Getting started
Terminology
When you first decide you want to launch a website, one of the first things we’ll need to determine is a web hosting server.
Think of a web server as an apartment building, where each apartment unit is a different website you can visit. Each apartment unit will have their on address or domain. This is simply just the name/URL of your website (i.e. the domain of the current website you’re on is whnweb.com). The rent that’s due to the landlord will cover your server hosting fees, that’s necessary in keeping your alive so that others can visit it.
I personally like to use Bluehost for web hosting because their 24/7 customer/technical support, automated back-ups, and affordable rates. They run introductory promotions pretty often, so you’ll never miss out on a good deal.
Once the server and domain are configured, it’s important to implement a secure sockets layer (SSL) certificate on your website early on before you start development. This means that data sent to your website’s visitors is kept secure. SSL is an important search ranking factor and is essential to ensure a positive user experience by prioritizing user security and privacy. It’s the lock icon you see next the top of a website in the browser.
Preparing your content
After we get all of the technical stuff out of the way, you’ll need to think about what you want your customers to be able to do on your website.
This will help you determine what sections or pages you want to include. Consider what information or actions your customers will want. Will the site be informational only? Did you want to sell products or services directly on the site? It’s important to make the site easy for your prospective customers to find information and do the things they need to do.
Building your website
A website that’s well designed and easy for customers to use will help your business stand out. Discovering your own personal branding and having relevant content and images will help customers understand your products and services and will make them feel comfortable with buying from your business.
It will also help you in search engine optimization (SEO), which determines how your website will appear in the search results page (SERP) of search engines like Google or Bing using organic search. Organic search, or natural search, refers to unpaid search results. You can also consider search engine marketing (SEM) that involves promoting your website through paid advertising like the ads you see near the top of Google’s SERP.
With the world we live in today, anyone can get access to any information on a business, product, or service at the tip of their fingers. When it comes to building a website, it’s important to make sure it’s not only responsive on a desktop/computer, but also on mobile devices like a tablet or phone. Making sure your website is up-to-date with the latest content and contact information is essential.
Go Live
Once everything’s in place, it’ll be time to launch the website to the public and GO LIVE. It’ll take awhile for search engines to know that your site exists, but once it does, you should be showing up on the SERP soon enough! Although your website will have the necessary information to show prospective customers your business, it’s important to keep the information up-to-date. Might be good to include any events or promotions you have going on here in addition to other posts you may have made on social media (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok).
Creating a website can be a confusing and scary thing to do, but it doesn’t have to be if I can help! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions on getting a project started together. Let’s make some magic. 🙂
Taylor’s Athletic Transition Story
“My parents would always tell me they knew I was going to be an athlete, because by the age of two I had already outgrown my jungle gym. I was first a gymnast, but a couple years and one volleyball camp later, I found myself on my elementary school’s varsity volleyball team.Linh is a local nail artist based out of Canton, South Dakota. With over 9 years of experience, she specializes in gel and dip manicures.
