The magic move for getting the motivation to start your business

Build your website!

Creating a website and building social media pages are usually the final steps when developing a new product. However, designing your website can be a helpful guide when overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done while figuring out where to begin.

When you witness your website coming to life and realize that it’s only one click away from being published and reaching customers, you’ll feel motivated, and your excitement will help you overcome any fears or doubts you may have, giving you the push you need.

This article is focused on motivating you while highlighting key business elements related to each section on the website and pointing out the various business aspects you should take care of. It is highly recommended to research these aspects deeply, and if necessary, seek professional assistance.

“Is this all I need to do?”

You should create a proper business plan, yet, building your website even before that or in parallel can inspire and energize you as you witness your business take shape visually. The feeling of accomplishment can boost the whole process.

If you’re starting your business journey, you can use your current data to create a website and make adjustments to each section as you move forward.

“I’m not a professional. How can I build a website?”

There are plenty of user-friendly platforms available that allow you to create a visually appealing website. Typically, you’ll only be charged upon publishing it. When you’re ready to enter the market, you can seek expert assistance for your website if needed. However, at this point, we aim to inspire you and help you establish the groundwork for your business while enjoying the journey.

Why this way?

• Seeing your website emerge will inspire you to take the needed actions.

• Taking small steps will prevent you from being overwhelmed.

• Creativity can increase your passion and immerse you in the process.

• You will enjoy showcasing your business’s uniqueness and benefits.

• It’s fun and helps you visualize your business up & running.

Let’s get to work!

The website structure

Choose a template you like with the necessary basic pages. Consider having the following pages on your website:

• Homepage

• Products/Solutions

• The Technology

• Pricing / Plans

• About

• Blog

• News/events

• Contact

The final website may have different pages. If you wish to keep certain information confidential, such as pricing or details about your team, you can remove them before publishing. It’s important to carefully review all pages and sections described here to ensure everything is noticed.

Your homepage

An effective homepage compellingly conveys the main messages and introduces the product and its primary benefits to the users. Its goal is to create interest, credibility, and a connection to the target audience and provide a basic understanding of the product and how it can improve users’ lives.

Most people will only proceed to the following pages if they are intrigued. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the homepage captures their attention.

Typically, the homepage should start with a short introduction and then move on to different sections that provide brief information on the various topics. Expanding each section can be done using “read more” or other techniques.

Common homepage sections:

• Header – Business name, tagline, slogan, logo, background image.
  
  

• Introduction – What the product does and the value it brings.
  
  

• Product/solution & the benefits – The product and its value to the users.
  
  

• USP – Unique Selling point (or proposition) – Why is the product better, the differentiator.
  
  

• Strengths – Main strengths of your product and company.
  
  

• The Technology – What the product is based on and what’s innovative about it.
  
  

• About – Who are you? What are your values? Some unique background on the company.
  
  

• Pricing / Plans or a link to a designated page.
  
  

• Recent posts, news & events.
  
  

• CTA (Call to Action) – asking people to contact/download/book a demo etc.

Homepage Header

The header appears at the top of your website and includes an image, your business name, tagline, logo, and often a slogan.

Image – Use an image or video for the website header (slider). Choose a nice one that relates to your business, and let’s move on.

Business Name – Choosing a name for your business can be challenging. To start, brainstorm a few options that resonate with you and pick the one that feels right. Before publishing, research the legal terms surrounding business names to avoid potential copyright issues.

Different approaches when selecting a name:

• Catchy and one that doesn’t necessarily have a meaning: Fuzzy, Beamm, Shoop.

• Relates to your business: FogFlyer, KidCubes, Loggerish, The Game.

• 3 letter abbreviations: A.N.O which stands for Awful Name Options

If you are debating for too long, pick a temporary name and revisit this stage before you go live.

Get ready to take your website to the next level! Place the name in your header, and you’ll be one step closer.

Tagline – A line that explains what the business does, such as “Adding patterns to your gradient background.”

Slogan – Creating a slogan for your business is not a must, but it can help establish a connection with your brand. A slogan’s purpose is to evoke emotions and feelings rather than provide details about the product. For example, “Become your own decision-maker” is a slogan that aims to elicit a particular emotion related to empowerment.

Logo – Creating a logo is an exciting step to help you connect with your goals. Many design platforms are available for this task, but avoiding wasting time on perfectionism is vital. You can continually refine and perfect your logo later in the process.

It’s time to give your website a fresh look by adding your new logo to the header!

Isn’t this exciting? Your business is emerging, and now’s the time to write about the solution you are offering. What are your main messages? Who will you be writing to? How will your product improve their lives?

Section 1 – Introduction!

When describing your product, being concise is essential because you only have a few lines to make an impression and an impact. Use the introduction part to explain to your audience what your product does and how it can add value to them.

In the past century, when advertising was a new concept, claiming “This is the best, and you must have it” may have been effective. However, such a statement nowadays would have the opposite effect and undermine the product’s credibility.

Your content should appeal to people, making them realize that you understand their world and needs and that your product can enhance their lives.

For example:

“Each morning, you wake up, and so does your computer! With FastWake, you can begin your work immediately without waiting for your computer to come up. The innovative “wake&up” mechanism prioritizes your applications, ensuring the main ones are the first to start and run smoothly.”

You can get more creative with storytelling and humor:

“There’s nothing like your first cup of coffee in the morning as you wait for your computer to wake up from its sleep. With FastWake, your computer will come up so fast that you might miss this important routine and start working immediately! Once you start using FastWake, you should run away from your computer after power-up to avoid disrupting your morning coffee ritual.”

These examples present ways to connect with the target audience by understanding and addressing their needs while introducing the solution and highlighting its main strengths.

Storytelling

Like in the first example of imagining the morning routine, storytelling effectively connects people to the content. Stories are universally appealing and can make information more engaging. You can apply the fundamentals of storytelling when introducing your product and where it seems to fit.

Who are your customers? Let’s take a moment to discuss the business-related steps here.

Target audience

To understand your target audience better, identify the types of customers who are most likely to use your product. You can create personas or fictional characters that represent these individuals. By envisioning your audience, your content will become more authentic and trustworthy.

Below are several examples of personas in general. You should create your personas from scratch:

• Lisa, age 40, works as a data analyst 3 times a week from the office and 2 times a week from home, has 2 kids, and goes to the gym twice a week.

• Adam, age 26, is a contract lawyer working in a law firm in the city, plays tennis, and meets with his friends on the weekends.

• Maria, age 32, is a Journalist, has a master’s degree in History, is married with 2 kids, works from home, and conducts webinars and lectures.

You can expand the description to their hobbies, habits, social life, education, and perspectives.

If your product is B2B and you are selling to businesses, you should describe the typical people in the industry who need your product. This helps you effectively address their needs and concerns and create content that fits them.

To improve your evaluation of product fit, it is recommended to perform market research and competitive analysis.

Market research

There are several methods to conduct market research, such as focus groups, polls, hiring a professional company, and keeping up-to-date with the latest trends. Conducting market research to assess your product’s market fit is essential.

Competitive analysis

Have you researched how your competitors are meeting customer demands? Have you evaluated the market to determine if there is a need for your product as designed? Is your differentiator sufficient? How will your unique abilities be perceived?

Look at storage solutions, for example. You can find them in various designs, technologies, sizes, and costs. What sets your product apart from the rest? Which unique functionality, design, or support features do you offer?

Market education

People often prefer to stick with what they are familiar with, even if better options are available. It’s understandable, but if you have a great new product, you want to convince them to try it. Market education can be a challenging task. To succeed, you’ll need to put a lot of effort into marketing, including social media promotion, customer testimonials, incentives such as discounts or free trials, videos, and informative materials. Once you gain enough momentum, your content will most likely keep spreading.

It is advisable to understand these activities comprehensively. Now, back to building your website!

Section 2 – Product and Technology

Following the introduction, provide a high-level description of your product or products without getting too technical. Within this description, outline the products’ benefits. For instance, if you offer unique drops that alter paint color, this is the way to include the benefits:

• “No need to purchase 5 different paint cans! Once you complete painting one room, add a few drops of “PaintPainter” and the color will change!”
  The benefit is: saving money.

• “PaintPainter allows you to save on storage room significantly, you won’t have to store many paint cans anymore.”
  The benefit is: saving space.

• “Each bottle contains about 100 drops! All you need is 10 for each color change.”
  The benefits are: saving money & space.

• “Help the environment by using less paint.”
  The benefit is: values.

• “Not happy? Get your money back!”
  The benefit is: trust.

You can also present your product in one sentence:

“Save money, space, and a lot of mess with the revolutionary “PaintPainter”! Instead of buying multiple paint cans, add a few drops to transform colors. Each bottle contains 100 drops; you only need 10 for a color change. If you’re not happy, you’ll get your money back! It’s time to paint smarter.”

Are you offering a service?

It is still considered a product if you offer a service rather than a physical product or app. This is because you provide it to customers, it assists them, and it should be clearly defined with established processes. Therefore, most of these suggestions can also be applied to services.

USP and strengths

What distinguishes your product from others in the market? Your Unique Selling Point (or Proposition) should highlight the most substantial advantage or unique feature that sets your product apart from competitors. Include a brief paragraph on the homepage explaining your USP. It can be a particular new feature, a new functionality, a more effective service, how you provide support, how people use the product, a unique design, better packaging, etc.

The product is usually the central element that requires the most funds and time. Even if it’s not fully developed yet, it shouldn’t stop you from creating your draft website.

The Technology

The technology is at the product’s core and usually what it is based on or uses for its functionality. By explaining the technology, you can show innovation, professionalism, and knowledge in the field. However, avoid being too technical or long as this is not the main element keeping people on the website.

At what stage are you with your product? Let’s take a brief pause to check out your approach to development:

Have you created a prototype of your product and received feedback from friendly users? This feedback can help you identify critical scenarios and anecdotes that should be addressed. Feasibility checks are imperative.

During development, you should adjust the product based on new trends, technological updates, cultural perspectives, and preferences to keep your product up-to-date. Stay informed by regularly reviewing the latest articles in your field and conducting further research.

When defining a product’s readiness, there are various approaches to consider. One popular method is prioritizing the most sought-after feature that the market demands while gradually developing additional features and expanding operations. Another approach is introducing a “perfect” product with numerous features, which will take more time to develop. Can you spare this time? It is recommended to thoroughly investigate this matter as it dramatically affects the present and future circumstances.

Researching and evaluating your business development path is crucial to determine which approach will be better for you. Assess the outcome for each scenario, its advantages, disadvantages, and costs, capital-wise, and the cost of waiting to add enhanced features or expanding to other markets. Have you taken the time to consider this factor?

As for the website:

When presenting your product on your website, consider looking at your content from the perspective of someone unfamiliar with it. This way, you can ensure your content is easily comprehended. Avoid using overly technical jargon that could bore or intimidate potential customers. Provide high-level technical information to give people confidence in its reliability and innovation. However, it’s best to avoid too much detail, as this can be overwhelming and may cause potential customers to lose interest. Instead, direct them to a specific page for more in-depth information.

Add a picture of your product on the homepage to establish a deeper connection with it.

The process

If applicable, provide information on the process. This allows potential users to see themselves using the product.

You can use an infographic for this stage, like this one, for a product offering preference-based accessories for hobbies:

Section 3 – About

The about section increases reliability and creates a connection to the users.

Share your company’s story, and include relevant information you are comfortable with, such as the team, vision, history, and values, to establish trust, credibility, and uniqueness. For example, highlight a team member’s unique expertise or abilities or a personal story related to the company.

You can include your marketing messages within the narrative, for example:

“…. hardly seeing his parents’ eyes behind thicker and thicker glasses as they grow older, made him believe that if he could just make the lens thinner and stronger, it could give them such a relief …” – mentioning that the product has thinner and stronger lenses is adding marketing messages within the personal text.

Remember! Always keep authentic and trustworthy.

Your team

Add management/team members’ titles and experience. You can exclude this from your final website if you choose not to expose it.

Talking about your company… let’s take a quick look into its structure and processes:

Who is in charge of managing your company? Are you handling all the tasks alone? As your company grows, you should delegate responsibilities to professionals so that you can focus on business development, building crucial relationships, and taking care of the broader picture.

Does your team have well-defined job descriptions and responsibilities? You can take this time to research and learn all about efficient recruitment, structure, and internal communication.

The significance of processes:

How do you manage your tasks? Do you utilize automation and task-organizing tools? Are all parties using the same communication platforms to ensure alignment? Are you building a knowledge center and sharing information effectively?

Do you currently hold regular meetings and follow up by turning the meeting summaries into actionable tasks that are then monitored? Are you performing measurements and tracking KPIs? Did you define success criteria for each stage of development, marketing, sales, and other processes?

Are your processes with your suppliers and customers defined?

Take care of order when you are small, to avoid unnecessary trouble when you get bigger.

Section 4 – Pricing

Here’s an opportunity to ensure accurate cost calculation. By creating a budget, you can determine how much you need to earn to make a profit after factoring in expenses over a given period. Evaluate the perceived value of your product in the market to ensure accurate numbers.

This is also a great time to assess whether seeking funds is necessary. You can generate a forecast for the upcoming year, two or five years, allowing you to make a crucial evaluation.

The costs of products or projects can vary greatly depending on different factors. For instance, a bouncing ball that returns to your hand and a pack of FDA-approved bubble gum have different expenses. Creating a social platform for lizard enthusiasts would require developer expenses, marketing, hosting, and licenses. A business model for such a platform could include a free membership option and a premium plan for those interested in monthly lizard-seeing trips. What is your business model and is it the right one for you?

When starting a business, it’s important to consider various factors such as legal requirements, accounting, licensing, certifications, and shipping logistics. Include these elements in your business plan and your budget to ensure that you cover all necessary expenses. You can use available tools to help you calculate these costs accurately.

Section 5 – Recent Posts / News & Events

Present a peek into these pages on the homepage. You may be at an early stage where you don’t have articles or press releases, so keep it in mind for a later stage.

News & Events

If you conduct a webinar or lecture or have a stand in an exhibition, you can mention it here.

Blog

In your posts and articles, provide value to your customers, relate to their challenges, and give them tips, advice, and information relevant to your field. Your blog adds a personal touch and credibility and shows professionalism. It also brings traffic to your website.

Make sure to include social sharing icons on your posts and articles. Share them on your social media pages and various platforms, communities, and groups to boost website traffic.

Social Pages

You can use your homepage’s main messages when creating your social pages “about,” only make it shorter.

Use the same theme, logo, name, and slogan. Add a few posts about your business and provide some tips.

Invite people to like and share your pages. Get involved in communities and groups by commenting with helpful advice and sharing articles.

Summary

I’m not sure what made me begin creating my website before finalizing my product and planning everything, such as pricing and lead generation strategies. However, as I began filling in all the sections, I became excited and motivated, which kept me going. Although it took some time, I completed the website and started the business, and the process was relatively easy and enjoyable.

I believe that knowing that I’m just a click away from my potential customers played a significant role.

Will they stay or click away?

When creating content, ask yourself this question at all times. Look at your content from your target audience’s point of view, and keep them interested.

Some tips!

• A website’s aesthetics is vital for readability and visual appeal.

• Use a layout with balanced text and images.

• Keep your written content concise through short sentences and bullet points.

• Research the SEO topic and place the relevant words in the right amount.

• Add a contact form on each page and social icons.

• Remember that your product may evolve, so revisit and update your website accordingly.

• Perform regular backups to safeguard your website’s content.

Building your website will help you make the needed steps toward your goal. Good luck!