is renting a piece of storage, processing power and memory from a server. Your website is stored here, which connects your website to the internet. So without hosting, your website is not online and inaccessible!
You arrange hosting easily and cheaply with parties such as:
What are the characteristics of a good website?
The characteristics of a good website are always the same: no matter how big or small your website is. We'll go through them with you!
1: It must work well on your mobile
Your website needs to be easily accessible for mobile traffic. More and more people are using mobile phones to look up and order products or services.
So do you want to be ready for the future and bring in as many orders as possible? Then make sure your website also works well on mobile.
2: Your website must be secure
Every now and then you come across a website whose first message you get is that the connection is insecure. Asking whether you still want to continue to the website.
The general answer: no. It deters visitors and drastically reduces your visitor numbers (and therefore your sales).
So how do you make sure it is safe? For that, you need a so-called SSL certificate. This is a certificate that confirms that the connection is secure.
Fortunately, this is not difficult! An SSL certificate is often included in your hosting package. So look into this carefully when you purchase a hosting package.
3: Your website must be easy to use
This feature may be self-explanatory, but it is a very important one. After all, you should always bear in mind that the website is for your customers. Not for you.
Therefore, you should also always keep your customers in mind when creating pages:
- Is everything clear enough?
- Isn't it too much text?
- Does it make sense that this piece of text is on this page?
TIP: Make sure your website has a fast loading time. If your website takes a long time to load, people are more likely to leave your website.
4: It has to radiate you
We've already talked about this, of course, but make sure your website is designed according to your taste. Still have no idea what "you look" means? Then get inspiration from:
- Canva
- Or check the templates from WordPress, Jimdo or, for example, Wix (depending on where you build your website, of course).
Do you have a lot of orange in your shop and logo? Then make sure this is reflected on your website. If everything is suddenly pimply purple with green dots, question marks arise here: "Am I in the right place?"
Plus, a website is your digital business card. A good match between the identity/appearance of your website and you yourself creates trust.
What are the key components of a good website?
A good website is one that you are proud of and that your customers are also eager to use. Make sure you have the following items on your site anyway:
- Homepage
- About us
- Product or service explanation
- Reviews
- Cost
- Contact
Of course, it depends on what kind of service or product you offer, but in general, these are the most common sections of websites.
TIP: Whether you put all the items on your website is up to you. For example, you can choose not to include costs. But make sure you are always transparent. Avoid unexpected costs and surprises.
Build the website yourself or outsource it?
The thing is - a website costs money and time. But it's an investment that we're pretty sure will make even more money. In other words: a positive return on investment. And of course, as an entrepreneur, that makes you happy. ;-)
It also seems complicated: but it's not! With a website builder like Wix or Jimdo, you can whip up a beautiful website in no time.
If you prefer to outsource, find the right party with whom you have a good feeling (or google "Web design agency / Website builder Amsterdam/Rotterdam" or ask friends).
As icing on the cake, of course: complete your website with a local number or 085 number from Rinkel.
