Creating a wholesome and functional business website is necessary for the growth and success of any modern business.
Multimillionaire businessman Kevin O’Leary famously said that a salary is the drug they give you when they want you to forget about your dreams. A glance at his $400 million net worth makes everyone take his words with due gravity when he talks about business pursuits. In late 2022, O’Leary, who has an elegant business website, warned business startups that ignoring an online presence in the modern business landscape is equivalent to choosing to go out of business.
As of 2023, 71% of all businesses have websites, while about 73% of small businesses have websites. Here’s why you need a website for your business:
- It gives you an online presence, which gives you global accessibility.
- It acts as a round-the-clock storefront, providing ready product and service information.
- It boosts your credibility for the customers who research online before making purchase decisions.
- It gives you a platform for digital marketing.
- It further enhances customer friendliness by facilitating customer transactions and inquiries.
- It also provides a platform for you to observe and adapt to evolving consumer behavior.
If you have a website, you can do these things and much more for your business. If you’re wondering how you get there without any experience in coding, your fears are alleviated by WordPress in coordination with business website themes, such as Finbuzz. Here are the details on how you go about it yourself:
How to Create a Business Website with WordPress in 8 Steps
Step 1: Choose a Domain Name
Choosing a domain name for your business website is a critical initial step with great significance. This name becomes synonymous with your business, shaping its identity, and trying to alter it later may lead to a loss of clientele. When selecting a domain, prioritize a connection with your brand identity and the niche of your chosen business. Aim for a name that is not only memorable but also concise, enhancing its catchiness and ease of recall.
The extension you choose for your domain also holds significance. For instance, if your chosen domain is ‘doncarspares,’ the ‘.com’ extension is widely recommended for its universal appeal. It transforms your website into ‘doncarspares.com,’ giving it a professional and standard online presence.
However, if your business operates in a specific country, consider a country-specific extension like ‘.uk’ for the United Kingdom and .us for the United States of America. You can also go with .net, .org, or .co. Despite these considerations, the default recommendation remains ‘.com,’ known for its broad recognition and global relevance.
To register your chosen domain name and extension, you’ll need the services of a domain registrar. Many domain registrars also double as hosting providers, streamlining the process for you. Popular options include NameCheap, renowned for its affordability, and Bluehost, a well-established player in the hosting industry.
Step 2: Choose a Hosting Provider and Plan
The choice of a hosting provider is pivotal in determining the performance and success of your business website. Several factors merit consideration in this decision-making process:
- Speed and Performance: Go for a hosting provider with ample bandwidth and fast server response times for excellent site speed.
- Reliability: A high uptime guarantee is crucial to avoid downtime, ensuring that your website is consistently accessible to users. A 100% uptime promise is unrealistic, so choose providers offering 99% or 99.99% uptime, numbers that speak of high reliability.
- Scalability: The best hosting provider is one that can seamlessly accommodate the growth of your website. As your customer base expands, your hosting plan should effortlessly scale to meet increasing demands.
- User-Friendliness: Look for a hosting provider with a user-friendly interface to simplify site management and essential features, such as backup options.
- Security Features: Ensure that the hosting provider prioritizes the security of your website. This includes providing SSL certificates for secure data transmission and implementing regular backup procedures to safeguard your data.
- Customer Support: 24/7 customer support is invaluable for resolving any issues promptly. Research online user reviews to gauge the quality and responsiveness of a hosting provider’s customer support.
- Budget: Stay within your budget by selecting a hosting provider with plans that align with your financial considerations. Popular and reliable options include Bluehost and HostGator, offering a range of plans to suit different needs.
Step 3: Choose a WordPress CMS
Selecting WordPress as your content management system (CMS) is a strategic move, considering its status as the most popular CMS globally, powering one-third of all websites. This choice brings numerous advantages, especially if your hosting provider, such as HostGator, offers optimized solutions for WordPress.
WordPress simplifies website management, even for those with limited technical expertise. Its user-friendly interface, extensive theme options, and a vast library of plugins contribute to its widespread adoption. Hosting providers like HostGator optimize their services for WordPress.
Step 4: Get, Install, and Activate a Business WordPress Theme
There are quite a few business WordPress themes out there, but we can vouch for Finbuzz without any reservations. This business and consulting WordPress theme comes with many pages, menus, headers, predesigned color schemes, and many more elements that suit all businesses.
Its features and prices beat 99% of all WordPress business themes. Upon purchasing Finbuzz, you will be at an excellent entry point into the rest of the process.
Using Finbuzz requires you to have installed a WordPress version 5.4.2 or later. Ideally, you should be using the latest stable version since it will have all security issues and bugs fixed. You will also require the following:
- A 123 MB or more WordPress memory limit
- MySQL version 5.6 or more OR MariaDB version 10.0 or more
- PHP version 5.6 or higher. For best speed performance, you should go with PHP version 7.3+.
Phase 1: Download Finbuzz
When you’ve purchased Finbuzz, you can view it on your download page. You can download the Finbuzz theme with just the theme or get the whole Finbuzz package, which has the Finbuzz theme, child theme, documentation, and licensing.
Phase 2: Upload and Activate Finbuzz
You should find your theme among your computer files once you’ve downloaded it. First, you have to upload its files before you activate it. You have two upload options: FTP Clients and the Theme Uploader. Here is how to accomplish both:
Theme Uploader
- Click Appearance 🡪 Themes 🡪 Add New on your WordPress admin dashboard.
- This will lead to a window that prompts you to choose a file from your computer files. Click on the button that reads Choose File.
- Choose the file on your computer that reads Finbuzz.zip to upload and install instantly.
- You’ll be back on your admin dashboard. Click on the Activate.
- You can then view it among your installed themes. Click on the Begin Installing Plugins button. This will help you install all the recommended plugins and required to run with Finbuzz.
- Check all boxes, select Install, and click the Apply button.
- Recheck all boxes, select Activate from the dropdown, and click on the Apply button again.
FTP Clients
- Use an FTP like FileZilla and head to your WordPress installation directory.
- Go to your /wp-content/themes/ folder and upload the theme folder.
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard and open Appearance 🡪 Themes. You will see Finbuzz among your themes.
- Click on the Activate button on the theme, and you’re all good.
Step 5: Customize the Website’s Structure
Customizing the structure of your site is easy with Finbuzz. You can get started with any one of the 3 gorgeous homepage demos that the theme ensures are highly customizable. It is easy to peruse through the demos and choose the one you want.
Phase 3: Import Demo Contents
Two demo import methods are available for your preferred design. Our recommended choice, the ‘Automatic’ method rarely fails (less than 5% of the time). In case of failure, use the second method. A notable perk of Finbuzz is the author’s offer of a free demo import service for the rare instances of Automatic failure.
However, bear in mind that this method wipes existing website data, making it ideal for new sites or creators seeking a fresh start. It provides a replica of the demo site pre-customization. For new users, here’s a guide on employing this method:
- Having made sure that the Finbuzz Parent Theme is activated on your website, go to your admin menu and go to Tools 🡪 Demo Content Install. Alternatively, go to Plugins 🡪 RT Demo Importer 🡪 Install Demo Contents.
- On the new page, click the Install button on your preferred demo. Give the installation some seconds to finish.
- Update your Permalink by navigating to Settings 🡪 Permalink before clicking the Save Settings button.
You can then customize the structure of your website extensively, including setting your pages, colors, typography, logos, menus, and so much more. Luckily, all the instructions for going about this are available in the theme’s documentation.
Step 6: Optimize Your Business Website
With Finbuzz, your business website can be optimized for mobile responsiveness, client testimonials, social media integration, and user-friendly navigation.
Enhance performance with:
- High-quality visuals
- Top-tier SEO plugins like Yoast
- Analytical tools such as Google Analytics
- Plugins for privacy and accessibility compliance, like GDPR plugins
These strategies collectively contribute to an efficient and credible online presence. For any specific preferences, advise for further customization.
Step 7: Monetize Your Website
You need to integrate a few strategies so you can monetize your business website effectively. Here are a few of those strategies:
- E-commerce and Product Sales: Set up an online store to sell products related to your business, expanding revenue streams through direct sales.
- Affiliate Marketing: Partner with relevant companies or products, earning a commission for every sale generated through your referral.
- Advertising Revenue: Display ads on your website, either through direct partnerships or using ad networks, generating income from ad clicks or impressions.
- Sponsored Content: Collaborate with brands for sponsored posts or content, sharing their products or services with your audience for a fee.
Step 8: Promote Your Business Website
You can boost the visibility of your website through different marketing techniques, such as:
- Regular content updates
- SEO reviews and element updates
- Remaining active on social media
- Compelling blog content
Conclusion: Get Your Business Website Up and Running with Finbuzz
If you follow these steps closely, you will bypass the need for coding knowledge or hire coding experts to develop your site for you. You will also save lots of money and relish the opportunity to shape your brand personally. You have enough now to run with it. All the best!