Tag: website builder

How to create a website?
Written by: Isabelle

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?

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.

create a website

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.

create a website

  • 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/

How to build your own webshop?
Written by: Simon A. Skaar

Regardless if you are selling products or services it is important to be available online. There are several options to build a webshop, both for beginners and more advanced users. In this article we will look at all the steps necessary to open a webshop.

  • Acquire domains and usernames
  • Create landingpage
  • SEO
  • Choose platform

Acquire domains and usernames

The first action you should take is to acquire the domains you wish to use for the webshop. Depending on where your target market is you might need .no, .com, .se and .dk to mention some. If the webshop has a name with special letters you should acquire all the different types to make sure the customers find you.

In addition to registering the name with Brønnøysund and a domain provider you should acquire the name on social media. The sale will take place on your website but most of the marketing will be through social media.

webshop

The decision on whether or not you should use other social media such as Instagram, Pinterest and SnapChat will be dependent on your target audience. Are they using these social media platforms? If you have plans to post videos showcasing your products, you should register for a YouTube account aswell.
It is important to create these accounts as fast as possible to make sure you get the username you want.

Don’t go overboard. If you know you will not be able to maintain many different accounts you should just use Facebook. It is more important the profile is updated frequently and respond quickly than having as many social media profiles as possible.

Create a landing page

When you have acquired the domain(s) you should post content on the website. Start to build your brand while allowing search bots such as Google start crawling your site. While you build your web shop you should create a landing page. This page will give visitors the option to sign up for future newsletters. By doing this you will start attracting possible customers before you even launch.

All web hosting (and domain parking) at PRO ISP has the option to create a free 1-page website where you can create a landing page. In the example below, we have created a simple landing page where visitors can leave their email. It took about 5 minutes to set up this.

 

 

Make the webshop visible for Google

To make the webshop visible for Google you should optimize both the website and the webshop. Doing so is called “SEO – search engine optimization”. You should make sure search engines easily can find your website and connect possible customers with it.

Do a search for businesses like your own and see which words stand out. Use these when optimizing. Read more about SEO: “SEO – what do I need it for?”

Selecting platform

There are many different platforms to use when building a webshop. Whether you are brand new in the IT-business or have been working with websites for years. We will look at some of the most popular platforms available and which type of users they will work best for. All of the platforms mentioned can be used on our web hosting and most of them can be installed easily with just a few clicks.

  • WEBSITE BUILDER

    If you are a beginner when it comes to websites we recommend using the website builder from PRO ISP. Within the website builder, there are two options for webshop, one is easy and simple, the other one more advanced which is connected to “Ecwid”.

    In the simple module you will be able to administrate categories, products and shipping. The module also gives you the options to use PayPal for payment. This module makes it possible to go live with your webshop within a few hours.

    The more advanced option is connected to Ecwid and allows for your webshop to receive orders within minutes. Design and setup is done via the website builder while the administration of products and orders are done via Ecwids website. You can connect your Facebook page with Ecwid to make your webshop available from Facebook as well. Please be aware: The free version of Ecwid only includes 10 products, if you need more extra costs will be added (more information).

    The website builder contains everything you need for a webshop. No experience needed and maintenance is not an issue as we handle the security of the platform. You can try the website builder for FREE 30 days.

    See our example of a webshop (in norwegian): https://dinbutikk.shop/

 

  • WooCommerce

    WooCommerce is a powerful webshop platform available as a plugin for WordPress. 28% of all webshops around the world use WooCommerce. With the platform you can charge by PayPal, invoice, register added value and multiple shipping options. WooCommerce can also be extended from the WordPress library for plugins. The platform is perfect for both beginners and more advanced users. Read more about WooCommerce: “WooCommerce – build a webshop easy as 1-2-3“.

    webshop woocommerce

  • Magento

    Magento has been on the market for several years and is recommended for larger companies with developers and experience. With a few clicks Magento can be installed on web hosting with PRO ISP via cPanel. Med Magento you will have access to a large selection of different functions. Any requirement you have will most likely be supported within the installation. It has a great report function and the interface is ok, but will take some time to get to know. What you would need to install as an extension in other platforms is already included within Magento. You will be able to create newsletters, have a full overview of all sales and visitors as well as the possibility to set up added value and shipping options. The webshop is designed for selling products, but can also be used for the sale of services.

    Magento requires more resources in general, so you should select a more powerful web hosting then with the other platforms. At PRO ISP we have dedicated Enterprise web hosting especially for Magento with LiteMage for extreme performance.

    webshop magento

  • Prestashop

    Prestashop was started in 2005 and is one of the worlds most popular platforms for webshops. Over 250 000 websites use Prestashop which can be installed directly from cPanel with a few clicks. The platform works both for small and larger companies. With over 300 extensions included you will have everything you need to open a webshop. You might need to purchase a theme since the one included is really simple and boring.

    webshop prestashop

 

Summary

We recommend you test the different platforms to see what works best for you. Depending on what needs you have the price will vary.

In WooCommerce you will have most of the extensions needed included (such as Stripe for payment), but most of these also have premium versions. With PrestaShop and Magento costs can increase quickly to get the extensions you need. Magento requires more resources so you will need a more powerful web hosting than with the other platforms. We recommend Enterprise web hosting with LiteMage for extreme performance.

Consider how many sales and products you will have and test different platforms to find the best solution for your needs.