Website creation
Does my business need a website, and if so, should I do it myself or hire an agency? Find out all you need to know about website creation.
Everyone is online these days, but before you jump in with them, you need to understand why your brand needs to exist on the internet. Whether it’s launching an e-commerce shop, a blog to tell your story or a sales brochure, knowing the objective for your website is the first step.
You then have decisions to make: whether to work with a design agency or do it yourself; what information to include and where; selecting a content management system and hosting service; and not least, finding an incredible URL to hang it all from. The website creation resources below will help you find the answers.
Design agencies
Identify when to use a Design Agency to build your website
from Tech Donut
WHAT? An article that explains what it is like to use a design agency and how much it costs
WHEN? You need to analyse whether to build your website yourself or outsource it
WHY? Investing wisely now will pay off. Your digital solution is largely a one-off outlay that scales with the business, meaning its cost is recouped many times over as a quality user experience drives a big increase in sales.
OTHER RESOURCES?
>> A further set of articles on working with a web design agency from Tech Donut
Publishing a website
Enrol on a free 5-day course on building your brand, where a good chunk is all about publishing a website
from Smart Passive Income
WHAT? Energising free online course by Pat Flynn, resulting in a website. We also plugged this on our Brand Identity section (Day 1 relates to brand guidelines, but the remaining 4 days are all structured around publishing a website).
WHEN? You know you want to build your own website and not hire a design agency, but don’t have the technical skills. Especially useful content if you are a blogger or would like to build a mailing list.
WHY? Gets you online within five days.
Content management system (CMS)
Get to grips with one of the most popular website building tools that is simple enough for anyone to use - and is free
from WordPress
WHAT? This is a content management system (CMS) with extensive functionality. A CMS manages the creation and modification of digital content. Most CMS's include web-based publishing, format management, history editing and version control, indexing, search and retrieval.
WHEN? You are building your own website for the first time and don’t want to learn code
WHY? One of the best content management systems out there, but intuitive enough that you can create powerful, polished sites with plug-ins and themes to create the look, feel and content you want.
OTHER RESOURCES?
>> Flowchart and detailed article on when to use WordPress? from WPShout
>> Bluehost - for website hosting, domain purchase and one-click WordPress install
>> Pressable - for website hosting, domain purchase and WordPress installation
Blogging platform
Launch your own Blog on blogger.com
from blogger.com
WHAT? A Content Management System for blogs (part of the Google suite). Option to have a “yourname.blogspot.com” URL for free, or to host it on your own URL.
WHEN? You want a personal blog. This is not suitable for a professional website.
WHY? It is free, easy to use and has plenty of features such as designs, free domains and inbuilt analytics.
OTHER RESOURCES?
>> How to write a blog on Blogger from WikiHow
Landing pages
Create attention-grabbing landing pages (the first page visitors will see)
from LeadPages
WHAT? Landing pages work systematically to transform cold traffic into leads, leads into customers, and customers into raving fans. How? By inviting visitors to make a decision: click (and convert) or hit the road.
WHEN? You want to create high-quality landing pages that convert into sales quickly and easily
WHY? LeadPages helps you convert viewers into subscribers or buyers. It works both with WordPress and non-WordPress sites. You can also test different landing pages (for example, with different copy) to see which resonates more with your audience.
OTHER RESOURCES?
>> Introduction to landing pages from Virgin Start Up
>> Inspiring landing page examples from HubSpot
