Creating A Website Isn’t As Daunting As It Sounds – Here’s How To Start One
Whether you are looking to build a new start-up website or make your current site more effective, understand how and what to do when creating a website is important. While creating a website on the surface may seem complicated with the number of variables and choices available, it’s a relatively straightforward process. As society places increasing importance on being digital, creating a website is crucial for success as this is the central focus of all online marketing efforts. Did you know it takes 50 milliseconds for a potential customer to form an opinion about your website.
Websites Are The Future
Our future is technology. Even just looking at the changes brought about by COVID-19 and the subsequent transitions to online functionality reveals the rise of E-commerce and the newfound importance of investing in digital interfaces. Interestingly, a recent report from Top Design Firms can understand the need for a website, which reveals that 71% of small businesses have one. Given that most companies are shifting towards a greater online presence, those who are still making the shift, must understand the key steps involved to create an effective website.
Good Domain Name
Whenever you look for a website, you commonly enter a web address into a web browser address bar. This is known as a domain name. A domain name lends instant legitimacy to your company and places you in the same online marketplace as your major rivals. When first creating your website, it is incredibly important that you choose a relevant, catchy, and simple domain name that will appeal to your consumers and serve as a good representation of your organization for many years. Part of your brainstorming process should be to look up available domain names.
Additionally, your company name should be in your web address, which should be relatively straightforward to ensure it is easily recognized and recalled when searching for your business. The domain itself can include any combination of letters and digits, although using obscure characters can be difficult for consumers to memorize. To create a domain name, you can visit a range of websites such as WordPress and GoDaddy.
Building Your Website
When first starting your website, it is important to create or follow a website-building checklist. After registering your domain name, it is time to set up your website by choosing a website host. A website hosting provider is a company that offers the technology and services necessary for consumers to view a website on the internet. Web hosting services provide the space for your website to live for others to visit, meaning having a hosting package is a necessary part of the process. Different hosting platforms offer different benefits or characteristics, so you must research which provider suits you and your needs best. Some providers allow for increased loading speeds and increased storage, meaning you can integrate videos into your website seamlessly. Some website host providers include Bluehost and Hostinger.
E-commerce Platforms
The next step to creating your functional website is engaging an e-commerce provider. If you are looking to sell products or services via your website, you will need the right technology. For users to transact with you online financially, you must research the right platform that meets your business model. One important factor to consider when choosing an e-commerce provider is its emphasis on secure and protected transactions. If by any chance, your consumers are hacked or have their details stolen, your company and website will not only lose credibility but also lose other customers. There is a range of platforms available to choose from, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and Business Squarespace, all of which vary in various ways, such as level of customization, payment methods, and subscription costs.
You Need a Content Manager System
So, by now, you’ve got a website, it has a host, and people can engage in transactions, now what? Next, you’ll need to start thinking about your content manager system (CMS). It is easy for consumers to feel overwhelmed with online marketing and advertising campaigns in today’s day and age, so your website must be well-managed to avoid chaos. CMS is computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital content, allowing you to easily generate, manage, change, and publish material using a user-friendly interface without needing to code. This means investing in a CMS is a must! By doing so, you avoid all coding issues, allow for easy collaboration, access SEO features, and extensions, use pre-designed templates, and make simple updates. Popular CMS platform providers include CMS Hub and Joomla. However, businesses must research to find the provider that suits their website most.
Some Features Are a Must
The design of your website matters more than anything, and if the groundwork isn’t put in early, your website will fail. There are several consistent key features when looking at any regular website, almost like a website criteria checklist. For example, key tabs such as ‘About Us,’ ‘Contact Information,’ and ‘Privacy Policy’ must always exist. Furthermore, links to social media are now also essential for increasing website traffic and sharing specific information. In the digital world of e-commerce, social media is the new frontier, and businesses can establish their digital presence and reinforce brand image and personality like never before. Lastly, nowadays, many websites benefit from providing details about their company vision, mission, or central values, as this information has a greater influence on consumers purchasing decisions. For example, consumers are more likely to engage with your brand if it aligns with their values, such as sustainability or ethical resourcing.
Let’s Remember to Be User Friendly
Having user-friendly functions is another key website must-do. Shopping and engaging services online can already be a stressful task for many consumers. Therefore, your website should work towards minimizing user confusion and maximize navigation ease. To achieve this, you should include a pop-up chat box function that allows consumers to communicate any issues directly or easily ask a question that can get a response in minutes. This chat box function can also be supported by a ‘Help’ section with information such as ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ or publishing accessible contact information. Additionally, having a search function allows users to navigate the website easily and efficiently find what they want, rather than wasting their time scrolling through multiple pages. Overall, by designing a user and reader-friendly website, consumers are likely to enjoy their website experience and return in the future.
Optimizing Your Website
At this point, you probably want to know how your website is doing and whether it’s getting any traffic. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vital tool used in online marketing. SEO is important because it increases your website’s visibility, ranking, and traffic, which means more visitors and an increased possibility of generating leads. SEO is complex and involves many different techniques, tactics, and best practices. So, what can you do to optimize your website? Using keywords is one way to improve SEO as users search them to related find online content, helping you connect with prospects looking for your products and services. Another opportunity exists in content. When you want to increase your visibility, you can publish a series of blogs, podcasts, or videos about your brand and offering on your website. Finally, local SEO is another popular tactic. Given 57% of all searches are performed from tablets/smartphones, and half of those searches have local intent, local SEO would ensure that when people in your area are looking for what you offer, they’ll come across your site.
Webmaster Tools and Maintenance Plan
A website should not be built and then forgotten about. To ensure your website’s longevity and continued success, you must make sure it is properly maintained. Website maintenance reveals the success of your website by constantly checking whether it ranks highly in search engines and engagement within your website is high. Therefore, it is recommended that you create a website maintenance plan. Maintaining your website could be done through tools such as Webmaster Tools data at least once a month. Using traffic data to learn more about your audience, setting up google analytics, making sure software is updated, running security scans, comparing against the competition, allowing users to provide feedback, and using performance data to fix issues are all proactive steps to ensuring your website is successful.
While several components need to be considered, ranging from domain name to SEO, following a step-by-step guide can make it easier. While the outlined steps may present a long and challenging path ahead for developing a website, the effort will be well worth your while.
If you need advice with your marketing strategy, building a website or the services of a professional marketing team, contact us today!
