NCET Biz Tips: Starting Your Nevada Business: Part 7 – Creating a Website & Securing Social Media
NCET Biz Tips: Starting Your Nevada Business: Part 7 – Creating a Website & Securing Social Media
NCET helps you explore business and technology
Mikalee Byerman
When you’re getting ready to head to a networking event, chances are you have put some thought into how you look. Whether you’re going business casual or suit-and-tie formal, you’ve thought about how you want people to perceive you and the impression you’re hoping to give off.
The same thought should be given to your business’ most visible “attire” — your website and social media accounts. And when it comes to these digital reflections of your business, you have a Beyoncé-worthy walk-in closet full of choices.
Step 1: Determine Your Website’s Goals
Will customers be able to buy products on your website, or is it a portfolio to showcase your offerings? There are hundreds of goals your website may be trying to accomplish, and these goals need to drive your web decisions. If you just need a few simple pages that give clients a destination to learn more about you, that’s a whole different level of complexity than a storefront that can accommodate international shoppers. Think through your web goals first, which will help you make the next decision.
Step 2: Choose a Website Builder
Weeks ago in this series, you already researched your domain name (and hopefully scooped it up). So now it’s time to build the thing. We’re fortunate to have many user-friendly website builders at our disposal — commonly called Content Management Systems, or CMS — which are platforms for designing and customizing your site without having to know every nuance of HTML or CSS code (or what those acronyms even mean!). Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Weebly, GoDaddy – your choices are endless. However, keep in mind many of these are limited in their abilities to personalize — they’re called “templates” for a reason, after all. Even if you use a CMS, it’s probably advisable to speak with a designer and/or get a quote from a programmer to understand what they offer.
Step 3: Architecture + Design
It’s time to create a site map or wireframe that projects out all of your content, page by page. Ease of navigation is critical, so you’ll need to consider the user experience, literally mapping their journey (or journeys) through your content. If you’re using a CMS, now’s the time to look through loads of templates with color schemes, fonts, headers and footers and navigation elements somewhat predetermined. If you’re using a designer, this is their time to create art!
Step 4: What’s Your Story?
Whether your site is complex or a simple landing page, it will need content. And the most effective content has a clear “voice” reflecting your business’ personality. When it comes to web copy, avoid overwhelming “walls” of text (no one has time to read all those words!), and opt instead for abundant white space, bullets and graphic elements to keep the user engaged.
Step 4: Get in the Weeds
The technical elements of creating a website are abundant, which is why it’s almost always advisable to use a professional. They’ll alert you to components that you may not have thought about — like how to make your website accessible for those with disabilities, how to optimize for mobile and how to strengthen your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) using elements like alt text and keywords. Thinking of using a programmer yet? Thought so.
Step 5: Publish
If only it were that easy, right? Once you’ve worked out the kinks and tested your site abundantly, it’s time to make it live. Send your link to friends, and ask them for feedback to gauge their experience.
Step 6: Connect to Social Media
Your website should feature your social icons in the header, and just like your webpage, your social “footprint” needs to reflect your business voice as well. Choose your favorite platforms (if you’re just starting out, better to do two platforms well than four or five sporadically). Create a header and upload your logo as your profile picture, and start posting! Oh, and don’t forget to invite aforementioned friends — they’ll be your first audience and will tell you when you’re missing the mark.
Please join us next month as we discuss choosing a location for your business — whether that’s a bricks-and-mortar building or a virtual environment.
Mikalee Byerman is VP of Strategy for the Estipona Group (http://www.estiponagroup.com/) and has helped many clients create smart, stylish and polished digital wardrobes — AKA websites and social media pages.
NCET is a member-supported nonprofit organization that helps people explore business and technology. (www.NCET.org)