How to Build a Website When You Know Nothing About Websites

You may hear words like:

• Domain
• Hosting
• SEO
• CMS
• SSL
• Responsive design
• Analytics

It can quickly feel like you need to become a technology expert before you can get a website.

The good news is that you don't.

You simply need to understand the basics and know what questions to ask.

Step 1: Start with one simple question

Before thinking about colours, animations or logos, answer this:

What do you want your website to achieve?

For example:

Your website should be designed around this goal.

Step 2: Know who your customer is

Don't try to build a website for everyone.

Think about your typical customer.

For example:

"We provide air-conditioning installation and repairs for homeowners in Brisbane and surrounding suburbs."

That's much clearer than:

"We provide premium climate solutions."

The first statement tells the visitor exactly what the business does and who it helps.

Step 3: Decide what pages you actually need

You don't need 20 pages just because another company has 20 pages.

For a new local business, you might only need:

1. Home
2. About
3. Services
4. Reviews
5. Contact

You can always add more pages later.

Step 4: Explain your services in plain English

This is where many websites go wrong.

Business owners know their industry extremely well, so they naturally use industry terminology.

But your customer may not understand it.

Imagine you own an electrical business.

Instead of writing:

"We specialise in comprehensive electrical infrastructure solutions."

Say:

"We install, repair and maintain electrical systems for homes and small businesses."

Clear language helps visitors understand your business quickly.

Step 5: Put important information where people can find it

Your customers shouldn't have to hunt for your phone number.

Make important information easy to find.

Your website should clearly show:

• Phone number
• Email
• Business location
• Service areas
• Opening hours
• Booking or enquiry options

On mobile devices, your phone number should ideally be easy to tap.

Step 6: Make your website work on a phone

This is extremely important.

A customer might discover your business while sitting on the train, walking through a shopping centre or standing outside their home with a problem.

They may be using their phone.

If your website only looks good on a desktop computer, you're potentially making life harder for your customers.

A good website should automatically adapt to:

• Mobile phones
• Tablets
• Laptops
• Desktop computers

This is called responsive design.

You don't need to understand how responsive design works technically.

Just make sure your website provider builds it properly.

Step 7: Use real photos where possible

Stock photography can make a small business look generic.

If you're a local business, consider using photographs of:

• Your team
• Your workplace
• Your equipment
• Your products
• Completed projects
• Your local area

Real photographs can help customers feel that there are real people behind the business.

Step 8: Don't forget Google

Having a website doesn't automatically mean people will find it.

Your business should also think about local search.

For example, if you operate in Brisbane, you want potential customers searching for services in Brisbane to be able to discover your business.

This is where SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, comes into the picture.

You don't need to understand every technical detail.

At a basic level, good SEO means helping search engines understand:

• Who you are.
• What you do.
• Where you operate.
• Who you help.

Your website content should naturally communicate these things.

Step 9: Don't try to put everything on the homepage

Your homepage has an important job: give visitors a clear overview and guide them to the information they need.

It doesn't need to contain your entire business history.

Keep it focused.

A simple structure might be:

Simple is often better.

Step 10: Ask yourself one final question

Once your website is finished, pretend you have never heard of your business before.

Visit the website and ask:

"Do I understand what this business does within five seconds?"

Then ask:

"Do I know how to contact them?"

And finally:

"Do I trust them enough to contact them?"

If the answer to all three is yes, you're on the right track.

You don't need to become a web developer

As a business owner, your job is to run your business.

You don't need to learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript, hosting, databases or web servers just to have a good website.

What you do need is a clear understanding of your customers and what you want your website to achieve.

A good web developer should take your business goals and turn them into a website that your customers can understand.

Technology should make your business easier to find – not make your business owner life more complicated.