How to create a free small business website

Small businesses often look for ways to increase customer traffic and sales. A website can help a small business do so but the owner needs to define what type of site he wants and plan accordingly. Setting up a small business website for free is not difficult to find but without a cohesive plan for the site's design, a business owner can waste a considerable amount of time.

Free small business website

Step 1

Map out your website. Before going online and looking for free website providers, draft a simple sketch of how you basically want your small business' website to appear. Identify the pages you want to create and what type of content should be on each page. For instance, your home page ought to identify your small business by name but not include a lengthy description, that can be placed on an "About Us" page. If you are selling a product, your contact information should be prominently featured on each page and an e-commerce shopping option should be available to visitors.

Step 2

Identify keywords, which are how search engines, such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing find your free small business' website. When you build a website, the hosting provider typically asks you to insert keywords. You can identify keywords that describe your small business by using a keyword builder, such as Good Keys Words or Rapid Keywords. As you plan your site, place these keywords strategically throughout the website's text.

Step 3

Find free small business website providers. You can choose from many free small business website providers: Google Sites, Microsoft Office Live, Weebly and Moonfruit. The degree of customization will be particular to each provider, so it is best to take some time to read about its features and customization limitations launching the site designer.

Step 4

Build and publish your small business website. Using the draft you sketched, build a website the closely resembles your layout. Preview the site as you are building it to ensure that links are in working order and use the spell checker option as you create your small business' website text. Publish your free small business website and if possible, look at it on a computer other than the one you used to build and publish it to determine if it appears like you built it. It is also a good idea to view your site in different web browsers for the same reason.