Creating a company website can be a daunting project, especially for small and medium sized businesses or start-ups. In fact, a 2013 survey by Yodle shows that more than half of all Small Businesses (SMBs), 52%, don’t have a company website. The Yodle survey didn’t ask why so few SMBs have a website, but concluded that, considering the complexities of building a website, many small to medium sized business owners didn’t have the skills to create a professional-looking commercial site.
Many of the companies that do have websites hire professional webmasters to create and build them. If you’re like many SMB owners and marketers, you don’t have the budget to hire another worker but you still want a professional looking website.
Fortunately, WordPress themes make it easy to create a professional website and integrate all of the nifty plug-and-play tools you need for your website, without any website-building knowledge to use them.
Choose a stable platform
Perhaps the most important decision you make before creating your website is going to be your choice of host. Your site visitors should be confident that they can easily access your site, and not experience any errors or downtime. It’s also good for you to have confidence in your hosting company—should you have any issues, they will be rectified quickly through excellent, reliable support.
Once you’ve made your decision you can start the process of building a strong reliable website that will attract your target audience. WordPress themes will make it easy for you to create a company website that will be fun to use and easy to navigate.
Assemble a list of sites offering WordPress business themes
You can choose from thousands of WordPress themes that sport a range of branding options—from cartoons to corporate. You can purchase fully-loaded business themes from WordPress or different vendors, such as ThemeForest or Elegant Themes, or you can also get free WordPress themes. Choose a reputable company that has a history of great service. This will ensure that they’ll provide full support if needed.
Choose tried and true over shiny and new
Don’t give in to the temptation of the glitter and glamour of new WordPress themes. These shiny new themes don’t have the same level of support as themes that have a respected history.
Match the WordPress theme to your industry and values
Your company theme should accurately reflect the goods and services you provide. Opt for a WordPress theme featuring a wood background for a carpentry business, for example, instead of a sports car theme.
Your WordPress theme should also reflect the values of your brand. An organization promoting a healthy environment would benefit from a WordPress theme featuring green grass and flowers, rather than one with a scantily-clad woman dancing in a bar.
Pick a WordPress personality
Pick a WordPress theme that allows your brand’s personality to shine. Themes range from bright and bouncy to cool and sophisticated.
Use a theme that allows you to integrate your brand attributes
Choose a WordPress theme that allows you to change the color palette to match your company’s logo or brand colors. You should be able to use your company banner at the top of the page. Make sure the WordPress theme allows you to upload your company’s pictures to your website.
Make it easy to navigate
Website visitors hate getting lost. Choose WordPress themes that allow you to add navigation buttons. Name these buttons appropriately, and place them where a website visitor might find them convenient. Most importantly, make it easy to navigate to landing pages that give visitors an opportunity to purchase from you. Add in plenty of Call-to-Action buttons to improve your WordPress conversion rates.
Pick a theme that is easy to edit
Your SMB is continually growing and changing as you offer new products or add service locations. Your corporate website needs to keep pace with your company’s ever-changing needs, so choose a WordPress theme that’s easy to edit. One common mistake is to pick a theme that requires you to start your website from the bottom up every 2 months. Instead, pick a WordPress theme that allows you to change the look of your website with just a few clicks.
Conclusion
Join the minority of forward-thinking SMB owners and create a company website. WordPress is the place to go to supercharge your online presence. And following these few tips will ensure that the WordPress theme you choose WILL make your website rock!
Which tip do you find most useful? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Photo credit: Adriano Gasparri via photopin
David Wright was born and raised in world’s greatest city in the world, London. He’s spends a lot of time on the web as he love my job as a Marketing Manager with whoishostingthis. David has always been passionate about marketing which has been amplified by the internet revolution, as it allows a flawless stream of information to the masses.
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