There is no excuse for this one.
Recently, a survey by a marketing company called Yodel found that 52 percent of small businesses still do not have a website. (They interviewed a sample size of about 300 companies.) On top of that, 56 percent of businesses surveyed also do not use any means to measure online success.
C’mon, people. In the past, the only way to start a new site was to pay a design agency a few thousand dollars and hire a programmer. That’s ancient history now. Several sites offer a quick and painless approach where you can plug in your own company graphics, type in some text, and have an amazing site with full SEO and social media integration by supper. Here are four.
1. Webflow
One of the my recent finds, Webflow is smarter, savvier, and better-looking than some of the older build-your-own tools like Weebly or Webs. The interface is intuitive and the templates are amazingly good, but the main draw is that it is a full Web editor. You can use CSS3 style sheets that dictate the format and allow easier changes. There are alignment grids, custom form options, and even versioning to help you track your site design.
2. Jimdo for Mobile
Jimdo is a powerful template-driven tool for creating a website. I wrote about it last fall in the magazine. Now, there’s a mobile version. You might wonder: do you really need to the ability to create a website from your phone? The mobile version allows you to snap photos and integrate them right into your site. As you might expect, it’s great for designing a mobile website. And, you can start a site on the Web and make the finishing touches on your phone or tablet.
3. Sidengo
I also wrote about Sidengo for the magazine last fall, but it’s still a favorite of mine for a quick, easy site with a trendy look. There are two main advantages. One is that Sidengo automatically re-formats the site for Web or mobile. And, you can create multiple sites with one account–e.g., one for each new product or marketing campaign.
4. Smore
Okay, maybe you don’t have time to plug in graphics and text for a full site with navigational links. Smore is another favorite site builder of mine and it’s intended for people who are pressed for time. At the very least, you can plug in a few details about your company and create an online brochure, one that has your contact info and mailing address. And, the finished sites look really professional.
