Basics, Education

10 Things to Do (and 10 to Avoid) Before You Get a Website

By Published On: November 13, 20263.6 min read

In short

Before you buy anything, decide what your website is for, who it is for and what you can spend. Then gather your name, photos, services and reviews. Most costly mistakes, like letting someone else own your domain or signing a long contract, are easy to avoid if you know about them first.

A website is one of the best investments a small business can make, but most of the work that makes it succeed happens before anyone starts building. A little preparation saves time, money and a lot of back and forth with your web designer.

Here are the 10 things to do first, and the 10 mistakes we see most often.

10 things to do before you get a website

  • 1
    Decide what the website is for. More phone calls, quote requests or bookings? Pick one main goal. Every page should point to it.
  • 2
    Know who your customers are. Write down who they are, what problem they have and the words they would type into Google.
  • 3
    Choose your business name and check the domain. Make sure a short, easy-to-spell domain is free before you print business cards. See how to get a domain name.
  • 4
    Set a realistic budget. Prices vary widely. See how much a small business website costs in Ontario.
  • 5
    List your services and the areas you serve. Customers search for a service in a place, such as “plumber in Burlington”. Your site should say both.
  • 6
    Gather your photos and logo. Real photos of your work, your team and your vans beat stock photos. Phone photos are fine to start with.
  • 7
    Collect two or three customer reviews. Ask happy customers for a sentence or two you can quote with their name. It builds trust fast.
  • 8
    Look at three competitor websites. Note what you like, what confuses you and what is missing. It makes the brief to your designer much easier.
  • 9
    Write down your contact details. The phone number, email and hours you want customers to use, so they are the same everywhere online.
  • 10
    Decide who will look after the site. Websites need updates and backups after launch. See what happens after you go live.

10 things to avoid

  • Letting someone else own your domain. Always register it in your own name and keep the login. You will need it later.
  • Signing a long hosting contract. Start with one year. It is easy to upgrade and hard to get out of a three-year deal.
  • Picking a long or clever domain. If you have to spell it out over the phone, it is too long.
  • Asking for too many pages. Most small businesses need three to five: home, services, about and contact.
  • Talking about yourself instead of your customer. Lead with the problem you solve for them, not your company history.
  • Hiding your phone number. Put it at the top of every page. Many customers want to call, not fill in a form.
  • Using only stock photos. Customers can tell. Real photos of your work feel more trustworthy.
  • Choosing a designer on price alone. Ask to see their work first, and check what is included after launch.
  • Getting locked into a platform you can’t leave. Some website builders keep your site if you stop paying. See rent vs own for your small business website.
  • Launching and forgetting. An out-of-date site loses trust and can be hacked. Plan for updates from day one.

New to all this? Start with our five-part series, I need a website but I don’t know where to begin.

Questions, answered

What should I do before getting a website for my business?

Decide what the website is for and who it is for, set a budget, check your domain name is free, and gather your services, photos, contact details and a few customer reviews.

Letting someone else own your domain name or website. Always keep both in your own name, with your own login, so you can move or change them later.

Most need three to five: a homepage, a services page, an about page and a contact page. You can add more later.

Need a hand with this?

Not sure where to start? We take care of the technical steps and show you a free demo of your site before you decide.

More plain-English guides are on our Resources page.

About BlitzBack

We help small business owners get online quickly, with rapid website development, search engine optimisation,  digital marketing initiatives and more.

Brhum Bhatia : Founder of BlitzBack
About the author: Brhum Bhatia

Brhum Bhatia is the founder of BlitzBack in Mississauga. He has a Computer Science degree and a background in programming, QA and IT, and took his own photography studio from around 100 results down on Google to number 1 in Burlington, Oakville and Hamilton. He now helps Ontario small businesses get found online.