BuildingAWebsiteInSixSteps

byAnneWolski

TableofContents

Chapter1-Introduction

ChapterTwo-TheImportanceofMakingYourWebsiteResponsive

ChapterThree-TheKeytoYourWebsiteIsintheDetail

ChapterFour-TheSixStepsToBuildYourWebsite

ChapterFive-MaintainingYourWebsite

ChapterSix-CommonWebDesignMistakes

ChapterSeven-Conclusion

AuthorBiography

Chapter1-Introduction

Whenyoufirstdecidetoopenyourownbusiness,youdosoinordertomakemoneyso
throwingmoneyawayneedlesslydoesn’tmakegoodfinancialsense.Inmanycases,there
maybetasksthatmaybecostingyoumorethannecessaryiftheyaren’tdone
professionally.Havingsaidthat,thereareanumberofprosandconstobuildingyourown
websiteratherthanusingaprofessionaltodoit.Manypeoplearetakingthedoityourself
approachthesedaysbecauseofthecostsofhiringprofessionalsinallsortsofdifferent
fields.Itcancostquiteasumsimplytotalktothepersonwithoutthemevendoing
anything.Buildingyourownwebsitecansaveyouaconsiderableamountofmoney.You
canlearnthebasicsbyreadingafewtutorialsaboutcoding.WhatyoulearnaboutHTML
andothercodinglanguagescanbenefitthecreationoffuturewebsitesandblogs.Setting
upyourwebsitecantakeafewhoursbutifyoualreadyhaveaplananddesignstrategyin
mind,thiscanreducethattime.Onthedownside,yourwebsitemaynotlookas
professionalasonedonebyaprogrammerandyourviewersmaybeinclinedtolookat
yourcompetitioninstead.Ontheotherhand,yourwebsitemaylookgreatifyou’veuseda
websitedesignprogrambutitwillprobablybesimilartomanyothersratherthanshowing
youruniqueness.Abusinessthatispoisedtomakemoneyandcommanditsindustry
needsauniqueaspectandbranding.Youwon’tfindthatusingcookiecuttersoftwareand
templates.Stillonthefenceaboutawebsite?Well,let’slookatsomeofthereasonsthat
youneedawebsite,evenifyouareabrick-and-mortarbusiness.Havingawebsiteisan
excellentadvertisingtoolbecauseyoucanaddyourwebaddresstoallofthosephysical
advertisementssuchasflyers,brochures,andbusinesscards.Thisway,peoplecanshare
thisinformationwithpeoplewhoaren’tabletogettoyourbrick-and-mortarbusiness.
Yourbusinessisopen24/7sopotentialcustomerscanfindinformationandproductsat
anytimeofthedayornight.Youcouldbeliterallymakingmoneywhileyousleep.A
businessthatinvestsinawebsiteshowsacommitmenttobuildingthebusiness.Youcan
createalogoandabrandforalltosee,whilebeingseenasaprofessionalinyourindustry.
Compellingcontentthatisfreshalsobuildsreputationandcredibility.Sowhatareyou
waitingfor?Thatwebsitewon’tbuilditself.

ChapterTwo-TheImportanceofMakingYourWebsite

Responsive

Yearsago,theonlywaytoaccesstheinternetandthereforewebsites,wasfromadesktop
computer.However,astechnologyevolved,accessbecamemoreportablebecauseof
laptopsandthen,inmorerecenttimes,almosteveryonecanaccesswebsitesfromtheir
mobilephone.Thequestionis,hasyourwebsitekeptupwithtechnology?Let’sconsider
someofthereasonswhyitisimportanttoutiliseresponsivewebsitedesign.So,what
exactlyisresponsivewebsitedesign?Responsivewebsitedesigncodeswebpagessothat
theyautomaticallyadjusttothemediumyouareusingtoviewit.Whetheryouareusinga
desktopcomputer,laptopcomputer,tablet,oreitherasmallorlargesmartphone,youwill
seethepageinanoptimisedfashionforthatparticulardevice.Thereareseveral
advantagestoupdatingyourwebsitewithresponsivedesigntoolsandwewelllookat
eachofthesebelow.HigherconversionratesPeopleareverymobileand,ifsomeone
wantstoseeaproductonyourwebsiteandcomparethepricewithaniteminastore,they
willbelookingforanimmediateresponse.Ifyourwebsiteisabletobeviewedona
mobilephone,theycanorderthelower-costproductfromyouratherthanpayingthe
higherpriceinthestore.ImproveduserexperienceByhavingaresponsivedesign,youare
showingtheuserthatyouaresomeonewhoiswantingtoprovideagoodservicetothem.
Ifapersonisabletousetheirmobilephonetoaccesstheirneeds,theyfeelvaluedand
theyaremorelikelytoreturntoyoursiteinthefuture.LessworkforyouIfyouhavea
responsivedesignrightfromthestart,youcanfocusonotherelementsofyourbusiness.
Thefactthatthiscanbedeliveredtopotentialcustomersoneitherabigorsmallscreen
meansthattheinformationwillalwaysbedeliveredefficiently.Bettersearchengine
rankingsResponsivedesignwebpageskeepGooglehappy,meaningthatyourrankingin
thesearchengineswillbebetterthanwebpagesthatcanonlybeviewedononemedium.
FlexibilityBecauseyoursitecanadjusttodifferentviewingdevices,youcanadddifferent
contenttobeseenoneachdeviceasaddedvalue.Thecontentwillexpandtofillthespace
givenoneachdevice,withthemaincontentanddesignremainingconstantacrossall
devicesforaseamlessexperience.So,havingconsideredalloftheabove,itmaybetime
tomakethemovetoresponsivedesignwebpages.

ChapterThree-TheKeytoYourWebsiteIsintheDetail

Nowit’sverytruethatthekeytothewebsiteisinthedetailso,whileyouarecraftingand
designingyoupages,don’tforgettomakesureyouhavecoveredallofthebases.Details
arewhatseparatesagoodwebsitefromonethatpeoplevisitfrequentlyandrecommendto
others.Itonlytakesthesmallestdetailtomakeorbreakyouwebsite.Whenreadersnotice
theseabnormalities,theymaysimplymovetoawebsitethattakestheextratimeandeffort
togivethevieweraprofessionalandaestheticallypleasantexperience.So,thequestionis
this…isyourwebsiteuptoscratch?Takeacloselookandtrytoseeitfromthepointofa
potentialcustomer.Askatrustedfriendorcolleaguetotakeaneutralviewofitandseeif
theycanseeanyflawsinthedetail.Thisextraeffortwillbeworthitinthelongrun.Now,
it’simportanttoknowjustwhatyouneedtobepayingattentiontowhenbuildingyour
website.Whatcouldpotentiallybedrivingpeopleawayfromyou?Attentiontodetail
matterstoyouraudience.Theywanttoknowthatyoucare.Let’shavealookatsomeof
thesepoints.So,youhavelotsofinterestingpicturestoputup.That’sgreatbutdon’tput
themalltogether.Makesureyouspreadthemoutsothatyourviewerandpotential
customercanfocusoneachindividualimage,makingitmorelikelythattheymaytake
actionratherthanleaveyoursite.Pleasecheckyourspelling.Thereisnothingmoreoff
puttingthantogotoawebsitewherespellingerrorsabound.Notonlyisitannoyingtothe
reader,butitalsoshowsalackofprofessionalism.Itischallengingtoreadalongcontent
piecethathasnosubheadings,boldtyping,listsandsoforth.Ifyouwantreaderstokeep
reading,buildinsomepointsofrespitefortheirwearybrains.Makesureyouhave
contrastonyourwebsiteotherwisethepagesbecomewashedoutandtiresome.Use
contrasttobreakthingsupanddrawtheeyetocertainareasofthepage.Websitesareto
beviewedforcolourandconsistencyasmuchasforthecontent.

ChapterFour-TheSixStepsToBuildYourWebsite

Solet’sgothroughthebasicsofbuildingyourfirstwebsiteforyourbusiness.Step1:
ChooseaPlatformTheplatformisthebaseforyourwebsites.Forpeoplewithlittleorno
experienceinwebsitebuildingorcoding,WordPressisverypopularasaplatformandis
usedbyoverhalfofallwebsites.ThereareotherssuchasJoomlaandDrupalbut
WordPressistherecommendedoneasitiseasytouseandmostoftheworkhasbeen
doneforyou.Step2:ChoosingaDomainNameWhenchoosinganameforyourwebsite,
considerwhatisyourbusinessnicheaswellasyourfocus.Trytocomeupwithaname
thatreflectsthisandthencheckonlinetoseeifit’savailable.Keepitasshortaspossible
andalsoeasytoassociatewithyourbusiness.Youmayneedtohaveafewattemptsbefore
youfindonethatyoulikeandisavailable.Step3:FindaWebHostingServiceAwebsite
musthaveahostwhereyourdatawillbestoredontheirservers.Dependingonhowmuch
spaceyouneednowandinthefuture,itmightbeworthspendingabitmoretoensurethat
yoursitewon’tcrashorgetturnedoff.Therearefreewebhostingservicesalthoughthese
usuallydon’tprovideenoughbandwidthforabusinesswebsite.Step4:CreateaSiteMap
Beforeyoubuildyourwebsiteandputinonline,youneedtoputittogetheronpaper.
Simplysketchoutyourpageswithallofyourheaders,contentandimaginganddecideon
thepositioningoftheseelements.Youalsoneedtoincludewhichpageswillbelinkedto
otherpages,howtheywillbelinked,whetheryouwillhavedropdownmenusandso
forth.Knowingroughlyhowyouwantittolookhelpsgreatlyingettingthefinished
productyouwantforyourbusiness.Step5:InstallWordPressWordPressiseasytoinstall
withone-clickinstallation.Youcanthenlogintothecontentmanagementsystemandlook
aroundtoseehowtosetuppages,editanduploadcontentandmore.Therearemany
optionswithWordPress.Step6:DesignyourWebsiteForthosewhoknowcoding,you
canuseHTMLorCSStochangethepagestolooklikeyouwantthemto.HTMLcanbe
usedinasimpletexteditortogetyourcontenttoshowupthewaythatyouwantit.
WordPressoffersoptionsforfreethemesfordesigntemplatestobeginwith.Avarietyof
optionsareavailable,sotakesometimetoperusethem.Ifyoudon’tlikeit,youcan
alwayschangeit.UsingWordPresstoBuildaWebsiteWhilethereissomecoding
knowledgerequired,itcanallbelearnedasyousetupthewebsite.Alotofthethemesand
thepluginsarefreetodownload.TheAdvantagesofUsingWordPressWordPresshas
beendesignedbyagroupofdesignersandprogrammersandwasbuiltasacompetent
platformforanyonetouse.Itisversatileandexpandablesoitcangrowwithyour
business.Anothergreatadvantageisthateachwebsiteyoucreateismobileready.You
don’thavetoadaptyourwebsitelater.TheWordPresscontentmanagementsystemallows
youtoupload,edit,share,andschedulecontentforyourwebsitewitheaseandwillalso
provideanyneededpluginsforyoutointegrate.SoftwareToolsforBuildingaWebsite
Justtheideaofbuildingawebsiteisdauntingtomostpeoplebutfortunately,thereare
softwaretoolsyoucanuseevenifyouhavenoideaofcoding.Thesewebsitebuildertools
comeequippedtoprovidethelatestinHTMLcodingaswellasthelatestadvancesinweb
design.Weebly.comprovidesasitebuilderthat’seasyforatotalnovicetouse.Itprovides
aresponsivedesignandthedrop-and-dragfeaturemakesitquickandeasytoaddcontent,
changethemes,andaddane-commercestoretoyoursite.Squarespace.comoffersafree
trial.Italsoprovidesresponsivedesignandyoucancreateablog,afullwebsite,and

onlinestoreandotheradd-ons.Thissiteisgoodforpeoplewhoareeitherexperiencedor
inexperienced.Wix.comisafreesoftwarebutthereismoreflexibilityinthepaidversion.
ItisaHTML5basedtoolandyoucancreatestunningwebsitesinnotime.GoDaddy.com
hasaround300themesforyoutochoosefromandhostingfeaturesarealsoavailable.You
canusethissitetocreatewebsites,blogs,ande-commercestores.Webflow.comisa
softwarebuilderthatcomeswithhosting,designtoolsandcontentmanagementsystemall
inone.And,youdon’tneedtoknowawordofcodetodoit.So,ifyoudon’thavethe
codingandprogrammingknowledgetodoitthehardwayandyoudon’twanttotakethe
timetolearn,tryusingoneoftheabove.So,thereyouhavetheinformationtobuilda
website.Allyouneedtodonowistomakeithappen.So,WhatAreYouWaitingFor?

ChapterFive-MaintainingYourWebsite

KeepYourWebsiteFreshWhenawebsitecontinueswiththesameoldcontentand
images,thevisitorswillmoveontoafresherwebsitesoyouneedtokeepitfreshand
updated.Thereareanumberofwaystodothissowewilltakealookatafewbelow.If
youareintouchwithyourcustomerbase,thenyouhavesomeideaofwhattheywantto
see.Inordertokeeppeoplecomingbacktoyoursite,thebestpracticeistoprovidewhat
theyneed.That’sthebottomline.Keepyourcontentupdated.Peoplesurftofind
informationandwillkeepreturningtoyoursiteifyourinformationchangesregularlyand
isrelevanttowhatyourbusinessisabout.Trytochangeyourcontentonaweeklybasis.
Youcanhireawritertocreatenewcontentbasedonyournicheordoityourselfbasedon
issuesthatyourbusinessencounters.Thereisnosubstituteforexperienceandthe
knowledgeitcanimparttoreaders.Addingablogtoyourwebsiteallowsyoutointeract
withyourpotentialcustomersthroughtheexchangeofideas,announcingnewproducts
andhostingsurveys.Ablogcanbeupdatedmoreoftenthanyourwebsiteandprovide
readerswithsomethingnewtodigesteachtimetheyreturn.Intoday’sworld,peoplewant
andexpectmorefromwebsites.Tostayrelevantandfreshtoyourviewers,youmight
needtomakesomechanges.

ChapterSix-CommonWebDesignMistakes

Whenitcomestocreativity,webdesignerscansometimesbetheirownworstenemy.But,
cantoomuchofagoodthingbeallbad?Let’slookatsomeofthedesignmistakesthat
couldturnpeopleawayfromyourwebsite.Businessownerswanttoannouncetheir
uniquepresencebutwithoutblindingtheviewer.Theywanttogaintheviewer’sinterest
andthenkeepit.So,todothis,youneedtopresentawebsitethatcontinuestogain
interestoneverypage.Let’sconsidersomeofthemistakespeoplemakewhendesigning
theirwebsiteandwhatyoucandotoavoidthem.PoornavigationWhenaviewerlandson
yourhomepage,theywanttoknowhowtonavigateyoursitetofindthethingsthat
interestthemsotheyneedamap.Placesitemapsinconspicuousplaces.Usecommon
terminologytogetabetterresponse.Ifvisitorscan’tunderstandtheterminologyonthe
homepage,theyleavealtogether.IllegiblefontDon’tusefancyfontsifitcan’tbeeasily
read.Itmaylookcoolbutifthereadercan’tfigureoutwhatit’ssaying,theywillleave
yoursiteandgotoyourcompetitor.ClutterYoucanhaveunlimitedpagesonyourwebsite
soyoudon’tneedtocrameverythingtogetherononepage.Toomanyimages,buttons,
textandsoundsleadstosensoryoverloadsotoneitdownandspaceyourcontentout.
ContactinformationBesuretoputyourcontactdetailsonyourwebsitesothatyour
customershaveoptionsonhowtocontactyou.Italsoaddscredibilitytoyourbusiness.
BackgroundDarkfontondarkbackgroundordarkimageswithadarkfontwon’tmake
readershappy.Previewpagestoensurethatyoucanreadthemeasily.Ifyoucan’t,neither
willyouraudience.

ChapterSeven-Conclusion

Sonowyou’vecreatedyourwebsite.You’refeelingpumpedandreadytogetitonlineso
everybodycanseejusthowcleveryouare.Butwait!!!Youneedtotestitfirst.So,let’s
gettowork.Beforeyougolive,thereareafewthingsyouneedtodotomakesurethat
everythingisjusthowyouwantittobe.Checkfortyposandothermistakes,including
sitemaps,buttons,headers,andeverythingelse.Ifyouhaveforms,makesuretheyappear
astheyshouldandthatalltheboxesontheformswork.Doesittakethecustomertothe
rightlandingpage?Checkyourpageloadingtimes.Ifittakesforevertoload,chancesare
thatpeoplewilllosepatienceandlookelsewhere.Iftheyareloadingslowly,thereisa
problemthatneedsattention.DoesyourwebsiteloadcorrectlyinFirefox,Google,Safari
andtherest?Note:thisincludesmakingsurethatyourwebsiteismobilefriendly.Doall
ofyourlinksworkanddotheyleadtothecorrectpages.Youneedtotesteveryoneof
themtocheckforviability.Isthereasitemapanddoesitworktohelpviewerstonavigate
yoursite?Areallsocialmediaiconspresentandpluginsinstalledonyoursite?Dotheygo
totheappropriatesitewhenclicked?Isthereahighdegreeofcontrastforeasyreading
andabsorptionofinformationonthepage?Isthereenoughwhitespacewithincontent?
Fore-commercesites,itisimportanttohavesecureencryptionforcustomerdata.Are
thesepresentandworking?Thereisstillalottodoafterthewebsitepagesarecreated.
Don’tmissanynecessarychecksbeforeyoulaunchyoursite.Withtheinformation
containedinthisbook,youshouldbeabletocreateaprofessionallookingwebsitewithall
thebugsironedout.Remember,ifyoutakethetimeandavoidtakingshortcuts,youwill
succeed.So,gotoit.

AuthorBiography

Annehasworkedwithinthehealthandwelfarefieldsformanyyearsandhashada
passionforwritingsincechildhood.Shehasabachelorofsocialsciencedegree.Herlove
ofresearchandwritingisonlysurpassedbyherloveofhersonandher3grandchildren.
Annelovesresearchingandwritingonawidevarietyofsubjectandisalwayslookingfor
newtopics.Anneisparticularlypassionateaboutsocialinjusticesaswellasthehealthand
wellnessareas.Sheistheownerofhttp://www.anholisticjourney.com