Take your Small Business Online in 15 Minutes
Many small business owners struggle with planning their online presence.
The key to remember when going online with your business is that you want to give customers information about what your business does and is about. If you have a physical location, you want to show potential customers how to find you. You may also want to post information about your services, or a menu if you are a restaurant.
Most businesses do not require an expensive web site design if they are not doing online commerce. Sure, it would be great to have a beautiful web site that pleases the eye, but a custom design is not really required. Customers only care about finding your business or learning more about you. If you can set up an online brochure of sorts with contact details, maps, and product or service information that is current, you are helping those customers learn more about you.
Many of the following questions are asked when the decision has been made to go online:
- What kind of web site do you require?
- How do you find a web designer?
- What is your budget?
- Do I have the time to manage a web designer?
- Will I have time to properly update my site on a regular basis?
How did you answer the questions above?
If you decided you don’t have the time to hunt down a web designer, do not want to spend much money, and just need an informational web site, I have the solution for you:
Online Site Builder
No software is required. Simply use your web browser on your existing desktop to build an informational web site. Most site builders provide templates to choose from. You can then edit the templates and provide your own custom content.
One such online tool is provided by 1and1 Internet – MyBusiness Site. Pricing is very affordable and a basic web site can be constructed in a few minutes. I took the liberty of designing my own using their MyBusiness Site service:
First things First
Most likely you have a domain, but if you don’t, you can order a domain from 1and1 during the setup process for your new web site.
To start your web site design with 1and1 they allow you to pick your industry. From here you then pick the color. Once these tasks are completed you complete the easy sign up process. Your web site is literally online within a few minutes.
The great thing about the 1and1 MyBusiness Site is that the templates for your industry come pre-filled with basic text. This saves a lot of time when you factor in the time it takes to write your own copy. I know people who would struggle for days to write the amount of copy that was pre-filled on our test site www.getfitokc.com. With a few minor adjustments and a logo update, getfitokc.com was up and running.
One of the coolest features was the Map tool. Visitors can click on ‘Directions’ and see a Google Map of where your business is located.
Updates
Updating your web site is easy. In fact, just type in your domain name and click ‘Login’ in the bottom right hand corner of your web site. Once logged in, all you need to do is hover over the page or section you wish to update and click when you see the editor tools. Changing images, text, and features are made easy using this tool.
Overall, this MyBusiness Site product from 1and1 Internet gets an A+ and we think it would be a mistake to not spend 15 minutes to take your business online and help increase visibility and sales.
Tags: 1and1, business hosting, Business Tools, Domain Registration, MyBusiness Site, SMB, web hosting, Website Design
