12 Steps to a Successful Website 

Creating a website can be overwhelming if you don’t know where to start. In this post, we’ll share a proven process that has evolved over 20 years of creating websites for many different clients. By following these steps, you can make building your website more efficient, enjoyable, and help increase your return on investment.

1. Define your goals:
   Before you begin building your website, define your goals and what you want your website to accomplish. Determine what information and actions are most important to your business and look for trends in that data. Setting realistic timelines is also crucial to ensure the creation and implementation of your website goes smoothly.
2. Identify your Audience
   To successfully engage with your audience, you need to start by identifying their demographics and psychographics. This will help you better understand their needs, both functional and emotional, and allow you to rank them in order of importance.
3. Develop your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
   Once you have a clear picture of your audience, you can start developing your USP. This is what sets you apart from your competitors and adds value to your customer. Your USP should be a concise summary of why you are different and superior to your competition and should sit at the intersection of what your business does very well, what your customer needs, and what your competitors aren’t offering.
4. Consider Your Brand Personality
   Next, you need to consider your brand’s personality, which is made up of various elements, such as tone, typefaces, colours, and photos. Understanding your brand’s personality will help you connect with your audience and express your brand properly. Whether you want to come off as bold and traditional, formal and authoritative, or friendly and witty, it’s important to know what kind of personality your brand has and how to best communicate it to your audience. By considering all of these elements, you can create a brand that not only appeals to your target audience but also differentiates you from your competitors.
5. Create a Sitemap and Content Guide
   To start your web design process, it is important to create a sitemap that will help search engines categorize and navigate your website. This will also help you plan out the navigation of your site and the content that will be needed. Additionally, you should create a content guide that organizes all your website’s content in one place for easy access and placement on the website. This guide should include copy, page headings and sub-headings, page titles and keywords, links to images and PDFs, links to external sites, and calls to action.
6. Register Your Domain Name
   After creating your sitemap and content guide, you should start by registering your domain name. Your domain name is your business address online, so make sure it is short, simple, and easy to remember. Additionally, be aware of other brands out there with similar names so that your domain name doesn’t get confused with theirs. Your domain name will be “rented” through domain registrars, and you’ll have to renew it.
7. Find a Hosting Provider
   Next, find a web hosting company that will give you access to the digital space and utilities you’ll need to host your website online. Depending on which content management system (CMS) you choose, it can help influence who you host with. Popular web hosting companies include Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and HostGator.
8. Choose a Content Management System
   After you have found a hosting provider, it’s time to choose a CMS. A CMS allows for website construction and maintenance without having to manually edit the code. WordPress is one of the most popular options, but other CMSs include Wix, Squarespace, and Shopify. Keep in mind that depending on which CMS you choose, you may or may not be able to move your website to another hosting provider.
9. Website Security
   Now that your website is starting to take shape, it’s important to think about website security. An SSL (secure sockets layer) creates an encrypted link between your server and a user’s web browser, ensuring that sensitive data entered into your site (like contact forms) can’t be hacked. SSL certificates are important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO) because Google Search results promote sites with secure connections to protect their users.
10. Designing your Website
    When it comes to designing your website, there are several important sections to consider. Your Navigation Bar or Main Menu is essential for helping users navigate your site, and your feature image or slider is a visually striking way to draw in your audience. “Above the Fold” are all the elements on a webpage that you see before being cut off by the browser window and it is considered the most important real estate on your website. A sidebar and footer can provide additional content and important information for your users. An About page and Blog can give users more insight into your brand and industry, and a Testimonial/Review page is a great way to show potential customers what current customers think of you. Including a call-to-action can help guide your audience through your website for a smoother user experience.
11. Optimizing User Experience (UX)
    User experience (UX) design is crucial for making your website intuitive and easy to navigate and implementing practices like easily accessible menus, short attention span-adapted design, proper use of visuals, and consistency can help effectively communicate your brand.
12. SEO and Maintaining your website
    Lastly, research Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure that search engines like Google can easily find your website so you will be featured higher in the search results. Most ways to increase your SEO involve creating effective and fresh content. Once your site is all up and running, regularly maintain it by checking that all pages are loading without any errors, running a backup, updating website software and plugins, checking that all forms are running properly, and monitoring page load times.

Building a website is an ongoing process, but by following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to a successful website.

Blog post provided by 6P Marketing.