How to build a small business website?
Building a small business website has never been more accessible. Platforms such as Squarespace, Wix and WordPress allow you to create a professional-looking site without coding or employing a web developer.
But choosing a website builder is only one small part of the job. The real challenge is deciding what your website needs to achieve, what it should say and how to organise everything so that potential customers can understand your business and take the next step.
In simple terms, the process is to plan the website, prepare the content, choose a suitable platform, build it clearly and check everything before launch.
Start with a plan, not a template
It is tempting to begin by browsing templates, choosing colours and experimenting with layouts. But starting there often creates more work later.
Before building anything, you need to understand:
what the website should achieve?
who it needs to reach?
what visitors need to know?
what you want them to do next?
You will also need to decide which pages the website requires and what purpose each page will serve.
This does not mean writing every word before you begin. It means creating a workable plan rather than trying to make important decisions one section at a time inside the website builder.
This is where many DIY website projects become difficult. The software can give you a polished template, but it cannot decide which pages your business needs, what each page should achieve or how the content should guide visitors towards taking action.
Turn the process into a practical website plan:
This article gives you the overall stages involved in building a small business website. The Small Business Website Kit helps you apply them to your own business, with structured guidance, practical activities and a Planning Workbook to keep your decisions in one place.
Prepare before you build
Once you have a structure, gather the content and materials the website will need. This may include your core page copy, service information, images, testimonials and practical business details.
You may already have some of these, while others will need to be written, photographed or requested. Identifying the gaps early prevents the build from stalling and makes it easier to choose layouts that suit your actual content.
If you’re not sure what you need to gather, the free small business website checklist gives you a simple starting point before you begin building.
You do not need to perfect every sentence at this stage. The important thing is to know what each page needs to accomplish, and what information you have available to support it.
Choose a suitable website platform
With a clearer idea of what you are building, you can choose a platform based on the needs of the business rather than the appearance of a demonstration template.
Consider how easy the site will be to manage, what features you need and how much flexibility you genuinely require.
Squarespace is a popular all-in-one option for small service businesses. Wix and WordPress offer different levels of flexibility and complexity. The best choice is the one that supports what your website needs to do without making it unnecessarily difficult to maintain.
Build with the visitor in mind
As you create the website, prioritise clarity over decoration.
A potential customer should be able to understand what you offer and find the next step without having to work it out. Consider the full journey through the site, rather than treating every page as a separate design exercise.
A layout that looks clear on a large screen may feel cluttered or confusing on mobile. Many people now design for mobile first, but at the least you should also check the website carefully on a phone before launch.
Check, publish and improve
Before launching, test the complete website and make sure its practical features work as expected.
A small business website does not need to be perfect before it goes live. It does need to be clear, accurate, trustworthy and easy to use.
Once published, it can continue to improve as you learn which questions customers ask, which pages they visit and where they need more information.
The website builder is not the whole solution
Squarespace and its competitors have made building a small business website easy for the average user. But learning how to use a website builder is only one part of creating an effective small business website.
However, working out what to put on the page, how to structure the content and whether anything important is missing requires much more thought.
The Small Business Website Kit turns the broad process outlined in this article into a practical plan for your own website. Its structured guides, activities and Planning Workbook help you make the key decisions in the right order, rather than trying to plan, write, design and build everything at once.
Not ready for the complete kit? Start with the free DIY Website Starter Checklist.