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Every great business idea deserves—and requires—a great business website. And while there was a time when building a website was a complex, time consuming and expensive process, those days are long behind us. Now, website creation is accessible to everyone, no matter how tech savvy (or tech averse) you might be.
With an intuitive, user-friendly website building platform like Wix, anyone can learn how to make a business website complete with fully customizable features, enterprise-grade security and built-in tools for managing and growing your business. All it takes is 10 simple steps; let’s get started.
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How to make a business website
01. Pick a business website template
Start by taking a look through our top picks for some of the best business websites and best business website examples. This will give you some inspiration ahead of creating your own.
If you’re just starting a business, Wix offers hundreds of professionally designed, fully customizable business website templates based on industry research, from finance to farming and everything in between. (There’s a reason it’s lauded as one of the best website builders for small businesses.)
As you set out to choose a template, thoroughly search the different categories to find the best match for your business goals and persona. Whether it's a tech startup site, a construction company website or anything in between, you should consider the look and feel (modern, simplistic, retro, etc.) that you want your specific business website to express. You should also consider the most important pages and features that would benefit your business. Dafna Rabin, template design team lead with Wix, suggests doing this as step one.
Next, Dafna suggests considering the content you intend to create on your website, and to base the template around that. Do you intend to write a blog? Do you want a large image or video on your homepage? What story is your content telling about your business? These are all decisions that impact which template you choose.
“Think about the flow of the content and the story that you want to tell your users,” Dafna recommends. “What is the first thing they see? What is the second? What is the main call to action (CTA) that you need on your website? What is the most important information that you want your users to see?”
Finally, your template should accurately reflect your brand. “Make sure you fit the website to your brand colors and that your logo is well positioned,” Rabin advises.
Learn more: Website vs CMS
Create your site from start to finish with Wix's website builder.
02. Choose a web host and domain name
To get online, you need a web hosting provider for others to discover your website.
If you’re looking for the best website hosting for small businesses, Wix offers free web hosting that’s protected and reliable, with 24/7 security monitoring and integrated SSL certificates to keep customers safe. It also boosts an impressive 99.9% uptime, meaning your site will stay up and running on secure and stable networks.
Next, you’ll need to get a domain name, also known as your website address, and connect it to your hosting provider. Selecting a strong domain name will add credibility to your business site and provide visibility for your brand. Ideally, it should match your business name for consistency. If you’re stuck on the naming front, try Wix’s free Business Name Generator and domain name search tool to see what’s available.
Additionally, you should follow these best practices when picking a domain name:
Make it easy to pronounce and spell: Your domain name should be easily shareable and understandable.
Keep it brief: Shorter names are user-friendly and easier to remember. Typing a lengthy name into the address bar is more susceptible to typos than a short name.
Be unique and consistent: You want to stand out against the crowd. It’s also a good idea to keep your domain name in line with your brand, paving the way for a cohesive online presence.
Avoid numbers and hyphens: These are often too confusing (is it 5 or five?) or difficult to remember. Hyphens, in particular, are easy to misplace when typing.
Need help finding a catchy title for your domain name? Use a domain name generator for inspiration and ideas that will help your business site stand out.
You'll also need to consider what domain extension you want to use:
Wix user spotlight: New York-based product designer Sohpie Brittain has a simple yet striking website design with the easy-to-remember URL of sophiebritt.com. Choosing a domain name based on your actual name can be an effective and memorable strategy for service-based businesses such as creative work, consulting, coaching, etc.
03. Optimize for SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process ensuring websites can rank well on search engines through organic queries. Why is this so important? Rebecca Tomasis, SEO expert for Wix Blogs, explains: "The higher you rank in search, and the more keywords you rank for—the greater your visibility, traffic and potential for conversions or sales."
Though there is a lot to learn about how to get your business found on Google, you can begin by implementing some of these essential SEO strategies on your site:
Find relevant keywords: You’ll need to do keyword research to better understand what your potential customers search for—the exact phrases or words they use to find specific products, services and solutions. Implementing these keywords naturally on your website, from the page heading and content to the image alt text, will help improve your rank in relevant search results. "Make sure your content is helpful and answers the intent behind the search term as directly and as clearly as possible," advises Rebecca.
Improve your website performance: Website performance impacts your site’s position on search engine results. Your web pages should fully load or display in both desktop and mobile browsers in one to two seconds. Some ways to improve your website performance include uploading correct image sizes, for example, using JPEG files over PNG, and avoiding overloading your web pages with content.
Add a meta description: This is the short summary of your website that appears below your URL in search results or social shares. Having strong, keyword-optimized meta description copy can enhance your website’s click-through rate, boosting your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
There are a number of robust Wix SEO tools you can use to start optimizing your website right out of the box, including customized structured data markup, a flexible URL redirect manager and integration with Google Search Console and Semrush.
04. Focus on the user experience
An effective website design will influence how your customers perceive you and your brand. Moreover, creating a good user experience can help your visitors feel satisfied with your business and can positively affect your website’s traffic, conversion and bounce rates.
When you're done editing your website, check how it feels live. “You need to check it in the browser; check how it looks and scrolls,” says Dafna. “Check it on mobile (which a lot of times people forget to do). Check it in other screen resolutions and make sure everything is visible, everything is accessible and people can read it.”
Mobile devices account for more than half of web traffic worldwide, so it you’ll definitely want to consider how visitors view this version of your site. Wix’s mobile editor will show you how your site design looks on mobile view so you can optimize your pages accordingly.
Additionally, you’ll want to pay attention to the following:
Navigation menu: Website navigation can make or break a user’s experience. To optimize navigation and satisfy visitors, choose the right menu for your audience and site. For example, the classic menu is placed at the top of every web page (the site’s header). Or the hamburger menu, a widely recognizable yet simple three-line icon, that’s more commonly used on mobile websites.
Calls to action (CTA): A CTA button is an element with the goal of getting people to take a certain action, such as “contact,” “buy,” “subscribe” or “submit.” An effective CTA depends on the text, color, size, shape and even placement on your site, all of which entice a user to click and move towards making a purchase or filling a contact form.
Social media links: The social media icons or links displayed on your site can affect the user experience. You can add X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or Instagram icons in your copy to help visitors further engage with your business. Place them prominently in headers and footers as reminders to visitors, or integrate live social media feeds. Additionally, you can implement a social bar to your site, linking visitors directly to any of your social channels.
If you need additional features and functionality, Wix Market apps offer hundreds of solutions for third-party integrations for your business. And, if you need different—or more—visual assets, you don’t have to turn farther than your Wix site editor. “We have this huge content library that you can go to and find thousands of assets: images, videos, stickers, icons, everything you need for many different types of businesses and industries,” Dafna notes. And, all assets are available in resolutions that work across multiple screens.
Wix user spotlight: Serving people throughout North and South Carolina, The Law Office of David McWilliam specializes in family law, estate planning and mediation. The firm’s website features a clean, user-friendly design with clear navigation and call-to-action buttons that are easy to read and find.
05. Build relevant pages
In learning how to create a website, you’ll discover that having multiple pages is a must for your business. This allows you to cover a broad range of content, products or services and nearly every nut and bolt of your venture.
Consider these essential pages when deciding what to include on a business website:
Homepage: Often compared to being the storefront of your business, an attractive homepage will hook your potential customers if it’s inviting and easy to navigate. Ensure this by using eye-catching images or videos, as well as readable fonts. Also place strategic calls to action throughout your site to guide visitors to take further steps.
About: Prospective clients want to know who you are and what distinguishes you from competitors. An “About Us” page effectively communicates this vital information, as well as your business’s story, goals, values and mission statement. If you have a particularly small business, you can also consider adding a professional bio to this page. Not sure where to begin? Wix's AI text generator can create an "About" page for you in seconds. Our guide to how to write a bio can also help.
Contact: A contact page is the best way for potential customers to get in touch with you. This page should include all your contact information, such as location, business phone number, social media links, business email address and a short contact form.
Online store: With online sales on the rise, it has become essential for many businesses to adapt to an eCommerce model. Setting up an online store comes with several benefits, as advanced web tools can help you manage and scale your small business. These include everything from managing order fulfillment and creating a customized checkout experience for customers to accepting payments. Once you’ve decided how to make your eCommerce site, you’ll be able to streamline all your operations from a single powerful dashboard—on desktop and mobile.
Bookings page: If you’re a service provider, you know that extending convenience and efficiency to potential clients is a crucial part of your business. Adding an online scheduling software to your site will allow you to seamlessly accept bookings and payments. An all-in-one booking solution lets you manage your calendars for clients and staff, plus sell membership plans, subscriptions and open trial sessions. It also allows you to host sessions via Zoom, enabling you to reach larger audiences and build your clientele.
Wix user spotlight: Next Door Alliance offers comprehensive customer support and administrative services for businesses, including reputation management, human resources, quality control and more. NDA’s business website features a top navigation with key pages of interest: "Home," "About NDA," "Our Services," "Our Vision," "Contact" and "Career Opportunities." From this navigation, potential clients can learn valuable information about the company’s history, experience and offerings.
06. Fill your site with rich content
Having quality, fresh content on your website not only encourages visitors to return to you, but also signals to search engines that your site includes up-to-date information.
As you start thinking about incorporating or writing website content that drives traffic and engages your target market, consider these forms of content on your website:
Blog: Many businesses create business blogs, providing insights into their field of expertise and sharing content with their clients. Bloggers write and post articles—dedicated to specific subject matter—that often serve as a platform for active online discussions. You’ll want to prioritize and choose relevant blog post topics that resonate with your audience and can establish you as a voice in your industry. Compelling blog content can also draw new audiences to your brand. For example, if you make and sell wine, a blog post about “How to store wine at home” can capture new audiences and introduce your brand in the process. Wondering how to make a blog? Wix has got you covered with hundreds of blog templates, built-in SEO features and marketing tools that will allow you to scale your content, your brand and your business. Give the Wix blog maker a spin to see for yourself.
Testimonials: Testimonials usually come from customers, peers or anyone who has benefited from your offerings or work. Incorporating testimonials into your website helps boost your business’s credibility and build trust among clients. This is crucial, since potential clients can assess if you will meet their needs based upon others’ experiences. With different testimonials out there, most businesses use customer quotes as they’re easy to obtain. Just ask a customer directly for one. You can place testimonials in just about any section of your website, including the home page, product or service page, or even a dedicated testimonial page.
Wix user spotlight: Registered dietician Nathalie Rhone owns and operates Nutrition by Nathalie throughout the Greenwich, Connecticut and New York City areas, offering everything from refrigerator makeovers to functional lab testing. Nathalie’s blog adds engaging content to her website by sharing healthy recipes and photos, while her “Success Stories” page features client testimonials praising her services.
07. Implement a strong CRM
Once you realize that your business needs a website, you’ll also discover that you need solid customer relationship management (CRM) to build long-term rapport and capture more leads. Once connected to your website, a CRM provides you with marketing and sales force automation, as well as customer contact and project management.
Wix offers a complete, powerful and free CRM software that can be easily integrated with your website. The tool includes a wide range of advanced features, such as forms to collect key contact details like emails, leads and testimonials.
08. Include a privacy policy
Many countries around the world require businesses to disclose how they collect, handle and process visitor data. In turn, users have become more protective of their personal data and concerned about how companies use it.
As a result, it’s crucial that you write a privacy policy for your website explaining how and why you gather visitor information. This transparent, upfront communication will establish trust with your users. You can also install a permission banner for cookies.
09. Promote your site
After you build a business website, you’ll notice that you’ve also created a hub of all your digital marketing efforts. You can use your site to increase your business’s exposure to prospective clients by applying a couple of these low-investment and effective marketing strategies:
Email marketing: This targeted communication generates conversions and develops relationships with customers. Additional benefits include building engagement with your brand, driving traffic to your site and promoting your business. A robust email marketing service, like the one from Wix, allows you to create and send various types of email campaigns and customize them for your target audience.
Social media marketing: Today, many businesses leverage the power of social media and reach out to mass audiences from across the world through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest and X. With social media marketing, you can regularly promote and share content around your business in the form of live streaming, user generated content, stories or posting in specific groups. What’s more, you can create and manage both Facebook and Instagram Ads from your Wix eCommerce dashboard.
10. Track web performance
To fully understand your site’s performance, turn to web analytics tools and dive deeper into your site’s traffic trends. Visitor behavior can clue you into where your users come from, how they got to your site and which pages they stay on for longer periods of time. Wix Analytics is a useful tool for gleaning these insights, providing an in-depth look into your site’s traffic trends, content performance and visitor behavior.
Once you have a better understanding of your visitors—first time or returning—you can make data-driven decisions on what your site needs in order to improve overall performance.
How to build a business website FAQ
How long does it take to create a business website?
A simple website can be created in a few hours, while a more complex website may take several weeks or even months to complete.
If you're building the website yourself, you can expect to spend at least a few hours on the design and layout. You also need to create content for your website, which can take some time, especially if you are writing all of the content yourself. Learn more: Small business website statistics