Having a dedicated website for your small business makes a great impression. It’s much better than relying on your social media alone. You’re more likely to attract and convert customers.
WordPress powers almost half of all websites, making it the most popular and reliable website builder. It’s far more than a mere blogging platform, which it was in the beginning. It is a fully-fledged content management system (CMS).
What do I need to create a small business website?
To create a small business website on WordPress, all you need is a domain name, website hosting, and a bit of time.
The domain name is the name of your website – for example, mysmallbusiness.com. You should use WordPress.org to set up your site. It provides immediate access to all WordPress features out of the box.
How to choose a domain name
It’s best to go with a .com domain because it’s easier to remember. Of course, the name should be somehow relevant to your business. Include “gardening” in it if that’s your business, or “styling,” etc. You might find your domain name of choice is unavailable. In this case, add your location next to it, ex. portlandstyling.com. This will also increase awareness locally.
Finally, your domain name should be short, simple, and easy to pronounce. Avoid numbers and hyphens.
Adding pages
After you install WordPress, you can proceed to create an outline of your content. The best small business websites are simple and have a standard design. You can create a new page under Pages » Add New.
As a bare minimum, you need a homepage, a product or service page, an About page, and a Contact page. Your homepage is the first page your potential clients will see. It should contain a brief description of the advantages your business has to offer, i.e., what makes you stand apart from your competitors. Ideally, include a call to action.
Your service or product page should describe your offerings. Don’t go overboard with text – focus on images instead. You can add these later.
Finally, it’s a good idea to add a form to your Contact page so customers can contact you directly. If you have a physical location, you can add your address, as well as a phone number if you want to be contacted that way.
Choose a theme
You can use the WordPress default theme or choose another one. This content management system gives access to thousands of free and premium themes. Below is a quick look at five of the best WordPress themes for a small business.
1. SeedProd
SeedProd provides the tools to create a beautiful business website from scratch without a technical background. The builder lets you import and tailor multiple ready-made themes. SeedProd also offers templates for maintenance mode, coming soon, etc. These can be activated in one click and tailored to suit your business.
2. Divi
Divi is another popular builder and solid WordPress theme. It features hundreds of ready-made templates for all types of small business websites. You can tailor your layout to change colors, replace content, and add newsletter signups, among other elements.
Managing this theme is a piece of cake. You don’t need to know any code to customize your website on the front end.
3. Ultra
This theme features ready-to-use templates for businesses of all sizes. It comes with numerous content types and custom widgets, navigation menus, sidebars, page templates, etc. Its customizability is its biggest plus.
4. Hestia Pro
Hestia Pro has a contemporary and stylish layout with a custom background and full-width header. It features content widgets for your header and footer, as well as an Elementor integration.
5. Breakthrough Pro
Last but not least, this business theme features a call-to-action button and an appealing full-screen header image. The pages are spacious with a wide layout. It also integrates with WooCommerce and has been optimized for speed and performance.
Use WordPress plugins to enrich your site
You can install WordPress plugins to add new functions and features to your website, such as social media feeds, contact forms, customer reviews, or Google Analytics. More than 50,000 free plugins are available. You’ll find WooCommerce indispensable if you run an online store.
