How do I create a successful website for my business?
Creating the best website for your business requires you to consider a number of important things. Here's a few useful tips to get you thinking.
Things to consider
1
What is the primary purpose of your website?
Whether you want to create a simple site that tells consumers about your business or a more complex site selling goods or services, the key thing is to clearly inform customers what you do on your homepage. These messages should reflect your brand vision, values and promise – who you are, what you do and what your purpose is.
You also need to decide how you want your customers to interact with your site. This is called a ‘Customer Journey” This is how they will navigate around your site (think about new customers and returning customers).
You also need to set a realistic budget and timeline, depending on the complexity/functionality of the site and factor in what content needs to be created and what images you want to use.
2
Choose a memorable domain name
Your domain name, or URL is the name you’ll promote to your customers on all your communication activity. It’s essential that it reflects your business, is easy to remember (and spell) and is as short as you can make it. Many names have already been taken, especially with .com or .co.uk, so be prepared to look around be creative.
You can buy your name from a number of sites, including reg123 and Go Daddy or we can help you with the purchase.
3
Select a web host
Every website needs a host — a server where all its data is stored for the public to access at all times. The hosting company can manage your website and company email accounts. Most companies choose an external host to do this, or if you work with us, we can host the site for you on the Wix platform. As a premium customer, this is included in your website annual fee and it’s a very secure platform, so you never have to worry.
4
Think about the structure of your site (called a wireframe)
A well thought out website contains multiple pages that demonstrate the different aspects of your business. Some common pages include: The Homepage, About us, Our Product/Service, Meet the team and a CTA (Call to action – a telephone number, request for information, sign up, donate now, buy now etc.). These pages are found across the navigation bar. The wireframe shows the structure of these pages and if any interlink.
The Homepage – should quickly and effectively communicate what you do. The messages on the homepage should reflect your brand vision, mission, values and purpose. Consistency is key and you can use these key messages as the basis of all your content – both on-site and off-site i.e. social media and keywords for SEO.
5
Content – make it relevant and engaging
Consider your content. Make it concise and interesting, Think about your target audience – their needs and expectations. Where possible, use your own photography and use stock images carefully. Video is king. It’s engaging and great for demonstrating a product or service – bringing to life what you offer. You can also use short videos on your social media to drive site traffic and sales.
6
Design & Build
A simple, easy to navigate design is best. You have little time to grab and hold your customers attention. You don’t want someone to bounce on and off your site. Bounce rates are how long a visitor spends on your site. Always design with your audience in mind. What do they want and how can they get it? Make it as seamless as possible – that is the customer journey.
7
Market your website on social media
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter), LinkedIn and Instagram, are the best way to increase your audience. Linking your site to social media can help your site in a number of ways – grow your customer base, widen your audience reach, increase brand awareness, share content and increase conversion rates. You can build site traffic with the right content, in the right place at the right time and gain valuable insight into your audience.
8
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Submitting your website to major search engines will help direct users to your page as will deploying a strong SEO strategy across your site. Defining title tags, meta descriptions, alt tags can boost your rankings in search engines for the products or services you’re trying to sell.
Researching relevant keywords (words people use to search for your type of product or service) and include in your content from the very beginning will help you drive organic site traffic as soon as you register with major search engines such as Google.
9
On-going success
Moving forward there are certain things you can do to build on your rankings
Continually research keywords:
Select keywords that are relevant
to your business
New content: New, interesting, non-repetitive content, will signal to search engines that your site is up-to-date, relevant and worth ranking
Place internal and external links: Internal links are the links on your website pages that lead to other pages on your site, while external links are your links to other popular, high-status websites.
Optimise images: Compress images/videos so they don’t slow down your site’s loading time. Use alt tags on all images to help search engines
discover you.
Maximise your site speed: Pages should load as quickly as possible,
within a few seconds
Back Links: links from a third party back to your site, improve site rankings
with Google