Building a website can launch your business beyond the physical and at the same time act as an effective sales and marketing tool. Regardless of offering, a business website is now considered a standard requirement that provides legitimacy and easy access to your offerings.
You want a website that stands out for its excellent user experience, but you don’t want to spend thousands of rands or days of work to get it up and running. Learn how to start a website for your business in simple steps and create an excellent user experience for any business website here.
- Identify your website’s purpose and goals
When you start a small business, you may not have time to think about a website. But building the website can help grow your business and integrate with your vision and mission. Fortunately, a website can be an inexpensive addition that you can create even when starting a business with hardly any money.
The website’s purpose and goals are related to the offerings of your core business. Consider the following:
• How can your customers benefit from the website?
• Are you going to sell products online?
• Are you planning to build sales funnels to drive customers to specific products?
• Will the website be primarily educational with a blog?
• Do you want to build understanding around your core products and services?
• Do you want to offer online customer service?
Once you have a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your website, it’s time to start building it.
- Choose the build platform for your website
Website building platforms allow you to quickly create a website or hire a professional to do it. Common website building platforms include Wix, WordPress, Weebly, Shopify, and Webflow. South African business owners may also work with local agencies or platforms like Webstudio or Shopstar.
- Choose and register your domain name
Your domain name is an important piece of business real estate. It’s how customers and potential customers find you. Think of a name related to your business name or offering.
The domain name must be easy to remember, short and related to the company’s name and offer. Most companies aim for a business domain name of less than 15 characters with a TLD that is either .co.za or a localised variant like .capetown, .joburg or .africa to connect your business to a specific area.
- Choose a web hosting provider
A web hosting provider offers website security and ensures fast loading speeds to optimise your website and ensure a good user experience. Common South African web hosting providers include Xneelo, Afrihost, 1-grid, Absolute Hosting, and Domains.co.za.
- Design your website
Website design can be simple or complex. You can hire a professional web designer or website builder or use a website design template. When designing your website, consider the user experience and how easily they can navigate the website to find what they need. In general, clean, simple and uncluttered designs work best.
You should choose a top image that showcases your business or offers. You can also create a blog, showcase customer testimonials and create websites that highlight specific products or services.
- Build your pages and content
The basic pages of a small business website include a home page, a contact page, and an about page. If you sell products and services online, you should also consider a sales page or pages for each product or service. Other useful pages include customer testimonials or professional reviews, a blog, and privacy or terms of service pages (which may need to comply with South Africa’s POPIA).
- Optimise your website for search engines
Search engine optimisation (SEO) allows new and existing customers to easily find your website by ensuring that it ranks in Google or Bing searches for relevant keywords. For example, if you have a coaching business, you might want to rank for words related to coaching, business success, happiness or building wealth.
Keyword research is the next level of optimisation, where you can research and find keywords with low competition to help your website rank more easily. Keyword research and SEO optimisation tools include Ubersuggest, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Yoast SEO.
After the website is launched, you can also use Google Analytics to help with continuous SEO improvement. You can monitor traffic and understand how customers find your site, where they stay the longest and which keywords generate the most traffic.
- Configure the payment system (if necessary)
If you plan to sell products or services online, you need a way to accept credit and debit card payments. Common South African payment systems that easily integrate with business websites include PayFast, Peach Payments, Yoco, Ozow, SnapScan, and PayGate.
- Test and launch your website
Website testing is essential to ensure a smooth customer experience. Start by having friends or employees test the website on different devices and browsers. Consider testing on mobile phones, tablets and various computer systems to ensure a smooth user experience.
Then consider paid user testing to ensure the user experience is intuitive and customers get the most value. Common user testing services include UserTesting.com and South African-based UX Labs.
- Maintain and update your website
To maintain and update your website, make sure you have configured security features, such as a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to protect user data. This means that your domain name starts with HTTPS and has an SSL certificate indicating to customers that their information is secure.
You can also install security plugins, set up automatic website backups and keep updating website content. You should regularly update the product and service page and the blog or other educational pages.
Build your business
When you’re starting a small business, the responsibilities can pile up, and time becomes a premium commodity. That’s where services like SwiftReg, Bizportal or CIPC eServices can help. These platforms offer fast and affordable South African business registration, B-BBEE certificates, and tax compliance services. You can register a private company (Pty Ltd), get a tax number, and open a business bank account with major banks like FNB, Standard Bank or Capitec Business Bank.
Questions and answers
Why do I need a website for my business?
A business website allows new and existing customers to learn more about your products and services. It positions your business to capture a larger audience and attract local customers. A website also lends legitimacy to a business in the minds of South African consumers.
What should I consider before starting a website?
Before starting a website, consider the domain name, web hosting, content and security. You should also consider your main goals and objectives to build your website around while incorporating branding and SEO. In South Africa, it’s also useful to ensure your site complies with local regulations such as POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act).
Is it necessary to learn coding to create a website?
No, it is not necessary to learn coding to create a website. Many online platforms help you create a beautiful website in a couple of hours – no coding required. South African-friendly platforms like Wix, Webflow and WordPress with local agency support make this easy.
What features should I include on my business website?
Features to include on a business website include a home page, contact page and about page, as well as a blog or informational material and pages about products and services. For local credibility, you should also include a VAT number (if registered), payment options (e.g. PayFast, SnapScan), and a privacy policy aligned with POPIA.
Should I include a blog on my business website?
If you have time to update the blog at least once a month, a blog on your company’s website can attract new customers and establish professional authority. It is also a way to provide existing customers with additional value and education. For South African audiences, this could include local tips, case studies, or industry-specific news.
