How to build a business website
Every small business needs a professional website. Even if you don’t sell products or services online, your website serves as the public face of your business and creates the first impression for most customers. A small business website can build credibility with search engines, improve your marketing efforts, generate leads and sales and provide resources for customers.
The real question today is not whether you need a site, but how to build your business website. There are lots of DIY platforms that can help you create a decent-looking site. If you choose to build and manage your site on your own, you’ll need to set aside a lot of time to write the copy, lay out each page, optimize the site for search engines, make sure it’s mobile-friendly, build out compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) and continually update the content.
When you want to know how to build a business website most affordably and effectively, Thryv can help. As a do-it-all platform for managing your small business, Thryv can help you build a website that is designed to attract customers, increase search rankings and integrate with all your other marketing activities.
The elements of a successful small business website
When you’re considering how to build a small business website, you’ll need to focus on five major areas.
Customer experience
Delivering a superior experience on your website is key to making a great first impression. Remember that your customers will be comparing the experiences on your site to every other site they visit. They’ll be looking for an attractive design that works both on desktops and on mobile devices. They’ll expect pages to load in less than two or three seconds, and if that fails to happen, they’ll take their business elsewhere.
Compelling content
Creating blog posts, articles, videos, infographics and other content is a great way to engage customers on your website and boost traffic from search engines and social media. Helpful content positions your business as a trusted source of information with customers and prospects. You’ll also want to make it easy for customers to find all the information they might be looking for, from your contact information and hours of business to the products and services you offer. An FAQ page can be a great catchall for the types of questions that customers might ask.
Reasons to trust
Customers often compare websites when choosing which businesses to patronize. Including customer reviews and any awards you’ve earned goes a long way to building trust and edging out your competitors. Pay special attention to the About Us page – customers want to know what’s different about your business and why they should choose you.
Engaging CTAs
Including prominent CTA buttons on your website is the easiest way to convert customers who are ready to engage. Buttons like “Book now”, “Save 20% today” or “Download a free guide” encourage interested customers to take the next step.
Creating a compelling website that focuses on these areas and others can be extremely time-consuming. And unless web design is your area of expertise, you may not be that happy with the results. That’s why so many small business owners today turned to Thryv when they want to know how to build a business website that can deliver exceptional results.
How to build a business website with Thryv
When you want to learn how to build a business website most affordably and effectively, Thryv can help. Rather than building and managing your site on your own, you can trust Thryv to create a compelling site with all the best practices you need to serve your customers online.
When you choose to work with Thryv, you’ll get a site that includes:
- Adaptive/responsive designs. Deliver a great website experience whether customers are viewing your site on a mobile device, laptop, tablet or PC.
- Compelling calls-to-action. Convert more prospects to customers with clear, concise and attention-grabbing call-to-action buttons on your website.
- Social media integration. Links to your social media accounts bring more traffic from customers using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
- Professional copywriting. Thryv’s copywriters will craft compelling messages for every page of your website, communicating your story and value proposition more clearly.
- Image galleries. A gallery with images of your clients and visitors helps build more personal connections and encourages customers to engage with your site.
- Contact forms. Website contact forms capture leads, streamline client onboarding and simplify scheduling.
- Animation. Elements like sliders, video backgrounds, entrance animation and page transitions add visual flair to your site.
- Search engine optimization. Rich content, optimized copy, targeted keywords and detailed site maps and metadata maximize your visibility on search engines.
- Web hosting and domain. Let Thryv manage the hassle of registering or maintaining your business domain and managing your web hosting company.
Additional solutions from Thryv
Along with small business website services, you’ll find these additional software solutions available from Thryv.
Customer communication tools
Thryv lets you connect with customers on their favorite channels – via text, email, Facebook and more. Manage every conversation from a single inbox so you can keep organized, respond quickly and personalize each interaction. View every single message in a client-specific thread, no matter where the message came from.
Appointment scheduling technology
Thryv’s online appointment scheduling software lets customers go online anytime to request or book appointments on their own, without needing to contact you or your staff. Thryv’s scheduling software for small business can also sync calendars, manage your team’s schedules and minimize no-shows with automated reminders and in-app payment capabilities.
Online presence management solutions
Upload your business information once and Thryv will post it to 40+ trusted listings sites online, including Google Business Profile. By synchronizing and locking down this information with Thryv, you can build greater confidence in your business with customers and search engines.
Reputation management services
Thryv helps enhance your online reputation by generating more five-star reviews, monitoring customer comments and automatically responding to reviews quickly – even when you don’t have time to do it yourself. View an in-depth competitive analysis based on customer reviews to see how you rank against your closest competitors.
Invoicing and payment solutions
Thryv’s invoicing software for small business lets you issue estimates and invoices online, so customers can approve and pay them from their mobile devices. Process credit cards at extremely competitive rates and give customers more ways to pay, so you can get paid faster.
Customer relationship management software
Thryv’s small business CRM solutions consolidate your contact lists and enhance each record with detailed insights into your customer. Customizable views let you find, filter, tag and track your leads and customers in ways that work best for your business. Nurture relationships with leads and customers by sending automatic reminders and trigger-based communications. An online portal provides a secure location where customers can send messages, access documents, make payments and view account information.
Email marketing automation software
Thryv’s solutions for email marketing for small business let you create trigger-based marketing campaigns and one-off announcements that automatically send a personalized message to the right customer at the best time. Email and text templates keep content flowing even when you’re fresh out of things to say.
Document storage and sharing solutions
Thryv’s solutions for document sharing for small business help eliminate clutter by letting you securely request, store and share documents with contacts online. Edit documents collaboratively online as well, monitoring and managing changes while easily keeping track of the most recent version.
Why Thryv?
Thryv’s end-to-end platform helps small businesses compete and win. With comprehensive software and automated tools, Thryv helps small business owners find customers faster, communicate more clearly, get paid sooner and manage workloads more easily.
As a cloud-based solution, Thryv requires no hardware or software to be purchased or installed, and Thryv scales easily as your pool of customers grows. Cutting-edge data encryption and customizable account access controls keep customer data private and business information safe. With a single login, you can access all of Thryv’s software, eliminating the drudgery of repeatedly logging in to multiple apps throughout the day. Unlimited, 24/7 support delivers access to Thryv specialists who are experts in both solving technical issues and managing small businesses.
