Every person working in the public sphere sooner or later becomes a part of the online community. The presence on the Internet is usually filtered through social media. However, if you’re aiming at achieving high popularity with online audience, at one point you’ll need to start your own website. When that moment comes, it’s imperative to know a bit about different hacks and tricks that will trigger faster development of your site. This is a practical guide that should make it easier for new website owners.
Build it on safe foundations
We won’t patronize you here by pointing out the obvious, such as stressing out the importance of having clear goals. What you need to know is that the functionality of the website and the security of the data posted on it will highly depend on the choice of the host. First of all, you’ll have to choose the type of hosting. While dedicated web hosting is the safest option, it’s also the most expensive one. It would be a waste of money for a rookie business owner or an ordinary John/Jane Doe. For starters, a virtual private server will probably satisfy your hosting needs.
Apart from that, you should also pay attention to backup options and anti-malware protection that hosting providers offer. Feel free to ask different providers about their conditions and protection mechanisms. The most convenient way to find out all those details is to contact several reliable hosting services and gather information you need.
Create interactive environment
If you intend to use your website to communicate with your customers or audience, you need to ensure a smooth flow of information from the website to its visitors and vice versa. In order to achieve that goal, it’s crucial to create interactive content. For instance, your website should contain as many enticing visual features – business videos, useful tutorials and infographics are only some of them. Furthermore, offer your visitors various communication perks that will give them a chance to contact you in the shortest time possible. For this reason, you can add a simple signup form, a VoIP phone number or even a live chat option. In addition, allowing your customers to leave comments, photos and videos, as well as to review your services and products is a great interactive feature. Apart from that, it also improves the SEO-quality of the website.
Generate valid content
On the one side, the effect of your environment will depend on your content. On the other, outstanding content will improve the functionality of its environment. What a future website owner needs to know is the fact that content is still the king of the Internet. In a nutshell, if you have a relevant story, you’ll manage to grasp the attention of your target audience. Therefore, it’s vital for a new website owner to apply their own ideas and put them to practice at the beginning. Every website needs to reflect the personality of its owner. To make first steps towards that goal, you can start publishing simple texts and anecdotes from your everyday business or personal life. If you think your writing skills aren’t satisfactory, hire a proofreader to polish your writing. Also, make an effort to improve your writing. The same goes for the visual part – start by editing and posting your own photos. Apart from giving your website a personal touch, it will also save some assets, which is more than welcome in the initial stage of website development.
Invest in responsiveness
As you may know, majority of online searchers these days is done on mobile devices. Smartphones and tablets have revolutionized the way we use the Internet. Since the man is becoming phono sapiens, as the British Economist wittily put it in their piece on the rise of the mobile phones, it’s predicted that more than 6.1 billion people will own a smartphone by 2020 [source]. Such changes dramatically alter the way we create and maintain websites. Therefore, you should take care of different bits and pieces, so as to put together a responsive website that will be fully compatible with modern devices. While this process requires additional time and assets, it has to be done properly, so as to keep the website functional in the time ahead. According to the experts behind Ryan’s Web Design, buying a website is not like buying a book; it requires a detailed analysis and ongoing maintenance. However, as time goes by and new visitors start rolling in, the entire effort will pay off.
Every beginning is difficult, especially if you don’t have previous experience in the niche you’re planning to work in. Nevertheless, launching your own website isn’t rocket science. Read as many guides like this one and follow instructions given by experts, to expand your knowledge of this subject. It will boost your self-confidence and equip you with skills that will enable you to start your website in an original and profitable way.
Emma Miller is a Sydney based writer with a degree in marketing. Interested in digital marketing, social media, start-ups and latest trends. She’s a contributor at BizzMark Blog.