Business Tools for Small Home Businesses Part 1

Designing a Website for your Small Business

One thing I’ve learned is that your website is never really “done.” The online world is constantly evolving, and new tools pop up all the time—which is a good thing! For my virtual assistant business, I rely on web-based systems and programs, which means I can work from anywhere with just a laptop and Wi-Fi. Having a flexible, easy-to-update website is a huge part of that freedom.

I started Effective Virtual Assistance, LLC in 2008. Over the years, there is only one online system that I’ve used from the very beginning that I still use today, but I’ll cover that in a different post. The good news for small online businesses is that many tools offer free versions—and often, those are more than enough to get started. And when it’s time to upgrade, the cost is usually reasonable compared to the extra features and efficiency you’ll gain.

Small Business Do-It-Yourself Web Design

In this post, I’m going to briefly discuss the amazing world of Drag-and-Drop Web Design Tools. I have experience with three online website creation sites. Weebly, Squarespace and Wix.

Wix is the preferred platform I use for my websites today. I found the interface worked well when I was forced to migrate my site from a phased-out free web design tool hosted by Microsoft. When MS discontinued the program, Wix seemed to fit my needs, and from what I could tell it was going to be fairly straight-forward to use. I was right. Over the years they have definitely improved their design tools and template options, but the ease-of-use was there from the start.

My Weebly site is on pause at the moment because I simply haven’t had time to focus on it. However, I can tell you that I was equally impressed by the common-sense basic tools available to create a site. Weebly definitely has a different look and feel to Wix, but once you get used to the interface, it becomes easier to create pages and replicate features you like. I also took advantage of the eCommerce features on my Weebly site for a store with product listings, and it was easy to figure out as well.

When I used Squarespace, I grew to love the interface very quickly! The original site for MyBestDayLife.com was designed on Squarespace. I chose Squarespace for the clean look and feel and the available tutorials on YouTube. The training videos were necessary if I really wanted to take advantage of all the features Squarespace offered. However, when my virtual assistant business got super busy a couple of years ago, I let the site go and shifted to a more simplified version on Wix.

Domain Names and Hosting

All of the web design tools I have shared so far have reasonable hosting fees as well as the option to purchase your own domain or connect a domain you already own. Once you get the hang of these drag-and-drop design sites, they have some great intuitive design features, and they are always adding new options.

Obviously, you have to pick a domain name when you create a website. I recommend doing a little research before you decide on a domain because it is definitely an important decision. And don't set your heart on a name until you are sure it’s available!

Closely related to selecting your domain is actually purchasing that domain. I came across Epik earlier this year and I can’t say enough about the customer support. Domain names, nameservers, host records…oh my! These words are like speaking a different language for me. I went through Epik to transfer a domain I currently own, and to buy a new domain. When I got stuck activating my domain on my Squarespace site, I connected with Epik support and they literally took care of what I needed right then and there. They jumped in, fixed the issue and voila, I was up and running. I can’t say enough about them!

Hopefully Part 1 of Small Business Tools gives you some insight into optional web design do-it-yourself platforms. You can always pay another virtual assistant that specializes in web design to create one for you, but if you’re up for the challenge, it’s a great exercise to go through because you will then have the knowledge to make changes and keep the site fresh without having to pay a designer.

Small Business Web Design

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Katie Bauer started Effective Virtual Assistance, LLC, in 2008. Based out of Northern Virginia, Effective Virtual Assistance, LLC partners with small businesses locally and nationally to give business owners the time they need to focus on core business and revenue generating activities.

With a firm belief that when a client is successful, that reflects on her success, Katie’s goal is to go above and beyond with each and every client task and project.

Over the years Katie has been contacted by aspiring VAs through clients or directly via her website, asking for insight and advice. She realized writing a short eBook to share her experience along with offering some of the documents and tools she uses to run her business could benefit other Virtual Assistants. Click HERE! You definitely want to see all the professional resources & customizable forms available.