7 Steps to Take A Small Business Online in 2025
- Jack
- Jan 21
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 5
Comfort feels great, but it can also be rewarding to step outside of it. In the case of a small business going online, we’re talking big benefits.
Retailers who leverage websites can achieve growth anywhere between 15 to 50%.
Learning how to take your small business online can help you scale your small business. Not having a website can limit your exposure to potential consumers who go to your competitors instead.
Transitioning a business online can feel overwhelming, yet it’s often a necessary journey for small business owners. In this guide, learn how to take your small business online and ramp up your digital footprint.
Are Small Businesses Going Online?
Do small businesses need to go online? Going online isn’t a magical tool to grow a small business, but it can provide value with time. Today, companies are dedicating more to “going online” than ever before.
Every big brand already has a website, and 72% of small businesses have websites too. Nearly half of small businesses that don’t have a website yet are planning to launch one in the future.
76% of small businesses use social media as part of their marketing strategy and 44% of local businesses rely on social media to increase brand awareness.
Why are small businesses adopting a more digital approach to growing?
We’re as digital as can be in 2025. Between watching TikTok unboxings to reading reviews on Yelp and snooping on Reddit–consumers rely on the internet as a credible source of information.
Small business owners need to go online if they want to influence the consumer and what they purchase.
Different Ways to Go Online As a Small Business
The internet is dynamic, and this means “going online” isn’t just one thing. Small businesses that learn how to go online beyond websites and social pages have a competitive edge.
Here’s how to go online as a small business:
Create a website: Give your business a professional home where customers can easily learn about what you offer.
Leverage social media: Be funny, be witty. Use social media to stand out as a brand and showcase your brand voice and value to the world.
Collaborate with influencers: Tap into someone else's audience and let them do the talking. Small brands can work with micro-influencers and still see big results.
Register to online directories: Make it easy for new customers to find you through online directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook Business Directory.
Conduct email marketing: Stay relevant with customers and send them deals and updates directly to their email inboxes.
Host virtual events: Offer your audience a chance to interact with you directly through a live Q&A, product demos, or webinars.
Steps Take Your Small Business Online
You’re still here because you do, in fact, want to take your small business online. That’s a great goal and it’s going to happen. Here’s the step-by-step playbook to take your small business online.
1. Consider Your Goals
Every business is different. However, there are key goals that small businesses need to consider when going online. Here are the goals and how to achieve them.
To expand market reach – Launch a mobile-friendly website optimized for SEO.
To increase brand awareness – Share consistent and high-quality content that brings value to your audience.
Engage with customers – Spend time responding to customer inquiries, social media comments, and emails.
Foster brand community – Create a space for customers to interact and talk about your small business.
2. Choose a Domain
A domain is a unique name that identifies a website on the internet. It could be anything you want, provided that it’s not already taken by another brand. Ideally, your domain name is the same as your LLC name and social media handles.
Domains contain two parts:
Domain: the characters that represent your brand (e.g. jackwritescontent)
Domain extension: the characters that come after your domain name and the dot (e.g. .com and .org)
Is your domain already taken? Small business owners can mix and match the domain and domain extension. Ideally, you can grab a domain with a “.com” because it’s what people are used to and come to expect.
Small business owners also need to check that their business name and domain name aren't infringing on existing trademarks.
3. Pick a Hosting Platform
A hosting platform offers all the technology small business owners need to set up their websites. These hosting platforms have dedicated servers that store all the files and documents that your site needs to run.
Popular hosting platforms like Wix and Squaresquare are hosting platforms as well as website builders. Small business owners can take advantage of this so they can host, build, and run everything in one place.
4. Build a Website
Websites are how small businesses can attract, educate, and connect with current and potential customers. Today’s websites let customers book and purchase products and services directly and without the business owner’s supervision.
Drag-and-drop platforms like Wix and Squarespace are solid options if you want to build your website from scratch. Small business owners can also work with website-building agencies or freelancers.
Pro tip: Aim to create a mobile-friendly site. Most search engines like Google implement mobile-first indexing. Mobile-first indexing refers to the practice of looking at the mobile version of your website to rank your overall website against your competitors.
5. Establish Your Socials
A strong social media presence can keep your small business top of mind. Small businesses that stay top of mind can ultimately improve their bottom line.
According to the University of Maryland, this is known as the Rule of 7. This rule asserts that a potential customer should encounter a brand’s marketing messages at least seven times before making a purchase decision.
Small B2B businesses can do well on LinkedIn, a social platform geared towards brands, businesses, and professionals. E-commerce and product-based small businesses can do well on Instagram (for younger audiences) and Facebook (for older audiences).
6. Get Listed on Directories and Google Business
Small business owners can take advantage of local directories and Google Business to reach a more localized audience.
Listing your business in a business directory can lead to increased visibility in search engines as well as people in the local community. Setting up your Google My Business page boosts visibility, and gets your small business to pop up on Google and Google Maps.
7. Test and Retest Your Online Efforts
Truth be told, going online isn’t an overnight success. Once you set up your website, social pages, and everything else–continued improvement is the name of the game. The way to improve is to be able to track your success through Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Here are the most important KPIs for small businesses that go online:
Website Traffic: The total number of visitors to your website. A steady increase shows your online marketing and visibility are working effectively.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate suggests areas to improve, such as page design or content relevance.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete desired actions, like making a purchase or signing up. It highlights how persuasive and user-friendly your site is.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people clicking on your ads, social posts, or email links. A higher CTR signals that your headlines and visuals are compelling.
Search Engine Ranking: Your website’s position on search results for key terms. Better rankings drive more organic traffic and lower reliance on paid ads.
Customer Retention Rate: The percentage of customers who return for repeat purchases. A high rate shows strong loyalty and reduces the need for constant new customer acquisition.
Email Open Rate: The percentage of recipients who open your emails. Strong open rates reflect well-crafted subject lines and valuable messaging.
Social Media Engagement Rate: The percentage of people interacting with your posts (likes, comments, shares). High engagement builds brand awareness and fosters relationships.
How do small business owners track these KPIs? Google Analytics (for broad analytics) and Google Search Console (for SEO) are two free tools that small business owners should familiarize themselves with.
Why Take Your Small Business Online
Taking a small business online takes time, energy, and sometimes money too. Small business owners who decide to do everything themselves can spend days or weeks setting everything up.
It’s a lot of extra work. But, small business owners need to take their small business online.
Small businesses–and especially small businesses with long-term goals–need to go online. The sooner you’re able to go online with your small business, the greater the benefits you’ll see.
Here are 6 reasons why you need to take your small business online.
1. Wider Reach
According to Hubspot’s web analytics report, the median website gets 20,000 unique visitors per month. With time and effort, your small business can get in front of 20,000 people a month. The magical thing about websites and social media accounts is that, as you grow, they become a passive way to reach people.
For example, you can post a well-written blog post once. That post can then generate traffic to your small business website even a year later.
2. Increased Credibility
A survey of 787 U.S. consumers found that 77% of consumers believe a website makes a business appear more credible. The same report found that consumers overwhelmingly prefer when small businesses have both websites and social media.
If you don’t have a website for your small business, you can potentially violate a consumer’s expectation gap. In other words, a small business with no website can viewed as less credible than its competitors with websites.
3. Brand Authority
Is your small business a subject-matter expert in your niche? If so, then you have high brand authority. Brand authority is the level of trust and credibility that a brand has in its industry.
Well-designed and well-written websites can bring value to consumers. Small businesses that predict consumer concerns can address them through digital content. Done enough times, and that’s how small businesses build brand authority.
4. Improved Customer Insight
One of the biggest perks of going online is your ability to track customer behavior. What page are people spending the most on? Are people leaving my site right away? How many people are viewing each page?
With a website, small business owners can capture both behavioral and demographic insight into their customers. This data can then be used to create better content and marketing material.
5. 24/7 Availability
Websites don’t need to sleep, and that 24/7 availability means convenience for your customers. Customers can learn about your brand and purchase directly from your site on their own terms. That convenience alone can draw new customers into the door.
6. Scalability
As small businesses scale, even simple tasks can start zapping away at your energy. Today’s websites come equipped with tools that streamline the customer journey. Websites can help small business owners sell products, maintain inventory, and educate consumers more easily.
Bring Value to Your Customers
Going online shouldn’t just be a checklist. Small business owners should instead think about the value that they are providing by going online. A clunky or broken website isn’t going to yield the same benefits as a website that’s functional and engaging.
One way to add value is through your written content. With valuable content like blogs, your small business can become a brand authority and expert in your niche.
In a sea of selling, why not disrupt the flow with education and value-based content marketing?