How to set up a sales-generating website for your business

Are you challenged with your online presence? Well, you are not the only one. Having a website that presents your services in the right light has become critical as it will generate engagement and sales. COVID-19 has made lots of business owners realize that their online presence is mediocre and needs some tune-up.

A solid website not only keeps visitors in, it converts them to customers and drives them back for more. It gives your business a sense of legitimacy, and provides a pleasant buying journey.

It may seem a daunting task to get you on the right track. It's also scary to think of having to invest to get to where you need to be. I understand that, as business owners in times of uncertainty are wary about letting $$$ out. A website however is an investment that, if done well, will bring you returns. It is one element of your marketing mix that you can not leave in the back burner or it will drag you down, with lagging market shares.

But here's the good news! If you have some design skills, you may be able to do some of it by yourself and save you dollars and just hire a professional to put a final touch to sharpen the edges. Here are steps you need to follow to get this done:

Step 1: Branding

Strong branding means having a solid logo, colors and fonts that make you stand our from your competition, but also and most importantly, it means crafting a value proposition that draws your prospects in. It is the foundation to successful marketing and has to be done right. You can use Canva to brainstorm design ideas and come up with powerful branding elements.

Step 2: Web Design

Good web design starts with drafting the journey and experience you want your customers to have on your website. While the end goal should be conversion, whether in getting phone calls or selling a product or service, the experience your visitors have on your site will either keep them in for a while or kick them out after a few seconds, if they don't understand your value within 3 to 5 seconds.

Once the customer journey is well defined, you can start getting into the core of your design, looking for a look and feel that represents well who you are. There are many tools to choose from but here are a few options I recommend:

A)  WordPress.org : Wordpress is the most popular platform as it gives you great flexibility and potential for growth. It is free and highly customizable with the only drawback of needing a learning curve for not being the most user-friendly interface. If you have courage and time, this could be a good option for you.

B) Wix: Wix is an all-in-one platform that gives you the freedom to create, design, manage and develop your web presence exactly the way you want. It is easy to use with lots of beautiful templates organized by industry verticals, and gives you the ability to customize to your branding specifications.

C) Squarespace: Squarespace is another all-in-one website solution that makes the whole setup process as simple as possible. Just like WIX, you could have your site up and running in a couple of days. Keep in mind though that neither WIX nor Squarespace give you the advanced functionality you can get with a custom coded site with Wordpress, but they do allow for plenty of customization of appearance, so you don't need to worry about your website ending up looking like a template.

Step 3: Hosting your web files

Hosting is where all of your files are saved on the web to make your site live on the Internet, and you have a lot of options out there. I have tried many and recommend Siteground  that is affordable but also reliable.

There you are all set to design your beautiful website!

If you don't think you have what it takes, I can help. Just message me here on LinkedIn or send me an email and we will talk. But if you are up to the task, congratulations! I can also provide you with a refined eye to look at your end result before you publish it.

To your creative minds,

Catherine

#websites #webpresence #webdesign #branding #onlinepresence