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Launching Your Website: Simple Steps to Success

createsocially • March 30, 2018

People sure do use the internet a lot these days. It is an excellent tool to gain information and learn new things. Naturally, businesses all over the globe are flocking to harness the buying power of billions of people browsing the internet through desktop, laptop, or a tablet or smartphone. It is important to weigh the options when launching a new website, or improving upon an existing

Plan Your Website

A person is sitting at a table with a laptop and a map.
  • Determine realistic benchmarks and goals

Begin with the end in mind. Start by asking yourself a few questions and jotting down the answers. Here are a few to get you started:

What do I want people to do on my website?
Who will build it – am I doing it myself, or hiring someone?
When do I want to launch my website by?

In this example below, a nutritionist may have the following goals in mind for their website:

  1. Have users subscribe to an online newsletter
  2. Provide tools and tactics for weight loss
  3. Sell supplements to new and existing customers

Having a clear definition of the actions you want customers to take on your website is a great way to measure your success after publishing your site. Be sure to set realistic and concrete goals that you can measure . Your goals will need to fit within the scope of your mission and values, and fit within a timeframe. In the example above, this might be as follows:

  • Win at least fifty newsletter subscribers each week
  • Publish at least one new blog post per week for distribution in our newsletter
  • Sell at least $2,000 per week in products through eCommerce on our site

With these goals in mind, you are then able to picture the “how” of these goals. How will your customers find you? From a business card? Searching online? A Facebook or Google Ad ? A customer testimonial and recommendation on social media?

Identify Your Audience

A group of people are sitting around a table with papers and a laptop.

Consider your niche. Whatever it is that makes your business special and unique is a great place to start. What types of people are most likely to buy and enjoy your product or service? The better you can streamline your niche, the more specific you can get with your message and targets.

  • How do you want customers to feel when they interact with your brand?

What choices should this feeling compel them to make? Knowing your ideal audience allows you to better predict what they expect from a product or service, as well as giving you an idea why they choose to buy in the first place .

  • What are customers interested in (hiking, local farmers)
  • Are they in an age range? (millenials, baby boomers, etc)
  • Where are they located? (East Coast, West Coast, local or regional… etc)

Knowing your buyers persona will aid greatly in helping you to choose the message and tone of your website and brand. An awareness of buyer preference will provide you with  a clear picture of how best to harness the elements of life that define their preferences. Consider tools like Search Engine Optimization, and Digital Advertising (Search Engines, Social Media Marketing) to reach your desired audience.

Design Your Site

A laptop computer is open to a website with a yellow couch on the screen.

This buyer information is also a key component that influences your website’s actual design. Knowing the answers to the questions above will give you plenty of data about the look and feel of your website . Invest some time into searching online for similar products and services that match the impression you want customers to have. Choose at least five websites that stand out, and make some notes about what you like. It’s important to also determine what you do not like. Take into consideration elements like layout, color, and structure. You will want to note what you like, for example, about the layout of menu links (the top portion of a webpage), or a website footer (the bottom of the webpage). Once you identify these preferences, it’s time to design something completely unique to your brand – those other sites are just a springboard for your own unique ideas!

  • What colors will you choose?
  • How many pages will your site have?
  • How do you want customers to contact you (phone, email, online form)?

Now that you have a clear picture of what “success” looks like, it’s time to get to work! But first, a little housekeeping to ensure you have all the tools to grow your brand and business. Without a domain name and a way to process payments you are up the creek – without a paddle!

  • Choose a domain name.

If you are launching a business from scratch, you might want to start here first. In the ever growing marketplace of website domains, you may need to get creative when choosing a domain name that properly represents your product and service. Typically, the highest performing domains will end in “.com,” however there are also other options to choose from (.net, .org, .US, and others). Take steps to protect your brand – consider securing “yourwebsite.net,” and also “yourwebsite.com.”

  • Secure a payment processor.

Be sure your payment processing company can provide a competitive rate that does not dramatically increase as your business grows. Be sure to get all the information you need up front about rates and fees.

Let’s Recap

We covered best practices for the following:

  • Develop a plan
  • Set goals for your business
  • Identify your audience
  • Choose site design, and get ready to launch your site

Whether you plan to go “DIY” or hire someone, following these steps will benefit you immensely . If you’re ready to get started now, we’d love to work together to assist with getting your business the growth you seek. As a digital and social marketing agency, we specialize in growing business. Let’s get to it! Give us a call , drop a comment, or shoot us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

P:  717.683.5343 , E:  Hello@CreateSocially.com
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @ CreateSocially

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