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Many startups tend to keep the initial cost of operations low key and focus their time and money on the main requirements. Their perspective sometimes disregards the value of a business Ecommerce website and assume to run their brand through Facebook, Instagram or other social media tools to establish an online presence. However, I beg to differ on the basis of technological advancement which still regards a website as a fundamental tool crucial to the success of any business.
When searching for a product or service, more than 95% of the people will begin their search online. And Facebook is not their obvious choice. Instead, it is Google that they turn to. Therefore, it is wise to ponder over the benefits of having a website for your business before you shell out your moolah on marketing, advertising or even card printing. If you’re not sure and have doubts about the advantages of having a website or where to start, these 10 tips will help you get the right picture :
1. Look at Your Competition
Every business has rivals and competitors, even if you are a startup. Review your competitors carefully. Find out who they are and conduct a SWOT analysis about their weaknesses and strengths. Look for their keywords and where they rank in your search on Google. Other points should include how lengthy is their site and the quality of their content. Also, check the feasibility of their site and navigation options. Figure out how you can beat them and make your site better.
Assessing your competitor thoroughly can assist you with insights on what needs to be done rather than shooting in the dark and aiming for a jackpot.
2. Register A Domain
Buying a domain is as easy as ordering food nowadays. You can buy a domain name and hosting package from several vendors like GoDaddy, HostGator, Bluehost etc. for just a few dollars per month. Since time is an important element of Google ranking, the sooner you get registered and indexed in their search results the better. But remember to not complete the task in haste in order to get their first. Spend some time to search for the perfect domain name which is easy to memorize and cannot be misspelled. Do not upload anything and everything without making sense lest you scrape the bar and make a bad first impression. This will double your work. Therefore, take time to register and manage your domain before uploading the right content.
When choosing the hosting provider, consider scalability, backup, and security provided by the company. Some providers will give you both domain as well as hosting. A wise option is to keep them separate depending on their expertise in each area. Also, do not forget to check on third party reviews and social media performance before making the final decision.
3. Write Some Content
Content is everything in a business website. No matter how colorful and info-graphically correct your site is, if it lacks in the content area, you are doomed before you begin. Great content does three things: establishes your authority in the chosen field, improves your rankings within Google’s search results, and serves the bottom line by selling your products or services. A good idea is to hire someone to write engaging content to bring more traffic to your site thus establishing you as a trusted brand in the process.
Plagiarism also plays an important role in building the trust of your clients. Your content should be free of plagiarism and should be original. Use keywords to develop original and creative content. Reading other sites to take inspiration is always a good practice.
4. Invest in Visuals
Once you have your content in place, it’s time for you to make it interesting by adding images, videos, and infographics. Too much of text is never a good thing. You may have the best copy online, yet most of the people will not read it. Make use of bullet points and form your text in a way which is easy for the readers to glance through. A lot of white space doesn’t always mean you lack something. In fact, it is good to have some white space and keep the content spread out. Too much of text looks tiring to start with in the first place.
5. Platform
There are several options available these days. Depending on the type of business, you can choose the platform for your site. WordPress is most suited for blogs, but there are others like Drupal, Joomla to suit other business types. When it comes to e-commerce, you can choose from Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce as well as BigCommerce. Shopify is one of the best e-commerce platforms but hiring an expert Shopify developer is a big issue. The list is long and therefore compare what each platform can provide you other than the basic functionalities.
Hire an experienced web developer as well as a designer to build your site the way you want it. If the developer is experienced and has delivered successful projects in the past, he will be able to advise you on how you can get the maximum benefit from a platform that is suitable for your business. The right platform makes way to manage your CMS smoothly and your site will function perfectly for your customers.
6. Keep It Simple
Flash sites are not the obvious choice if you are looking for SEO and mobile-friendly sites. Although they look great, yet steer clear of them as much as possible. An animated slide show is a far better option than flash if you really want some movement on your site. You can work on matching the color scheme which reflects your brand. The color scheme is quite important in creating a visual appeal for customers. Different colors have the ability to evoke several emotions while customers browse through your site. Avoid anything that’s too bold or overdone. Convey your brand message through a pleasing background and create a lasting impression on your viewers.
7. Install Google Analytics
Make judicial use of Google Analytics to your advantage for assessing your traffic and figure out what is not working for you. Don’t let your fabulous site just simmer away in the background. Use the results to amend, tweak, replace or update your content to match the industry trends and new customers.
Along with traffic assessment, also make sure your site is compatible with various browsers. This will ensure that you have a wider reach and cover all kind of users. It might cost you big time if your site is not reachable to many who use browsers other than yours.
8. Integration with Social Media
Presence on social media is no longer a novelty but rather a necessary requirement. It has become very convenient for businesses to share their information with a wider audience. It is more like modern mouth-of-word advertising for them. Companies lacking in social media presence fail to capture customers beyond a point. Social media has the ability to keep you in the news with your announcements, news releases, product information, and social responsibility initiatives. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn keep your customers in touch with your latest development and builds trust and loyalty.
9. Loading Times
This point doesn’t need elaboration and is self-explanatory. Your site should load within seconds else your customers will move to other sites and you may lose potential business. Test your website ahead of going live for real customers. Periodically assess and evaluate your site’s performance for customer retention. If your site cannot provide the information when a customer needs it, someone else’s site will.
10. Security
Even if you have taken care of all the above points, if your site is not secure, you will lose it all one day. Your site’s integrity is of utmost importance and should not be compromised. With the advancement in technology, cyber threats have also evolved and the risk has increased. Both front-end and back-end should be protected from malware, viruses, hackers and other security breaches.
Hope these pointers will help you in launching your website successfully. However, WebBee Global exactly does what is required to make your website project a success. They will ensure you have time to focus on other areas and leave the e-commerce website development and designing to them. The experienced team of professionals take care of all the features and will give you a finished product in no time.
