Getting Started with Building Your Website
No matter what type of business you run, an enterprise, a store owner, a freelance photographer, or just a small business, a great website is crucial for your success. It’s the first thing people see when they are looking up information about you or your product.
Since it’s very important to have an attractive and professional-looking website, you want to ensure that everything is set up correctly before launching it. This will save time in the long run because there isn’t much room for error once you launch something online! So, if you’re ready to get started with building your website, then keep reading below!
Tips on how to get started with building your site
Here are ten steps to help you get started with building your new website and help it compete effectively online.
- Have a good domain name
Domain names, also called website addresses, are often the first thing visitors see on your site. The following tips will help you come up with a great domain name:
- It should be easy to spell. Avoid slang, made-up words, and overly vague terms.
- Whenever possible, choose an SEO-friendly URL that includes keywords and geolocation
- Keeping it short is best. It is easier to remember when it’s short.
- Do not use numbers or hyphens. These domain names are less elegant and memorable than words-only names and maybe misunderstood when spoken.
- Make sure your domain extension is correct. Always use .com rather than .net, .co, etc., unless another extension, such as .gov, .edu, or .org, would be more appropriate.
- Make your website name catchy. With so many websites on the internet, the name of your website must be memorable. That way, people will always remember how to find it.
- Display a clear and concise description of your business
When people visit your small business website, it is crucial to let them know who you are and what you do right away. Your main homepage banner and subsequent banners must demonstrate your services as well as that you have a brief introductory text blurb that describes who you are and what you do.
Furthermore, make sure both your main navigation menu and your footer navigation menu have “About Us” page links so people can easily click them and read more about your business.
- Choose a reputable e-commerce platform
To sell goods and services through your website, you will need the appropriate technology. It makes sense to consider e-commerce if you don’t currently sell anything since it could potentially increase your profits. However, if you allow your customers to transact with you online, you must choose the right platform. Popular small business e-commerce platform includes:
- WooCommerce
- Business Squarespace
- Shopify
- Shopify Plus
- Wix
- GoDaddy Online Store
- Choose the right content management system
CMSs are software programs or applications that facilitate the creation and management of digital content. With a good CMS, you can maintain your site easily and without much technical knowledge. You should pick a CMS that meets your unique needs; different CMS systems are used for various reasons, such as their user-friendliness, extensibility, and cost.
- Optimize your website for search engine
You can apply SEO techniques to your website so that search engines can index and rank it appropriately and show it to users. Search engines “crawl” and index your website, and then it competes with other websites that contain similar content. You’ll show up higher in search engine result pages if your website has a good design and adequate content.
Search engine optimization practices include:
- Keyword research and implementation
- Page speed
- Optimal website code
- Making your site mobile-friendly
- A secure site that uses an SSL certificate
- With good backlinks that link to your site
- Utilizing internal links to keep visitors interested
- Invest in scalable, secure website hosting with good technical support
Website hosts (rarely referred to as web hosts) provide the technology and services necessary for a website to be viewed on the internet. You link your domain name to your hosting provider so that when users click on your domain name, they are directed to the website you store on your hosting account.
- Create and publish quality content regularly
Creating a plan to publish quality articles or blog posts on your site and external sites is crucial for SEO. You will need to frequently update your website with new and relevant content to rank highly in search engine results. In addition, you should use a tone that is appropriate for your brand and that people will enjoy reading.
- Create an engaging, memorable, and interesting website user interface
Ensure that the interface of your website drives results. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Make your graphic appealing and your font easy to read.
- Examine how your competitors’ websites have been designed and optimized; implement similar components that will benefit your website.
- Your graphics should be compressed and optimized for speed. Google will penalize your ranking if your website is too slow.
- Research your target audience and make sure that your site is easy to use for them.
- Create a navigation system that allows users to reach the pages easily.
- Keep your website design consistent with your brand.
- Provide easy access to contact information.
- Install webmaster tools
Use Google Search Console, Google Analytics, and Bing Webmaster tools to analyze traffic and site performance. You can use these tools to track the following data:
- Website visitors
- Bounce rate or the percentage of people who visit your site
- How many views your site receives on each page
- The average time each visitor spent on your site
- Broken links on the site
- Site crawl errors
- Web page download time
- Your website backlinks
- Keywords that drive traffic to your website
- Create a maintenance plan for your website
Creating a website and letting it grow stale is a bad idea. You need to ensure your website is properly maintained if you want it to rank well in search engines.