Has COVID been crimping your small business sales? Online alternatives can keep you afloat, even drive business growth – but the biggest problem may be your pre-COVID website. It may need some serious updating to draw online attention and improve user experience to drive more potential customers to your small business and away from other “big box” brands.
We admit, we’re not website developers. (Affordable health insurance for small business is our specialty.) But we do know small business – because we are one and serve many.
There are many options offered by dozens of websites that allow you to “build your own website.” It’s kind of like car shopping (online and at the lots). How do you choose among so many good models? One good place to start, look for a website company that offers these features:
• Free templates• Easy to customize• Easy to use• Search engine optimization (SEO) tools to learn more about customers• Helpful analytical tools• Mobile device capability• Low-cost or free domain hosting for several months or more• Perhaps most importantly, it looks like you want it to look
Check out these top 4 website solutions which go above and beyond for small business.
Known for serving creative industries and those seeking ecommerce business, Squarespace offers sleek, visually appealing templates — online elegance, with clean lines and creative use of white space. It also offers a range of business tools, such as opening an online store with shipping integration and running an email sales campaign.
Popular, longtime small business website building site (since 2007). “Drag and drop” feature make page creation and customization easier. Their app center offers 300+ options for writing, marketing, social media and other features. Stock images also available and plentiful. Blogging capability and “member-only” options are available, too, if they fit your business plan.
One of the largest arrays of free design templates for almost any small business. Easy-to-use, drag-and-drop templates sorted by categories: businesses, food, design, etc. Also offered: Wix ADI: just answer questions, then a full, working website is produced for you. Also, there’s SEO Wiz: answer questions and it creates a tailored SEO plan. The pricing is reasonable too — and we love affordability.
A small business fave, widely used and good for beginners, WordPress offers more than 350 small business templates options, including those for ecommerce. SEO and analytical tools help you find out how people find you online and how your site performs on the internet.
If you are looking for a sleek design like Squarespace, a drag-and-drop-style format like Wix or Weebly, or a more comprehensive system like Wordpress, there is something for you
