By Colin Horn with contributions from Jeremy Clevinger
Welcome back to Colin Horn For KY ! This is a place for Kentuckians, business owners, and policy-makers to discuss both the strengths of our commonwealth and how we can make it economically stronger. A primary aim of this blog is to help people turn ideas into action by breaking down the complexities of venture creation into actionable steps. Today we will explore one of these steps: creating a website
To help provide clarity in this step, the following three questions will create confidence before actually taking action by form of website creation:
- Is My Business Ready For Its Own Website?
- Which Factors Are Most Important When Picking a Platform?
- What Do I Actually Need On My Website?
1. Is My Business Ready For Its Own Website?
A website does not make a business successful. You are likely well aware of individual business owners in your community without a social media page, let alone their own website. That being said, it is important to have some sort of foundation behind your business before creating your website. Otherwise, you will just be spending time and money that is better spent elsewhere, like creating a first version of your actual product/service. A website without a real business behind it is just for show. A question to consider: am I on pace to creating a website before creating my first sale? If the answer is yes, it might be worth holding off on this step for now until your business is more legitimate.
A website without a real business behind it is just for show.
Colin Horn
Of course, eventually there is a time to create a website for your business. Speaking of legitimacy, a website can be a great way to establish legitimacy in the eyes of the public. Jeremy Clevinger, a Pikeville native who is currently working on building a website for a local business said, “The bottom line is that a successful entrepreneur must have a legitimate online presence if they are to scale their business.” We are, after all, in the digital age and there are several ways to create an online presence. However, creating a website is undoubtedly a huge step in this process.
2. Which Factors Are Most Important When Picking a Platform?
Before choosing a platform to build your website on, it is important to decide which factors are most important to you. Of course, no platform is perfect so you must decide for yourself which platform best fits your needs. For example, you may consider the following factors:
- Budget
- Customizability
- Skill level required
- Volume of sales
Once you decide what you are looking for based on these factors, you will be faced with several different website builder options. In the age of AI, many more website builders are emerging or will likely emerge soon. However, some of the currently popular website builders are listed below along with a general comparison.
| Factor | Squarespace | WordPress | Shopify | Wix | Hostinger |
| Budget | Medium | Low-Medium | High | Medium | Low |
| Customizability | Medium | High | Medium | Medium | High |
| Skill Level Required | Low | Medium-High | Low | Low | Medium |
| Volume of Sales | Low | Requires plug-in | High | Low | Requires setup |
Personally, I have used WordPress and have been challenged by the customizability, because I have little experience writing code. WordPress has nonetheless been usable for me with the help of ChatGPT and other AI tools. Jeremy Clevinger recommends using Squarespace for entrepreneurs lacking extensive time to devote toward website creation.
Overall, it is important to recognize a few website builder options you have before making your own decision on which website builder is best for you. It is also important to recognize which factors are most important to you before choosing a platform. These are the kinds of decisions you should make before building anything.
3. What Do I Actually Need On My Website?
Once you have decided it is the right time for your business to create a website and you have decided which website-building platform to use, it is critical to decide what exactly you want on your website to begin with. It is not essential to immediately have twenty different website pages, extensive e-commerce options, and thirty blog posts. It is wise to slow down and start with the essentials. It is up to you as the business owner to decide, but here are some common page options to consider:
- Home
- About
- Store
- Contact Us
- Blog
Personally, I have opted to begin my blog website with solely a blog page and a home page. However, I do plan to expand it over time. Any website is due to evolve and the way it looks when it begins will not be the finished product. In fact, the product will likely never be ultimately finished. My encouragement to the readers, which many entrepreneurs already know, is that the most important step is often just creating something. Do not fall victim to paralysis by analysis– create, learn, and evolve.
Main Takeaways & Considerations
- Before creating your website, first consider the legitimacy of your existing business. Are your efforts best spent creating a website or making your first sale?
- Before picking a website-building platform, consider which factors are most important to you and familiarize yourself with popular options
- Before publishing your website, consider which pages are essential to the finished product and continually evolve the site so it is never truly finished