Creating a Website for the First Time? Here are 3 Dos and Don'ts You Should Keep in Mind

Did you know that there is an estimated 1.9 billion websites worldwide? The importance of having your own site cannot be overstated. Today, websites are vital in making your enterprise accessible, thereby strengthening your potential to tap more leads and improve your sales conversion rates. Every business needs a website. Whether you are selling hair accessories or offering horse farming services, a solid online presence through carefully crafted web designs and layouts can establish your reputation and increase revenue generation.

Given how critical building a website can be to one’s success, it isn’t surprising if you may feel daunted by the task. Just looking at the brilliant pages of competitors, one can quickly be stymied into inaction. However, even if it’s your first time, setting up your own site can be as easy as a,b,c. Why not jumpstart your website creation with these 8 simple yet effective tips.

Website Dos and Don’ts

Tip#1: Do start with the basics

The motion before emotion. Don’t wait to feel perfectly confident about getting started, or you’ll end up “perfectly” doing nothing. Instead, build your confidence and get cracking with these basic steps.

Register your domain name

Your domain name is essentially your website name. When selecting one, ensure that it effectively reflects your products or services. Your customers or prospects should also be able to easily search for it online. Suppose your domain name is hard to find. In that case, this defeats the purpose of creating a website in the first place, which is to primarily enable your target market to connect to your business. There are many available, even free, domain name generators that can help you find great ideas and pick the best one for your company or organization. 

Secure a reliable web hosting provider

A web hosting company can help you post your website onto the internet and allow people to access it. A good web host can also provide you with a legitimate business email address to make your website look professional and credible. Although these services typically come at a price, the fees are reasonable, especially for the value they can bring to your enterprise.

Tip#2: Do prioritize the fundamentals

Imagining all the nice-to-haves that you can incorporate into your web design can be exhilarating. But first, ensure that you have five key elements down pat: content, user-friendliness, visual appeal, SEO effectiveness, and customer engagement. 

Prepare your content before you start building your site

Designing with actual content can help you test your site for flaws in how it looks or functions, so you can make the necessary changes along the way. 

User-friendliness can be just as important as your content

If a user struggles with orienting themselves with your site, it can cause them to get frustrated. Remember that everyone else is just a click away. Don’t drive your prospects to your competitors by making it difficult for them to navigate your pages. Make it as intuitive, as logical as possible. 

Make your website visually attractive

A website design can be simple yet stunning at the same time. However, web pages that cause cognitive overloading can overwhelm your visitors and prevent them from appreciating your content. Too many images and flooding of texts can even detract from the message you want to convey. To make your website appealing, familiarize yourself with the different patterns, colors, and typographies and align your choices with your objectives and your audience’s needs.

Optimize visibility

In the internet world, content is king. However, if getting to your content is as “quick” as finding a needle in a haystack, then all the hard work and endless hours you’ve invested will end up nowhere. This is where search engine optimization or SEO comes in. 

SEO can help you increase your content’s visibility by driving organic traffic to your website. With enhanced visibility comes more opportunities for lead generation.

Making your website mobile-friendly is another vital way to improve online searchability.  

According to Statista, the number of Smartphone users is projected to hit 7.5 billion by 2026. You don’t want to miss potential customers simply because your website cannot be accessed on a mobile platform.

Tip#3: Do partner with a website consultant

Professionals can empower you to hit the ground running with their extensive knowledge and experience. By hiring one, you need not go through the arduous process of trial and error.

A competent website consultant can help ensure that you are on the right track towards building a website that can serve your business purposes. With their years of expertise, they can provide insights that can strengthen your website’s functionality, boost SEO optimization, help your site rise above the competition, and get your lion’s share of the market.

Final Thoughts

Creating a website may initially appear intimidating. But truly, you need not be a rocket scientist to do so. By applying the tips above, you can come up with a simple yet highly effective web design that can draw in visitors and increase lead generation and sales for your business. Remember that you also don’t have to wing it alone. Many professional web designers and consultants don’t just offer the expertise you can count on but also have customized packages that can meet your financial requirements.