This is the 21st century, you’re either online, or you’re out of business.
According to a report by clutch.co, as of 2016, about 46% of small business do not have a website, 24% plan to set up a website in the future, while only 12% haven’t indicated any interest in setting up a website. The bad news is, if you are part of this 12%, you have condemned yourself to perpetual obscurity.
According to Robert Greene, the famous author of the 48 laws of power, “What is not seen does not exist.”
Businesses spend billions of dollars on promotions, marketing, and adverts, why are you doing the exact opposite?
Well, if you don’t have a website in this age and era, then you’re not prepared to succeed.
While the idea of building a website is appealing, the results may not come if you take wrong uninformed decisions.
There are a number of factors that will determine if your website will be a success or not, and while you may expect your developer to tell you the whole truth, he/she may not, in a bid to cut corners.
In this guide, I will reveal to you what you need for your website to be a hit and massive success.
When you want to start a website, it is important to get a good web designer, it is also important to know the basics so you won’t be ripped off –very important.
Aside from a cheap shared hosting, what else do you need for your website?
Well, this is an oversimplified post of what you need to get the best website that will boost your business.
1. Domain name
A domain name is an address with which visitors can locate your site. For instance, the domain name for this site is inspiredfully.com, the domain name for Facebook is facebook.com, and the name Google is google.com.
Domain names come in different extensions, and you must consider the extension before registering it. There are the .com, .net, .org, etc. extensions. There are also country specific extensions like .US, .co.uk, .TK, .co.za, .Ng, etc.
These extensions slightly play a role in how well your site performs. If for instance, you use a .co.uk extension, you’re telling Google (and other search engines) that your site is majorly serving those in the UK, and your content is given priority within that UK –sounds good, isn’t it –hold on. When people search from the United States, those sites in the United States are given priority over your’s –domiciling in the UK. However, if you use a generic extension, like .com, .net, .org, etc. you’re simply telling the search engines that your content is global.
I register my domain names with Namecheap by the way.
2. Choosing the best shared hosting for beginners
Selecting the best shared hosting for beginners can be tricky. Prior to now, it has been a thing of trial and error. Many businesses have shut down their internet platforms due to the fact that their web hosts have been a pain in the neck.
Web hosts over promise and under deliver, causing more harm than good. SEO, as we know, is a very important aspect of succeeding online. If your site is slow, unresponsive, always experiencing downtime, probably because you used a low cost WordPress hosting, you’re shooting yourself in the foot in terms of SEO, although, the best shared hosting doesn’t have to be expensive.
While it was a case of trial and error –choosing the best shared hosting, there is a tool you can now use to determine which is the best shared hosting you can use for your website.
The good thing is that the tool is easy to use and straight to the point. To check which is the best shared hosting, use hrank.com.
What is Hrank?
Hrank is a shared hosting checker, which crawls and analyzes shared hosting providers regularly and ranks them in terms of uptime, and other important metrics.
Hrank is an independent organization who gathers information from thousands of websites offering an expensive or cheap shared hosting or any form of shared hosting etc. and arrange them in a way that you’d know what to expect from the shared hosting providers.
With hrank, you rest assured that the several providers of cheap shared hosting will no longer be able to rip you off, with the promise of unlimited web hosting, while your disk space is capped ridiculously low.
3. Themes and plugins
The theme you use on your website will determine the structure of the site. You or your web designer can purchase a premium theme from ThemeForest or the numerous premium theme providers out there. The theme must be related to the idea of your website, for instance, you don’t want to buy a medical theme for your legal website.
Plugins are extensions which add extra functionalities to your site.
There are plugins you can’t do without –like the Yoast plugin (for SEO), although some developers prefer the “All in one SEO” plugin. Your designer should explain to you which is best for your project, however, if you ask me, Yoast is preferable.
4. Marketing
Now that your website is set up, you need to start promotions. This is how you get customers to your website. It is assumed you got the best shared hosting, but even with your cheap shared hosting, you need to get a return on your investment. And this is only possible if you market your business or website.
The first thing you need to do is get an email service provider. There are numerous options to choose from, but currently, I use SendPulse.
The idea is simple, collect as many emails as possible, then send them emails giving them help an assistance, tips, information, etc. and mix them with offers.
You can also run Facebook ads. This is a very cheap way of reaching your target audience who are on Facebook and their partner networks.
What is not seen does not exist –Robert Greene (48 laws of power)
There are other marketing or advertising platforms, like Twitter, AdWords, StumbleUpon, etc. although Facebook remains the cheapest, you can explore these options to learn which works best for you.
5. Smile to the bank
If after getting your cheap shared hosting, domains, and marketing your site, you still are not smiling to the bank, then there is a problem. It is very important your website boosts your sales and improve your business.
If these steps or tips feels overwhelming, you may contact us to help you set up and probably maintain your website.
The Inspiredfully team has been handling projects for businesses and individuals around the world. We are borderless and are not restricted by any anything, we can help in designing your WordPress website, write your content, do SEO and strategically marketing your business.
Don’t just waste your time without getting results, contact us today.
Which of the steps listed above have you found challenging? Is getting the best shared hosting a challenge for you? Do you have trouble pointing your domain to your host?
Whatever it is, we’re glad to help, use the comment box below to air your views.
