This article will tell you everything you need to know to create a great website. Either you are creating a website for your company, your hobby or creating your own blog.
- What do I need?
- What should my website contain?
- How often do I need to update my website?
- Some good tips
What do I need?
DoMAIN
The first thing you need is a domain. This will be the name of your website. A company would normally use the company name as their domain, for example proisp.eu. If it is a blog, you would perhaps use your full name or your “blog name”.
When you have decided on a domain to purchase, you will also need to choose a TLD. This is what comes after the domain, .com, .no or .org for example. If you are targeting Norwegian customers, .no would be a good choice, while for English speaking customers .com would be a good choice. In addition to the most used TLD’s (.no, .com, .org etc) you can also purchase special TLD’s that works well with your domain. How about super.mom, cupcake.store or bradpitt.actor.
(If the company you are creating a website for is not registered in Brønnøysund we recommend doing this after you have purchased a domain.)
Web HOSTING
When you are creating a website you will need to store it somewhere. This is what we call a web hosting. A place to store your website (and email). In addition to web hosting you can also use virtual and dedicated servers. However, these options require knowledge on the setup and operations compared to web hosting. Web hosting is therefore the easiest and most affordable option.
There are different types of web hosting when it comes to storage space. Most websites will only need 1 GB (Pro Start) or 15 GB (Pro Medium), but if the website requires extra high performance and stability Pro Premium or Enterprise is definitely the best option.
With your web hosting you will be able to create email addresses for your domain, such as myname@exampledomain.org. All of PRO ISP web hosting have daily backup available 24/7 as far as 30 days back.
Platform
After acquiring a domain and web hosting, you need to decide which software you want to create your website with. Many of our clients use WordPress or Joomla. Both of these can easily be installed on your web hosting with PRO ISP via a control panel.
A simple and good option is the website builder. With the website builder you can easily create professional websites without any technical knowledge or experience. You select the design, insert text and pictures (use your own or choose from a large selection of stock images) and you will be ready to publish the website. A major benefit for the website builder is that there is no need to update neither the software or any plugins you are using. With WordPress and Joomla you will need to update to avoid any security risks.
The video below will show you how to create a website using the website builder (try it FREE for 30 days).
What should my website contain?
Now that you have your domain, web hosting and software ready, you need to think about what your website should contain. Answer these questions:
- Who am I and what am I offering?
- Who is going to visit my website?
- How will they find my website?
- What questions will my visitors have?
- What actions do I want my visitors to take?
The answers to these questions will give you vital information on how to create and customize the website for your target audience. The more information you have on your future visitors, the easier you can lead them where you want on your website. Whether its purchasing a product or a service, attending an event or contacting you directly.
How often do I need to update?
In terms of the actual content, you need to think of your website as a living organism. The website needs to be outdated and renewed to remain interesting. Do not let visitors see old or updated content on the website. This can cause visitors to leave and you lose customers. Outdated links, old email addresses or other outdated information should never be on your website. Make sure everything is updated at any time.
When creating content, you should avoid putting any “expiration date” on it if possible. Phrases like “last month” or “last week” should be avoided as the content will be outdated quickly.
For a website selling products, think of the website the same way you would with an actual shop. Product placement, displaying new products and give inspiration to your visitors. The same goes for websites selling services, both physical and virtual, create content that inspires and interests your visitors.
For the technical part of the maintenance/updating this will depend on which software you will be using. For WordPress and Joomla you will need to update the software and any plugins you are using to avoid abuse/hacking of your website.
If you want a website without the need to update software or plugins we recommend using our website builder. This is 100 % maintenance free.
Some good tips
Keep it short and simple
Your visitors should quickly be able to figure out if you have the content they are looking for. It only takes about 10 seconds for a visitor to evaluate the website and decided if they are staying or leaving. The navigation should therefore be simple and ensure it’s easy to navigate your website.
Each page should not be any longer than necessary, but at the same time contain enough information and details. Using headers, sections and spacing will make your text easier to read. The recommended size for text is 16 px while a sentence should not be any longer than 50-60 characters.
Responsive design is crucial
The use of phones is a part of everyday life and it is therefore crucial to have a mobile-friendly website. Having responsive design will make sure your website looks good on any device (phone, tablet and desktop) while being user-friendly at the same time. If you are using the website builder it will make sure your website have a responsive design.
YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS TO LOAD QUICKLY
The traffic of your website is highly affected by speed and load time. You want to keep visitors on your website as long as possible. If they are experiencing slow load, the risk of them leaving the website increases. There are several measures you can do to increase the speed of your website. Using cache, compressing content and optimizing pictures can make a noticeable difference. See how to test the speed of your website and what you can do to improve it in “7 ways to make your website faster”.
make sure your website can be found
SEO is short for “Search Engine Optimization” and is one of the most important measures you can take to drive traffic to your website. Focus on SEO can affect how high your website ranks in search engines such as Google. Read more about SEO “SEO – what do I need it for?“.
MAKE IT EASY TO CONTACT YOU
Show your visitors how easy it is to get in contact with you. Have links to all your social media on all of the pages of your website. You can also use a contact form, but it should never be further away than a click. Remember to use captcha (a test to find out if the visitor is human or a boot) to prevent spamming.
Summary
To create a website you need a domain, web hosting and software. When you have this, you need to create a structure for your content that ensures visitors performs the actions you want. The website will need to be updated frequently, both content and technical. If you want a website without technical updates we recommend using the website builder.
Sources:
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-long-do-users-stay-on-web-pages/