Top Tips for Setting Up a Professional Website in 2021

Setting up a company website is an extremely important part of doing business in the modern world. From a sole trader to a large corporation any professional can benefit from having a website, as customers and potential customers use the internet at high rates to find out information about businesses and choose which business to use for their specific needs. 

However, a bad website can be counterintuitive and actually put customers or potential customers off! 

So, how can you create a website for your business that attracts customers and increases your business’s profits? We have gathered some top tips for how you can achieve this.

Choose the Ideal Domain Name

Choosing a domain name can be difficult. Unfortunately, most common words or phrases have been taken (every domain name is unique, so you have to find one that has never been used before). You can check whether a domain name has been taken by simply typing it into a search engine. Avoid domain names that are misleading or potentially offensive—there are many examples online of unfortunate-sounding domain names (you’ll have to Google those yourself!). The best domain names are simple, they describe what you do and include the name of your business.

Choose the Best Web Hosting Service

Every website needs a hosting platform. Some hosting platforms also have inbuilt website creation tools, which can save you a lot of difficulties, or money needed to hire a web designer! It is worth doing your research into which web hosting services are the best and the most affordable.

Consider Your Customer Base and Target Demographic

Your website will need to appeal to the customers that you want to attract and those you want to retain. Consider your target demographic’s age, gender, interests, and other traits when making any web design decisions.

Web Design

There are many aspects of effective web design, such as the following:

Color Scheme

The color scheme is important. Websites designed for kids, for example, are typically more brightly colored than, for example, a website for a law firm! However, any website should be readable without causing eye strain—text should be easy to make out against the background, and too many striking colors may hurt the viewer’s eyes.

Fonts

You may be tempted to use weird, wonderful, and wacky fonts. However, it is almost always best to use simple fonts in readable sizes, as conveying information is the number one priority of a website.

Images

Websites with images tend to perform better than those without, as they are more visually appealing to most viewers. Image descriptions are also recommended for the benefit of blind users who use text-to-speech software.

Video Content

In the modern-day, video content is king. If you can include video content, this is a huge advantage.

Live Chat Function

Many users will visit your website because they have a specific question or information that they need to find out. If this is the case, a live chat function can enable them to find this out quickly without having to search across the entire site. If you are interested in how to include a live chat function on your site, read this guide to find out more.

Integrate Your Site Fully with All of Your Social Media Accounts

Links between your site and all of your social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), and vice versa, are extremely useful for users who want to keep track of your business across different channels. Not to mention, these links bring traffic to all of your platforms because once a customer reaches you on one platform, they can quickly and easily reach you on all of the others.

Design a Marketing Strategy to Increase Traffic to Your Site

Once your site is ready, you will need to find ways to get traffic to it. Marketing your site can be done through strategies such as the following:

Social Media Marketing

Social media platforms are extremely useful when it comes to marketing. Not only do the big social media platforms have enormous userbases, but they also usually allow you to create campaigns for free.

Affiliate Marketing

With affiliate marketing, a company can team up with another in order to direct site users to each other’s site—a mutually beneficial arrangement! 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing website text in order for the site to appear higher up the list of search engine results pages (or SERPS).

PPC (Pay-per-Click) Advertising

Programs such as Google AdSense can enable you to create paid ads that appear across the internet and redirect to your site.

QR Codes

Scannable QR codes that automatically redirect smartphone users to your site can be placed in print ads or on stickers.

Offline Advertisements

It is not just online that you can find ways to draw traffic to your website—why not consider taking out print ads, billboard space, or even TV or radio ads?

Web Content

As aesthetically pleasing and feature-rich your website is, if the written text is not up to scratch, this could turn potential customers away. So make sure that your copy is well-written—it may be worth considering outsourcing this to professional copywriters if this isn’t your strong point!

Product Descriptions

Descriptions of the products and/or services that you offer to customers are very important. Website users need this information, or they will likely go elsewhere!

Prices

If you provide custom quotes for each project, you should make it easy for customers to reach you. However, if you have standard pricing or even an online store, this should be easily accessible.

Testimonials

Knowing that other customers who have done business with your company are satisfied is encouraging to any potential customer. This phenomenon, known as social proof, plays a large role in persuasion! Including testimonials from happy customers on your site is a great way to make the most of this.

Continue Reading: How to Grow Your Website’s Online Presence with SEO