A corporate website is more than just a digital brochure. It’s a powerful tool that can help you attract new customers, showcase your products and services, and establish your brand identity. But how do you create a corporate website that stands out from the crowd and drives results for your business? Here are 10 best practices to follow.
1. Define your goals and target audience
Before you start building your website, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with it and who you want to reach. What are the main objectives of your website? Who are your ideal customers? What problems do they have and how can you solve them? How do you want them to interact with your website? These questions will help you shape your website’s content, design, and functionality.
2. Choose a reliable website builder and host
One of the most important decisions you’ll make when creating your corporate website is choosing a website builder and host. A website builder is a platform that allows you to create and customize your website without coding. A host is a service that provides space on a server where your website files are stored and accessed by visitors.
There are many website builders and hosts available, but not all of them are suitable for corporate websites. You need to look for a platform that offers:
- A wide range of professional templates that suit your industry and brand
- An easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor that lets you customize your site without coding
- A secure and fast web hosting service that ensures your site loads quickly and reliably
- A domain name registration service that lets you choose and register your own web address
- A variety of business apps that let you add features like online store, booking system, contact forms, etc.
- A responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and devices
- A SEO-friendly structure that helps your site rank higher on search engines
- A customer support team that can help you with any issues or questions
Some examples of popular website builders and hosts for corporate websites are Wix1, Squarespace2, and Web.com3.
3. Pick a domain name that reflects your brand
Your domain name is the web address of your website, such as www.yourbusiness.com. It’s one of the first things that visitors see when they find your site online, so it needs to be memorable, relevant, and easy to spell.
Here are some tips for choosing a good domain name for your corporate website:
- Include keywords related to your business or industry to boost your visibility on search engines
- Use a .com extension if possible, as it’s the most common and trusted one
- Avoid abbreviations, acronyms, hyphens, and numbers that can confuse or mislead visitors
- Keep it short and simple to make it easier for visitors to remember and type
- Make sure it’s unique and not already taken by another business
You can check the availability of domain names using tools like Domain.com or Network Solutions. You can also register your domain name through your website builder or host, or use a separate domain registrar.
4. Create engaging and informative content
Content is the heart of your corporate website. It’s what tells visitors who you are, what you do, and why they should choose you over your competitors. It’s also what convinces them to take action, such as contacting you, buying from you, or subscribing to your newsletter.
To create engaging and informative content for your corporate website, you need to:
- Write in a clear, concise, and conversational tone that speaks directly to your target audience
- Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, images, videos, etc. to break up text and make it easier to read
- Highlight the benefits of your products or services rather than just listing features
- Include testimonials, case studies, awards, etc. to showcase your credibility and success
- Include a clear call-to-action on every page that tells visitors what to do next
- Proofread and edit your content for grammar, spelling, and accuracy
5. Optimize your corporate website for search engines
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your site’s visibility and ranking on search engines like Google or Bing. SEO helps you attract more organic traffic to your site, which can lead to more conversions and sales.
To optimize your site for search engines, you need to:
- Conduct keyword research to find out what words and phrases your potential customers are searching for
- Include relevant keywords in your domain name, page titles, headings, content, meta tags, etc.
- Create unique and valuable content that answers your visitors’ questions and provides solutions to their problems
- Use internal and external links to connect your pages and provide more information to your visitors
- Use a sitemap to help search engines crawl and index your site
- Use analytics tools like Google Analytics or Search Console to monitor your site’s performance and identify areas for improvement
6. Design your site for usability and aesthetics
The design of your corporate website is not only about how it looks, but also how it works. A good design should make your site easy to use, navigate, and understand for your visitors. It should also reflect your brand identity and personality, and create a positive impression on your visitors.
To design your site for usability and aesthetics, you need to:
- Choose a template that matches your industry and brand
- Customize your template with your logo, colors, fonts, images, etc.
- Use a consistent and intuitive layout that guides visitors through your site
- Use white space, contrast, alignment, etc. to create visual hierarchy and balance
- Use high-quality images and videos that support your content and message
- Test your site on different browsers, devices, and screen sizes to ensure it works properly
7. Add business apps to enhance functionality
Depending on the nature and goals of your business, you may want to add some extra features to your corporate website that can help you achieve more results. For example, you may want to:
- Sell products or services online using an online store app
- Accept bookings or appointments online using a booking system app
- Collect leads or feedback from visitors using a contact form app
- Showcase your portfolio or projects using a gallery app
- Display social media feeds or reviews using a social media app
- Send newsletters or promotions to subscribers using an email marketing app
Most website builders and hosts offer a variety of business apps that you can easily integrate with your site. You can also use third-party apps or plugins that are compatible with your platform.
8. Review and test your corporate website before launching
Before you publish your corporate website to the world, you need to review and test it thoroughly to make sure it’s ready for launch. You don’t want to risk losing potential customers or damaging your reputation because of errors or glitches on your site.
To review and test your site before launching, you need to:
- Check all the links on your site to make sure they work and lead to the right pages
- Check all the images and videos on your site to make sure they load fast and display correctly
- Check all the forms and apps on your site to make sure they function properly and securely
- Check the spelling, grammar, and accuracy of all the content on your site
- Check the SEO of all the pages on your site to make sure they have relevant keywords, titles, meta tags, etc.
- Check the design of all the pages on your site to make sure they look good and consistent on different browsers, devices, and screen sizes
9. Promote and monitor your corporate website after launching
Once you launch your corporate website, you need to promote it and monitor it regularly to ensure it reaches its full potential. You need to drive traffic to your site, measure its performance, and make improvements as needed.
To promote and monitor your site after launching, you need to:
- Share your site on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
- Advertise your site on search engines like Google or Bing using paid ads or PPC campaigns
- Network with other businesses or influencers in your industry or niche using blogs, podcasts, webinars, etc.
- Update your site with fresh and relevant content that keeps visitors engaged and coming back
- Analyze your site’s traffic, behavior, conversions, etc. using tools like Google Analytics or Search Console
- Optimize your site’s speed, security, SEO, design, etc. based on the data and feedback you collect
10. Contact us for more help
Creating a corporate website that drives results is not an easy task. It requires a lot of planning, research, creativity, and technical skills. If you need more help or guidance with building or improving your corporate website, don’t hesitate to contact us.
We are a team of professional web designers and developers who can help you create a stunning corporate website that meets your goals and expectations. We can handle everything from domain registration to web hosting to content creation to SEO optimization.
Whether you need a simple landing page or a complex ecommerce site, we can deliver it for you. We have experience working with different industries
1. wix.com, 2. techradar.com, 3. forbes.com, 4. simplybusiness.co.uk, 5. startups.co.uk