As a self-employed person, you want to be even more visible in order to reach potential customers. With this in mind, you can think about creating a website.
To do this, discover in this article the 3 steps to follow to design a website for self-employed entrepreneurs. You will also know which applications can help you and what budget you need to set aside for this.
What are the 3 essential steps to create a website for an auto-entrepreneur?
Nowadays, the creation of a website is not really constraining. However, there are a number of steps that need to be taken:
- Search for a domain name ;
- Proceed with the purchase of the domain name and the hosting of the site;
- Create the website in question.
Search for the domain name
The domain name is the URL address of your website. You can base your choice on the brand name of your products, or on words that reflect your activities. However, it is important not to choose a complicated domain name. Opt for a short domain name that is easy for Internet users to remember.
Once you have chosen a domain name for your website, make sure it is available. To do this, you can check it on hosting sites. Also make the right choice regarding the extension of your domain name. Speaking of extension, we are talking about the suffix that follows the dot. These include .fr, .org, .com and others.
Buy the domain name and its hosting
Once you have found your domain name, you can proceed to purchase it. To do this, you simply go to the website of a web hosting company to place your order.
Don't forget to buy the duration of the hosting of your site. This is actually the period during which your website will be stored on the servers of your hosting company in order to guarantee its visibility on the web.
Creating the website
To create your own website as a self-employed entrepreneur, you can go directly to platforms such as WordPress, Wix and others. You can also use a freelancer or an agency specialised in website creation.
Opting for a platform is the ideal thing to do if you don't want the budget to design your website. By using a professional, or a specialised agency, you will certainly get a good result, but the cost may seem more or less exorbitant if you are just starting out in the world of entrepreneurship.
Why is it imperative for an auto-entrepreneur to have a website?
In the digital age, having a website as an auto-entrepreneur becomes essential. In this sense, investing in the web domain will certainly allow you to conquer potential customers by increasing your notoriety within your market segment and not leaving room for your competitors.
When you decide to proceed with the creation of a website that is usually designed to the smallest extent according to your needs and preferences, you allow many people to discover about your business.
You can also use this alternative to build up customer loyalty, for example by using reviews from customers satisfied with your products/services. On your virtual shop window, you always have the possibility to showcase your products and services of course and to sell them on your website.
In addition to all these advantages, you should know that with a website, you are the owner and therefore the decisions to be made must come from you. On the other hand, on a social network, some features may not allow you to get real benefits from your activities if you don't do the right thing.
What platforms (or software) can be used to create a website?
As mentioned above, you can make use of some platforms to create your own self-employed website. The most popular platforms these days are :
- WordPress
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Shopify
- PrestaShop
Use WordPress to design a website
As far as WordPress is concerned, it is a well-known management system (or CMS) that will help you create your self-employed website for free. It is actually an open source software.
Those who generally use WordPress want to customise their website, as this software can incorporate many options into a website when you have the right extensions. By using WordPress, you also get a natural reference and can have many pages on your website as if it were a blog.
Use Wix and Squarespace to design a website
Speaking of Wix and Squarespace, these are platforms you can use if you intend to create showcase sites of only a few pages to promote your activities. Very practical platform, you only need a few clicks to create and make your website operational.
Indeed, you have the possibility to buy directly a domain name as well as to pay a hosting for your website via these two platforms. The page templates are already created and made available to you. It is up to you to do the rest.
Go through Shopify, PrestaShop to create your merchant website
If you are a self-employed web entrepreneur involved ine-commerce, then Shopify and PrestaShop are the best platforms to help you in this regard. It is true that compared to some platforms, these are paid. PrestaShop's features are almost identical to those of WordPress. Create your online shops with ease using Shopify and PrestaShop.
What budget should I allow for the creation of a self-employed website?
When you refer to a professional for the creation of your self-employed website, the budget to be allocated varies according to :
- The number of pages you wish to have on your website
- Quality and aesthetics of design
- The content management system taken into account
With this in mind, you will need to spend between 2,000 and 8,000 euros to have a website dedicated to the promotion and other of your products and services. However, if you go ahead and design your own self-employed website, you will need to spend between 70 and 100 euros depending on the platform you choose.
In short, the creation of websites for anyone developing an entrepreneurial activity is important, as it allows them to be close to their customers and at the same time to expand their business.
Being an auto-entrepreneur, it is essential to have such a tool. You are in the auto-entrepreneurship and your desire is to succeed in your activity. So what are you waiting for to create your website?
