Your website is the most powerful marketing tool you have. It not only helps strengthen your online presence but also helps to communicate with your consumers and makes your business trustworthy to them. You should be able to choose the best web platform for your business to maximise your online presence.
To make the most of your website, it’s critical to choose the best web platform for your business. It is the perfect solution for startups or small businesses who want to develop a highly functional and attractive website without hiring a full-time developer. Anyway, with several options available in the market, choosing the correct one can be a tricky affair. In fact, picking up the right option may vary according to the specific needs of a business. Every business has different objectives and needs. No one website builder will work perfectly for all. However, choosing the right builder is critical for your business’s success. Thus, understanding the characteristics of a well-suited web platform may help you to make an informed decision.
In this article, we will take a look at how to choose the best website builder for your business. So, before you blindly pick a web builder, let’s dive deep into the topic for a better understanding.
Choosing the Best Website Builder
Before making a decision on a web platform to build your business website, ask yourself a few questions. Remember, to make your website functional and successful, never choose a platform that others consider the best option. At first, it’s crucial to understand what you want to do with your website. Setting your goals and deciding on the features to be added to your website may help you to make the right decision.
For example, if your business demands an e-commerce store, blog section, add-to-cart option or SEO features, jot them down. If you are still unsure about what you need to add to your website, check competitor websites for inspiration. Today, when most web building platforms offer you a drag and drop user interface and other user-friendly features, it’s a great idea to use trial accounts before taking the final call.
Also, while selecting a website builder, think of your growth options. Know if you need to add regular updates on your website or sell more products or services in the future. During the decision-making process, it’s essential to ensure that the platform is capable of tackling all your needs with the business growth. Then, selecting the right web builder will be an absolute breeze!
Things to Consider in a Web Platform
When it comes to choosing the right web platform for your small business, consider what ‘right’ means to you. It is because the platform that is perfect for an e-commerce business might not be the right choice for a health service provider or an online course. As there are several options to select from, you may find them overwhelming. So, to make the right decision, ensure that the platform is offering all the functionalities you need to introduce to your website. Also, check for its ease of use and pricing.
Does it Suit Your Business Model?
If you want to develop an e-commerce website, look for a builder that is robust and flexible. However, for businesses selling B2B solutions, you may select a basic website builder that fulfils your business needs. Personal bloggers or service providers may not require very powerful or high-functionality builders. They may run their websites with easy website platforms as these websites do not demand complicated maintenance efforts.
What is Your Technical Expertise?
While you choose the best web platform for your business, consider your technical expertise in website development and management. There are several web builders that demand a high level of technical expertise. This is one of the facts that many small businesses don’t consider. Remember, if you do not know how to leverage your business website to its full potential, it may impact your business growth. It’s true that a website is a great start, but never ignore that it’s a tool to promote your business.
For example, if you have an e-commerce business and launch a Shopify store, and let the website sit after connecting a domain and uploading a few products, it won’t improve your sales figures. Here, you may need considerable technical knowledge for tracking the performance of your website and figuring out insights to increase your sales. Thus, it’s important to pick a builder according to your expertise. However, if your business needs a technically robust builder, consider hiring a web development agency to make the most of your website.
What Features Do You Need to Add to Your Website?
Cool things on your website do attract consumers. Ask yourself about the features to be added to your website to enhance its functionality. Do you want to add a chatbox or a quiz to your website? As mentioned earlier, write down the features to be added on the basis of your business goals. Now, do some homework about the web platform options that may help you to add those features. Even a tiny feature may break your business. If your website demands a booking system, ensure the builder has the option to add that feature to your website.
What Functionality Does the Builder Have?
As you have decided upon the features to be added to your website, it’s time to check the functionality of the web platform. For businesses that are selling merchandise, a payment gateway is an important feature for them. Here, you have to look for a builder that supports payment processes. Similarly, if your website demands frequent image and video updates, go for a platform that is flexible and allows you to do the uploads without disturbing a ton of code.
Also, ensure that the web platform for your small business offers a wide range of professional templates. Apart from flexibility and templates, it should also support CRM, Google Analytics and third-party marketing tools to improve the functionality of your website.
What is Its Ease of Use?
Though ease of use directly depends upon your technical skills, it’s an important factor to look for while choosing an appropriate builder for your website. If you are a non-tech user, ensure that the web platform for your website development is easy to use. A good builder comes with a customizable drag-and-drop option. Apart from this feature, it must have design customization and effective editing tools. However, if you are tech-savvy, you may go for the bells and whistles of a more complicated yet powerful platform.
How Much Does it Cost?
Let’s face the truth! Price is undoubtedly a factor for startups and small businesses. Thus, even if you find a perfect builder as per your website needs but it’s not matching your budget, it is not the right fit. While you choose the best web platform for your business, figure out the budget you can spend. Look for a builder that offers the most features and functionality for the price. Also, never underestimate lower-cost options like Shopify or WordPress as they support many big companies.
While selecting a web platform for your small business also consider the costs associated with future changes and updates to your website. Most do-it-yourself builders charge you for switching themes and functionality.
How is Customer Support Handled?
Customer support is a very crucial factor that you must consider while choosing a web platform for building your business website. Ensure that the platform you select has an excellent 24/7 customer support team. The team must be able to solve your problems whenever needed.
In Conclusion
Most small businesses look for a user-friendly web builder for an attractive and highly functional website. Platforms like WordPress, Wix, Shopify, etc. are some of the popular options that allow you to develop a business website for a low monetary cost. However, no matter which website you use, without technical expertise, it might be tricky to enhance the functionality of your website. Thus, choose the best web platform for your business and hire a web development agency that knows the ropes of all-things websites. Working with an experienced web development organization is a breeze. They can get your website the best functionality that may gear up your business growth.