Building a Website for Your New Business

Are you getting ready to start a new business but are not sure where to begin? A website is a great place to start, but be sure you understand what you are getting before you sign up for anything. There is no faster way to waste your limited resources than to build a website that does nothing to help you grow your business.

I’ve built thousands of websites, many of them for startup businesses. The first question I ask when meeting with a potential customer is:

If I were looking for this product or service, how would I go about finding it?

That question helps determine what type of website the business needs, how it should be marketed, and whether building a website even makes financial sense.

Sometimes a Website Is Not the Right First Step

More than once, I have advised someone meeting with me not to spend their money on a website.

One example was a gentleman who developed a custom tire-repair kit for motorcycles. The kit came in a decorative box and sold for more than $120. He wanted an e-commerce website capable of accepting credit-card payments, and he had approximately $3,000 to spend on the website and marketing.

I asked him how much profit he made on each unit. His answer was about $30.

I broke down the cost of building the website, what SEO and PPC advertising would cost, and how many kits he would need to sell just to recover those expenses. Even if he converted 20% of his website visitors into customers—an almost impossible conversion rate—he still wouldn’t cover his costs, let alone make a profit. I advised him to consider selling through Amazon or meeting directly with motorcycle shops that might carry the product.

Not every website developer will be that upfront with you. Many will take your money, build what you ask for, and never worry about whether it helps your business succeed.

That is why it is important to understand what you are buying and what you can realistically expect from it.

The best way to do that is to have a plan.

An Idea Is Not a Plan

About 98% of the potential clients I meet with have an idea. Some may also have a one-page sheet listing what they want. I call those bullet points. Bullet points are a good starting point, but they are not a complete website plan.

A good website developer should ask you several questions before providing a price or beginning the project.

What do you want your website to accomplish?

Bring in new customers?
Serve as an online brochure that you can direct customers to?
Generate calls, emails, or quote requests?
Take and manage online orders?
Accept credit-card payments?
Manage customers or appointments?
Save your employees time?

If the website will accept credit cards, do you already have a merchant account? If you do, the website may need a system that works with your existing provider.

What is your market area?

Are you serving one city, several cities, an entire state, or the entire country?
Do you have a marketing plan?
Do you have a monthly marketing budget?
How will potential customers find your website?
Who are your main competitors?

Have you researched similar websites?

What features do they offer?
What do you like about their websites?
What do you dislike?
Is there anything you believe your website should do better?

An experienced developer should be able to guide you and help prevent costly mistakes. That being said, you also need to do your own research.

Don’t Ask a Developer to Build Something Blindly

Look at other websites. Find examples you like and show them to the developer.

Don’t simply ask someone to build you something without providing any direction. You probably won’t like the first design, and you may have to pay an additional fee to have a second layout created.

The more useful information you can give the developer, the less time it should take to plan and build your website. That can lower your development costs and increase the chances that you will be happy with the finished product.

What You Should Have Before the Website Is Built

Before development begins, you should have a basic idea of your website’s navigation. Common pages may include:

Home
Products or Services
About Us
Calendar of Events
Frequently Asked Questions
Contact Us

You should also begin preparing:

Content for each page
Product or service information
Photos and graphic ideas
Your company logo and colors
Contact information
Employee information
Pricing, when appropriate
Calls to action
Policies, warranties, and guarantees

You don’t necessarily need to have everything completed before meeting with a developer. However, you should understand who is responsible for creating the content, taking the photos, designing the graphics, and gathering the information.

If the developer is responsible for these items, be sure they are included in the price.

Don’t Buy a Website—Buy a Business Tool

Too many people think they are simply purchasing a website. What they should be purchasing is a business tool.

Your website should do something valuable for your business. Ask yourself:

Will it help customers find me?
Will it generate leads?
Will it increase sales?
Will it answer common customer questions?
Will it save my employees time?
Will it make my business appear more professional?
Will it be easy to update?
Can it grow as my business grows?

A website can look great and still do absolutely nothing for your business. Good design is important, but appearance alone does not make a website successful.

The Cheapest Website Can Become the Most Expensive

One of the biggest mistakes new business owners make is shopping only for the lowest price.

A website is not expensive simply because someone wants to charge you more. The cost may include planning, design, content creation, search-engine optimization, mobile development, programming, testing, security, and ongoing support.

That does not mean the most expensive proposal is automatically the best one. It means you need to understand exactly what is included in each proposal.

A $300 website that never produces a customer is far more expensive than a $3,000 website that consistently helps bring in new business.

Before choosing a developer, ask:

How many pages are included?
Is the content included?
Is SEO included?
Is mobile development included?
Who owns the website when it is completed?
Can I move the website to another provider?
Are there monthly charges?
What happens if I need changes?
Is training included?
Is ongoing support included?
Are there additional charges for hosting, security, updates, or maintenance?

A low price can look attractive until you discover that everything you actually need costs extra.

A Website and an Online Management System Are Not the Same

There is a major difference between building a small website with a few informational pages and developing an online system that manages products, customers, orders, payments, and employees.

If you are planning an online system with advanced product or backend management features, it needs to be planned in detail.

I cannot count the number of times someone has handed me a few bullet points and asked me to quote a system that clearly required a much deeper discussion.

The moment you ask for a customer-management or order-management system, many additional features must be considered:

Adding and updating customers
Editing and deleting orders
Processing payments
Managing inventory
Calculating shipping
Tracking orders
Issuing refunds
Creating customer accounts
Assigning employee access
Producing sales reports
Sending automatic emails or text messages
Protecting customer information
Backing up the system

If your plan simply says “customer section,” a developer could quote a very basic system that does not allow you to edit, update, or manage anything. Technically, the developer delivered what was requested. Unfortunately, you may have purchased something you cannot use. Every feature and expectation should be clearly outlined before development begins.

Your Developer Should Be the Expert

Your website developer is supposed to be the expert in this field. You don’t go to a doctor and expect to tell the doctor what tests to run or what treatment you need. You explain what is happening, and the doctor asks questions before making a recommendation. Your website developer should follow a similar process.

A good developer shouldn’t simply ask what pages you want. They should ask about your business, customers, competition, goals, market area, budget, and plans for growth. Their job is not just to build a website. Their job is to help you build a website that supports a successful business. The more planning that takes place before the first page is designed, the greater the chance that your website will become one of your most valuable business tools instead of just another monthly expense.

For information on our services visit:

David Apps

I'm always looking for new and exciting opportunities. Let's connect.

Contact me

708-403-9200