How to build a high performing website for your business in 7 steps
There are SO MANY different ways to build a website. And honestly, it can be quite overwhelming once you start getting into the details. Building a website involves several steps, including planning, designing, coding, and testing. Here are the general steps you can follow to build a website and get your business started online:
1. Define your website's purpose and audience
Before you start building a website, you need to identify why you are creating the website and who your target audience is. It’s important to understand what your audience is looking for, what their pain points are, and what solutions they are seeking. This information will help you tailor your website content, design, and functionality to meet their needs and create a positive user experience.
2. Choose a website builder or platform
There are many website builders and platforms available, such as WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, and Shopify. Some of these website builders offer different optional add-ons, like email integrations, additional security, etc. Take a look at the price comparisons as well and make your decision based on your business needs. Don’t forget that you can change at any point as well! It’s never too late.
3. Select a domain name and hosting provider
Your domain name is the web address for your site, and hosting is the service that allows your site to be accessible on the internet. Choose a domain name that is easy to remember and relevant to your website. GoDaddy or Google Domains are great places to start your domain search. They can be anywhere from $20 to $500/year or more. Select a hosting provider that meets your budget and technical requirements.
4. Design your website
Here is where the fun starts! You can choose a pre-built template or create your design from scratch. You can also choose to hire a web developer who can listen to your vision, and produce a website design using their expertise in user experience and interactive content. Ensure your design is responsive, meaning it will look good on different devices.
5. Develop your website
This part can be fun too. A web developer can help you out here as well and provide custom layouts using coding and their expertise in web development best practices. Usually, you are able to drag and drop elements into your website to develop the pages as you imagine them.
6. Add content to your website
You’ll have to choose what pages you’d like on your site. A good place to start is: Home, About, Contact, Blog, and any other pages specific to the service or product that you offer. Be sure to include an easy way for your online audience to take the next steps towards making a purchase – whether that’s booking a demo, coming in for a consultation, or contacting your office. Create text, images, and videos that will appear on your website. It helps to type out all our content using Google Docs or something similar, and then just plug the content in once it’s ready.
7. Test and launch your website
Once your website is complete, test it thoroughly to make sure everything works as expected. You can do this by publishing your website and use your laptop, phone, iPad and any other devices you can get your hands on to test the layout on each screen size. Web developers have specific tools they use to do this testing. Make sure that all of your links work as expected as well. Then, officially launch your website and start promoting it!
There are several additional areas where a web developer can be extremely helpful – such as setting up Google Analytics or optimizing your website for search results. Remember, building a website takes time and effort, so be patient and don’t hesitate to ask for help when you need it.
