If you find yourself with some extra time this summer and want to do something productive and creative, you should create your own website. Here are 9 steps to creating and designing a killer website.
Decide What Type of Website You Want
GiphyThe first step in creating a successful website is to decide what you want your website to be. What are you an expert in where you can offer people a new and valuable perspective? Your website should offer something to people which isn't already available to them. If you know a lot about a specific subject and believe you can offer helpful advice to readers, this would be a great subject for your website. To decide on what you want your website to be, you need to ask yourself what you hope to achieve with this website. Do you want to inform people? Do you want to get people to think about different issues and ask questions? You need to have a clear idea of this before moving forward with your website.
Develop a Brand
GiphyEvery successful website or blog has a brand. Having a brand means you have an identity and your readers will associate your content with your brand. Having a quality brand will also attract new readers to your website because they might be curious as to what you have to offer. Your brand should be unique, but identifiable as a specific niche. If your website is all about traveling, your brand should have a recognizable travel aspect that people will immediately look at and know they are visiting a travel website.
Consider Hiring a Web Designer
GiphyOnce you develop a brand, you can start designing your website. Web design can be difficult, but it's possible to do on your own. If you're just starting out, there are plenty of free tools and templates you can use for your website. If you're more serious about creating quality and unique website, then you should consider hiring a web designer. Figure our how much to charge for website design, and hire a professional to do the job. A web designer will turn your brand into a functional website that people will be attracted to and enjoy using.
Make Your Website Easy-to-Use
GiphyOne of the biggest mistakes people can make when creating a website is to not ensure it's entirely user-friendly. No matter how great of content you may be providing on your site, it won't matter if visitors have trouble finding it. Make sure every function on your site is easy to use on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. If a new user visits your site and finds faulty links, error messages, or slow responses, they will leave your site and won't return. This is why it's so important to ensure users have no difficulties in using and navigating your website.
Start Posting Quality Content
GiphyNow that you have an attractive and functioning website, it's time to start posting content! Content is what people visit your blog for. Your content should be of the highest quality and should answer questions people may have about your niche. It should offer people interesting information that will hook readers and keep them coming back to your blog. It's important to make sure all of your posts are error-free so your readers know you're a trustworthy and reliable source. Also, be sure to post new content on a regular basis to attract new visitors and build up your website's reputation.
Utilize SEO Strategies
GiphyAnyone who has a website should be using search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to attract more people and build up your website's domain authority. Domain authority refers to how Google views your website in comparison with other website's in your niche. The higher your domain authority, the more likely it will be that people find your website on Google. You don't need to be an expert in SEO to start utilizing some simple tactics. By doing a little bit of research on what it takes to build up your domain authority and prevalence on Google, you can drastically increase your audience base.
Start Generating Revenue
GiphyOnce you've built an audience base and have given your website credibility, you can start looking to generate revenue for your website. Reach out to difference companies related to your niche that you think would be interested in advertising on your page. Once your page has enough domain authority, you'll even have companies reaching out to you to advertise and purchase sponsored posts from you. Try not to go overboard with the advertising, however, as this may turn off some of your audience base.
Utilize Social Media Platforms
GiphySocial media is a powerful tool for growing your audience base and getting your content out to a wide range of people. Once your website has quality content, you should create a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for your website. You can share your posts on these platforms along with videos or anything else your readers may enjoy. By posting on a platform such as Facebook, your posts have the opportunity to be shared by your audience to all of their friends which can exponentially grow your website views.
Measure Your Traffic
GiphyIt's important to keep tabs on your web traffic. You can the free Google Analytics tool to see what content is bringing in viewers, what content other websites are linking to, and what just isn't working for you. By measuring your traffic, you can really get a feel for what people are interested in reading on your website. If a certain topic isn't attracting viewers to your page, then it wouldn't make any sense to continue writing on that topic. Instead, you can focus on what is working for your site and continue to attract new viewers and keep your audience base coming back for more content.
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