How to Build a Website for Your Small Business (with a checklist)

Download this checklist, then keep reading.

Last week, a member of the group asked how to get started with a website for her farm.

She had a few needs:

• It should be easy to build (she's not very technical).
• It should be affordable.
• It should let her add more things like products or forms later.

I’ve been building websites for almost 10 years, so I can help you avoid common mistakes that many people make.

If you don’t know what HTML, CSS, or JavaScript are, then this guide can help you get started. These rules are ones I’ve learned from my experience in marketing and sales, written simply so anyone can follow them. By following these steps, you can make a website that’s easy to use and works well.

The article has three parts:

1. Picking Colors and Fonts
2. Planning Your Pages and Content
3. Good Platforms for Different Kinds of Websites

Picking Colors and Fonts

I’m not a designer, and I’ve learned that using too many colors or fonts can make a website look messy and hard to read. If you’re not sure which colors and fonts to use, keep things simple.

Until you feel confident, here are a few basic rules.

I recommend using the HubSpot Brand Kit Generator. It’s free and will create a color set, fonts, and even logos that all work well together.

Colors

Basic Color Rules:

• Use 1 or 2 colors only.
• Use a white background.
• Use black text.
• Choose one color for buttons or areas people should click.

Almost any one color will look fine with black and white. Use white for the background, black for text, and the extra color only for important places you want people to click.

Fonts

Basic Font Rules:

• Use 1 or 2 fonts only.
• Use sans-serif fonts (simple, easy-to-read fonts like the ones below).
• Keep body text (the main writing) at 14-16 pixels.
• Keep headings between 28-40 pixels.

Unless you are a designer, don’t choose anything too fancy. Your website’s job is to be clear and easy to understand.

Here are a few good fonts that you’ll find on most website builders:

• Inter
• Raleway
• Roboto
• Lato
• Open Sans
• Poppins
• DM Sans
• Lora

If you’re unsure, just pick one from this list that’s available on your website builder.

Planning Your Pages and Content

Every website should have a homepage, and it’s a good idea to have a contact or booking page too. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Must-Have Pages

1. Homepage - This is where visitors land when they type in your website address.
2. Contact or Booking Page - Even if it’s simple, having a way for people to reach you is helpful.

Homepage Layout

The homepage has four main parts:

1. Heading/Menu - Links to other pages, usually at the top.
2. Hero Section - The first area below the menu. It lets people know they’re in the right place.
3. Body - The main content area. This is where you explain what you offer and how it benefits visitors.
4. Footer - (Optional) This area at the bottom can have contact info and links to other pages.

For an example, check out ZeroDoubtMarketing.com, which uses a simple layout and follows the color and font rules.

Not sure what to write? We will cover that more next Monday.

Platforms Worth Considering

Basic Websites

If you need a simple website, Wix or Weebly are good choices. They’re both easy to use and don’t need coding skills. They have free versions, but paid plans give you more features.

They will also be able to expand with contact forms and allow you to sell some products.

A Little More Complex

If you want more customization, Squarespace is a good option. It offers flexible design choices, but with flexibility comes added cost and complexity.

Dedicated Ecommerce (50-500 Products)

If your primary focus is selling products online, Shopify and Big Cartel work well. Both are easy to use, with Shopify offering more tools as your business grows.

Dedicated Blog

If you just need a fast, reliable blog for posting content I recommend ghost.org. Its super fast, and offers the ability to publish blogs as newsletters.