When building a new website for your business, it can be easy to get caught up the excitement of getting everything finished and sharing your brand new website with the world. However, in order to set your new site up for success, there should be a good deal of preliminary planning. If you’re going to invest the time and energy into building a new site, be sure to remember these five tips before you begin:
Consider Functionality
Ask yourself what you actually want your site to accomplish. It might seem like a rudimentary question, but it’s an important question that should have a huge impact on how your site is organized and optimized, and which platform you will choose to create it. Are you looking to sell a product directly through your site? You’ll need to choose a platform that seamlessly integrates with a shopping cart. Always consider the end goal when planning your initial site development.
Use Current SEO Strategies
Best Site Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies continually evolve as search engines become more sophisticated, and become more efficient at identifying less-than-ethical SEO practices designed to artificially boost a site’s ranking. Outdated SEO strategies such as keyword stuffing and link building (getting as many links as you possibly can by having unrelated sites link back to you), will no longer get your site the traction you’re looking for. SEO ranking is now largely determined by how good your content is; meaning, it gets good engagement in terms of read time and social sharing.
Write a Blog
On the topic of SEO sharing, your site should have a blog, no matter what your business entails. Blogging generates current, keyword-rich content; this is another major factor that search engines take into place when ranking websites. When done correctly, blogging also gives you the opportunity to strategically connect with potential customers. If you write about topics that customers are looking for information on, they will find your website in search results and view you as an authority in your field.
Optimize Your Site For Social Media and Mobile Devices
Social media is the new SEO; so make sure your site is optimized for social media sharing! This means adding social media links and buttons wherever possible. In addition, many people will probably find your business through searches on their phone; so make sure that your site is optimized for viewing on mobile devices.
Invest in Your Branding
Your branding is the first thing people will see when they visit your site, so make sure that your company logo, photography, and web copy are in tip-top shape. Even if your site is built correctly, people won’t feel compelled to stay if your site is visually unappealing or your copy is lackluster. Building great bones into your website is what will bring people there, but the way you flesh out your site with content is what will keep them there.
If you’re just getting started with developing a new site, these tips should help you build a solid foundation for your business’s online success, and if you already have a site in the works this may give you ideas on how to make some improvements.
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