The Future of Your Small Business Begins with Choosing the Right Website Services
As a small business owner, your revenue is directly connected to your website and your online presence. We understand the importance and influence your small business website has on both the consumer (visitor) and the search engines.
When considering website design services or marketing solutions, you should consider every detail to ensure success. Here are the most important decisions you will have to make to ensure the future of your small business:
- Choose the right hosting company. **We do not recommend combining your hosting with your web development/developer.
- Make sure that your website designer understands optimization. A business website that looks good must also be properly optimized prior to launching.
- Decide what type of commitment you can make to promote consistency in maintaining and marketing your site considering both your time and budget
You Don’t Have to Sacrifice to Get an Affordable Small Business Website
If you have tried a DIY approach using web builders or even WordPress and you are stuck, you’re not alone. When WordPress first came out it was plausible for some people who had limited knowledge of web design to figure out the basics. WordPress has changed in leaps and bounds and you really do have to have a working knowledge of website development. From your WordPress installation to WordPress plugins, themes and security, it is highly recommended to work with a web design firm to get you off to a good start.
Nice Looking Website Templates.. How Bad Can it Be?
There is truth to the fact that there are plenty of nice templates offered with web builders. But, depending on what route you take, web builders can be highly restrictive to the growth of a small business. Once you figure out that you need more features to manage and promote your website properly, that’s where web builder themes, templates and bundled services become problematic. Generally speaking, when you choose this option, you are paying for hosting. The templates are provided as a “selling point.” The most frequent complaint we receive from clients who used web builders, was that they were locked into monthly fees that never ended and costs increased to get the functionality they needed. In essence, they weren’t just paying for hosting, they were paying for a site that wasn’t truly theirs because they didn’t own the license to the templates. If for instance, they wanted to move their website and contents including their theme or template to a WordPress platform it wasn’t possible. They could keep their domain name but would lose their website and have to start all over again. In short they never truly owned their website files and would have to pay every month for the “extras” rather than owning their website by paying one time for the development, while keeping their hosting separate. **This is how bad it can be and why we do NOT provide bundled hosting and only recommend hosting companies that we know will suit our client’s needs.
WordPress Website Maintenance & Updates
When you opt for a WordPress website, after it’s launched you must perform basic updates on a regular basis. This is true with any website. This is not “updating” as in adding new content which is also crucial if you want your website to rank well and to remain engaging to your visitors. WordPress updates, plugin updates, theme and other changes that may be unique to your website need to be preformed fairly regularly.
If you are not familiar with WordPress or content management platforms, we can teach you how to do the basic updates. Most small business owners simply don’t have the time to maintain their websites, so we’re here to help as needed. If you have already attempted to self manage your website and you need WordPress troubleshooting services Bay Area Graphics & Marketing offers affordable, flexible website maintenance and SEO solutions that are geared towards small business owners. You really can afford these services without getting locked into contracts and services that you may not need every month. Keep in mind we bundle our website maintenance with SEO so that you can get a better return on your investment.
Contact Bay Area Graphics & Marketing
The success of your small business website is up to you. Begin with an affordable, professional website design package and then opt for our Pay as You Go SEO Services for maintenance, marketing and optimization. Learn more about our website design packages and SEO pricing by calling 813-778-9548 or email us for a no hassle quote.
Read: Avoiding DIY or Bundled Website Design/Hosting Services