How to build a small business website
When you’re running a small business, your website is the centerpiece of your efforts in marketing and communication. It’s the first thing most customers will see, long before they buy a product, book an appointment or walk through your front door. Consequently, you want to build a small business website that will impress visitors and compel them to learn more about everything you offer.
A superior website will allow you to:
- Get found faster and more often by people most likely to need your products and services.
- Make your business accessible to customers 24/7.
- Help you run your business more efficiently.
- Build your business credibility.
- Allow you to serve customers more easily.
There are two options to consider as you build a small business website or overhaul your current site: you can do the work yourself or hire a pro. As a small business owner, you are likely already seriously crunched for time. And unless your business actually is marketing and design, you may find that building a small business website is a lot harder and more time-consuming than you expected.
That’s where Thryv can help. Along with do-it-all small business software, we offer highly affordable web design services from a team of in-house designers. With Thryv, you can build a small business website that’s perfectly customized to your business and your goals, with all the features you need to book more appointments and sell more products.
What makes a small business website successful?
As you build a small business website, there are five essential elements that can help your business stand out from competitors.
An exceptional experience
Your website lets potential customers know what kind of experience they can expect when doing business with you. If your site is attractive, fast, informative and mobile-friendly, customers will quickly develop a positive impression. Conversely, if their experience with your website leaves them dazed and confused, they’ll be far less likely to pursue a business relationship.
Interesting content
Posting informative and compelling content is one of the best ways to attract visitors to your site. From blog posts and articles to white papers and infographics, content that informs and entertains will gain more clicks – and help your site draw more visitors.
Trusted references
Many customers will scan your website to see if they feel they can trust your business. Adding reviews, listing awards and providing background on an About Us page will go a long way to nurturing the trust that encourages customers to engage.
Ease of use
Customers want things to be easy and building easy-to-use features into your website is a sure way to win them over. Use language that is easy to understand rather than jargon designed to impress. Include a Frequently Asked Questions page to help them find the answers they need fast. List any special services or features you offer such as online booking or 24/7 service that will help you stand out from competitors.
Engaging action items
Calls to action (CTAs) encourage customers to take the next step. Top CTAs include free trials or introductory services, discounts or buy-one-get-one-free offers, subscriptions to exclusive promotions or an option to “Book now!” are all examples of compelling CTAs.
Build a small business website with Thryv
Thryv is an end-to-end platform with small business solutions to help you stay organized and manage your business more efficiently. Tens of thousands of customers rely on Thryv to promote their business online, schedule appointments, accept payments, nurture customer relationships, automate marketing and enhance their online reputation.
As you’re building a small business website, Thryv’s in-house designers can provide a custom website to showcase your offerings, improve search engine rankings and allow customers to easily engage with your business.
When you build your small business website with Thryv, you can count on:
- Adaptive-responsive design. Your site will deliver an exceptional user experience whether it’s viewed on a mobile device, a tablet, laptop or desktop.
- Compelling calls to action. Clear, concise and attention-grabbing CTA buttons will help convert visitors into leads.
- Social media icons. Allow your customers to connect easily with your business on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
- Professional copywriting. Thryv’s copywriters will draft compelling text for every page on your website, speaking directly to your target audiences.
- Forms. Capture leads and engage with customers through contact forms, online appointment booking and clickable coupons.
- Photos and video. Your site will feature photo galleries and videos that grab the attention of your visitors and build a personal connection with your brand.
- Animation. Entrance animations, sliders, page transitions and video backgrounds add a professional feel and visual flair to your website.
- Search engine optimization (SEO). Thryv’s SEO experts will optimize your webpages with rich content, headings, targeted keywords and detailed site maps that will maximize visibility with search engines.
More solutions from Thryv
Along with services for building your small business website, Thryv offers comprehensive tools for managing nearly every aspect of your business.
Simplifying appointment scheduling
Let customers request appointments online anytime, day or night with online appointment scheduling tools. Easily sync calendars and manage your team’s schedule. Minimize no-shows with automated reminders and in-app payment capabilities. Allow clients to book packages of services to increase repeat business and appointments.
Building your online presence
Help customers find you on Google with our Google Business Profile manager tool. Upload your business information once and have it posted to 40+ trusted listings sites online. Let customers log in to an online portal where they can book appointments, make payments and securely communicate with your business. Connect your social media accounts and post from a single platform, using customizable templates when you need inspiration for content.
Automating marketing and communication
Connect with customers on their preferred channel – email, text or social. Manage customer conversations in a single inbox and in client-specific threads, no matter where the messages came from. Schedule trigger-based campaigns and one-off announcements to engage customers with timely promotions and compelling calls to action.
Nurturing customer relationships
Combine your contact lists in a single CRM solution where you can easily find, filter, tag and track your customers. Nurture customers and prospects with automatic messages and reminders sent at the right time. Enhance customer records with details from their social profiles and other sources.
Streamlining document storage and sharing
Eliminate clutter with a solution for securely requesting, storing and sharing documents with contacts. Monitor and manage changes while easily keeping track of the most recent version.
Managing your online reputation
Use pre-built templates to request reviews at the optimal time. Monitor what customers are saying about your business online. Automatically respond to reviews on Google, Yelp and Facebook within one business day – even when you are too busy to do it yourself. View an in-depth analysis of how your reviews stack up against those of your competitors.
Getting paid faster
Issue estimates and invoices online, allowing customers to approve and pay them from their mobile devices. Process credit cards at extremely competitive rates and give customers more ways and options to pay.
Why Thryv?
Offering a single platform with software solutions designed for small businesses, Thryv lets business owners stop worrying about managing technology and get back to doing what they love – running their businesses. From a single dashboard and with a single login, business owners can schedule appointments, generate invoices, accept payments, send reminders, manage their marketing, communicate with customers and nurture business relationships.
Along with powerful tools for small businesses, Thryv offers many free features such as a software savings calculator, an online experience scan, a review link generator and info on how to generate an invoice that enhances customer relationships. Our free mobile app makes Thryv’s tools available on a smart phone or tablet. As a SaaS solution, Thryv scales easily to accommodate additional employees, locations, products and services while integrating easily with existing small business software solutions like QuickBooks, Gmail, Zoom, PayPal and more.
