So, you are building your first website for your business.
As well as creating your brand, web design can also be an overwhelming process. There are also other elements apart from how your website looks that make it extremely customer friendly. Not to mention, something that entices them to buy from you.
This will ensure that your customers will have a positive experience with your site, improve your company’s online presence, and boost customer engagement with your brand.
From customer testimonials to complete contact information, here are the nine key essentials you should take note of when building your first website:
1) Domain Name
One of the most important things that you need to do if you want to establish an online presence and make an eCommerce site is to choose a domain name.
The right domain name is crucial both for your target audience and search engines. It’s best to ignore the trends that come and go and pick a name that makes sense for your business and niche. Something that will still make sense several years from now.
To do so, you need to visit a domain name registrar, enter the domain name that you want to purchase and pay. Keep in mind that you can’t buy any domain name, especially if it’s already registered to another business or person.
You can usually register your domain when purchasing your website hosting.
2) Website Builder
Before, when creating websites, you needed all the help that you can get from professional coders and web developers. But now, thanks to WordPress, building your first website has never been this easy.
Sure, there are many website builders and apps that are all vying for your attention that choosing which one is right for you can pose a challenge.
Nonetheless, we have listed down the reasons WordPress is an ideal website builder for you:
- It’s been around for more than ten years now and dominates 35% of the internet
- It’s an open-source CMS, which is very secure
- It’s search engine-friendly
- It has themes and templates that are easy to customize with the help of plugins
- It boasts a large network of users and developers that serves as your community support
3) Website Hosting
When building your first website, a reliable web host will make it possible for virtually anyone on the web to access your website online. It’s a space that you will purchase to store your website files.
Keep in mind that when you purchase website hosting, you’re renting a space on the server where your website files are placed.
Here are some things that you need to consider when choosing a web host:
- Know your specific needs – eCommerce, WordPress, server space, etc
- Research the host’s reliability and speed
- Explore the security features offered with your hosting
- Ensure your hosting is able to scale with your website
- Look for quality customer support
- Research prices involved with your hosting
4) Business Email Address
If you’re trying to create a professional brand for your business, then first impressions do matter.
Email, for instance, is one of the most common forms of communications you have with your prospects. A professional email address helps cultivate trust.
Keep in mind that when you purchase a professional email address, you also have access to several tools to help you organize and streamline everything more efficiently.
These tools could range from file sharing and cloud storage to team calendars and even customer invoicing.
5) Security
If you will be selling anything online, then you have to put in the effort of securing your site with an SSL certificate. It will encrypt communications between your clients and you. Ensure your hosting provider offers free SSL which is offered with most top hosting companies these days.
It will also reduce their fears of providing you with sensitive information such as their social security numbers and credit card information. Moreso, since identity theft is so rampant online. As an extra security measure, also ensure you know how to backup your website regularly.
6) Business Logo
Aside from building your first website, your business logo and branding is very important.
Symbols are a great way to communicate information about your business. A business logo, for instance, is a crucial aspect of your company’s brand, making a significant impact on how it is perceived. Your company logo is one of the most important branding investments a business can make.
Here are some tips for an excellent logo design:
- You must love it, you’ll be looking at it every day
- It should reflect the nature of your business
- Know the psychological concept of colors
- Keep it simple and recognizable
- Make it recognizable when seen large or small, in color or black & white
7) High-quality Images
Using high-quality images will help you generate more leads by boosting user engagement. Meaning more users will spend more time on your site.
It also significantly reduces bounce rates, which leads to better search engine ranking and more website traffic. Moreover, it forms a link between your customers and company, and users are more likely to choose your services.
Here are some websites that offer you free, high-quality images, making the process of uploading and sharing easy than ever before when building your first website:
- Pexels
- Pixabay
- Unsplash
8) FAQ’s
People will always have a lot of questions on their end. As you hear out their concerns and inquiries via email, you can collect the most commonly asked questions, then come up with a list of clear and concise answers.
These questions may run from ingredients (allergy concerns) and materials used, history of your company, shipping information, sizing, and cancellation and return policies.
9) Responsive Website Design
Online traffic from smartphones and other mobile devices makes more than half of the overall Internet traffic worldwide. That’s because most of these devices have become more and cheaper and mainstream.
Back then, designing a website means that it will be specifically designed for a computer. Nowadays, you have to consider how your website will look like on a smartphone and a tablet.
Having a responsive website is key… All of our WordPress themes are fully responsive for all devices.
Responsive website design means that your site’s layout will adapt depending on the screen that it is being browsed on. Highly adjustable layouts and images that are scalable make a better user experience for those who are accessing your website on their mobile devices.
The Takeaway
You must establish these key features in your site as you get your business website up and running. Doing so helps spread awareness, and could lead to more business opportunities.
As your business scales, your website can, too. And we’re talking about both the complexities of your site’s features, as well as the content that you put on it.
We hope this has provided some useful information to help when building your first website! Good luck!
For any help or advice on the information above, please don’t hesitate to get in contact.
