Creating a Website Doesn’t Have to be a Time Killer

With all the free website builder online, it’s safe to say that anyone could build a website…regardless of technical ability.

While you may think you're saving money because you aren’t working with a website designer, you need to account for the time it will take you to implement the 7 basic steps to create a website.

Before you jump into designing your own website let’s summarize those 7 steps.

You can then determine if that’s the best way or if a more personalized and efficient approach is better.

Choose the free website builder you’d like to use.

I’m not going to break down your 4 best options here. They all have a few things in common and then their own functionality that sets them apart.

Visit this article https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/how-to-build-a-website/ for a complete breakdown of the ease of use, value for the money, design flexibility, features, help and support, and customer scores.

Depending on what you want your website to do for you, you may choose one with better e-commerce solutions or one with better blogging formats.

Once you choose a builder you want to pick the right plan.

They may start off as free, but as you add features the price goes up. Make sure the value you receive is worth the cost.

Choosing your domain is next.

If you're working with a marketing consultant, you may have the perfect name for your company selected. When you go to purchase a domain you find the .com version is already taken.

Do you want to go with a .net or a .co, these are questions a consultant can walk you through. Choosing your domain extension is as important as the domain name itself. People have been conditioned to automatically use .com. Anything other than that could be confusing.

Now you're ready to start building and it’s time to choose your template.

Each web builder has special templates specific to their platform. Search through them to find one that fits your company and personality. In some cases, you can choose to change the layout, color scheme and function. In some you can’t. Be sure to find one that fits your business.

Customize your template for your business.

In most cases you can add new pages, change font size and colors, add call to action buttons, and forms and menus. You’ll want to choose images to represent you and your company.

If you’ve never set up a website before, go through the tutorial on the website builder platform. They should walk you through step by step.

When you have your website built, you'll want to test it.

Every detail matters to your customers. Check your spelling and grammar. You don’t want to leave any glaring errors in your content. Do all of your links and buttons work? Make sure everything looks good on a mobile device. Check you page load speed.

If everything looks good, you are ready to go live…or publish your site.

Once you publish, you can always go back an make changes.

However, you then cause maintenance errors to pop up if your customers are searching for you. Be sure to pick the time of day that your website has the least amount of traffic to make big changes.

These steps may not seem daunting and you might think you have time to dive in and create your own website.

Go for it!

To make it even easier, you could have your website built for you with one meeting. At Studio North, building a website is as easy as our initial consultation and any changes you’d like to make along the way.

The nice thing for clients, is I’ve helped them build their websites with their personalized brands since 2012. I can help you show your personality across your colors, images and your website content. If you’d like to learn more about my "One meeting and Done" process, give me a call at 701-595-7300 to discuss your options.