How do you make your website effective?

For new start-ups or businesses on a budget, building your own basic website can be a great money-saving idea. However, it’s important to remember that your website has a job to do – namely, to generate business. There’s no point setting it up if it doesn’t attract visitors and convert those visitors into customers. So the big question is: how do you make your website effective?

Building a Website – The Basics
If you want to build a new site, there nine things you will need: a domain name, a business email address, website hosting, website building software or a platform you can use to do this for you, a template, a logo, great images and way to edit them and, of course, Google Analytics.

Find a Host
The first thing you need to do is find website hosting. These days, you don’t need a degree in computer science, and you don’t need to learn a coding language to build your own website, but you do need a platform. Once you find the host you want to use, you will use their software and they will likely host your business email too. However, if you need to add on a business email, other suppliers such as Google’s G Suite email service can do provide this.

What’s in a Name?
Once you’ve found your host, the next thing you’ll do is register your website address. This address should be distinctive, not similar to other addresses of competitors, and it should be self-explanatory. Most importantly, if it is a name or phrase, make sure it can’t be misread to produce a new meaning. This also applies to your logo. Show your options to as many people as possible to get their feedback and interpretations to make sure it’s effective and on-message.

Find an Appropriate Template
Most web hosts offer a range of free and paid-for template options. And for most businesses, a paid option will be preferable. The handful of free templates will be heavily used and could make your site look generic, so take your time and scroll through all the options. You can try before you buy, and this is recommended. You need your template to communicate to your audience your vision and values as well as your product and your professionalism. Once you’ve landed on your preferred template, you should begin the web design process. You can refer to our other pages for more in-depth guides for help on building menus, choosing imagery and ensuring hassle-free navigation.

Get Analytical
Google Analytics is a free service with premium options that analyses your site’s performance by tracking landing page quality and also how visitors react. This can be done by analysing how many sales per visits you realize or how many visitors view a specific page or an offer. These actions – the ones which lead to engagement and sales – are known as conversions. Ultimately, that is the goal of your website.