WEB DESIGN HOBART

  Choose a hosting provider Now that you have a domain name, it’s time to find a hosting company for your website. Choosing a hosting provider is important, especially if you plan on conducting business primarily through your website. Websites need storage space for files, images and content. Where is it stored? Web hosting provides a physical location for your website content. For this reason, it’s important to look for a hosting provider that offers enough bandwidth for the site traffic you anticipate receiving. If you plan on starting small, look for a plan with upgraded options that you can select at any time to boost your bandwidth. Security is also a concern when choosing a web host. If you want to keep your site secure and handle minimal updates on your own, select a hosting service that handles routine web maintenance and offers security features like an SSL certificate, which will ensure users are protected when accessing your business website. It’s important to research web hosting providers, as your website’s needs might be unique. When choosing a hosting provider, consider the amount of storage you need, the guaranteed uptime and budget.

  While there are many web hosting companies, here are some popular hosting providers: HostGator: Easy, moderately priced and unmetered bandwidth with the option to use their website building tools Bluehost: Fast, reliable hosting solutions with advanced security add-on options GoDaddy: Offers a variety of hosting solutions for as low as $1 Hostinger: Fast and scalable hosting options starting at less than $2 a month DreamHost: Affordable, customizable hosting solutions ‍ Pick a website builder Now, you’re ready to select a website builder. There are many user-friendly platforms, so you’ll need to keep your function and website design concepts in mind when choosing a platform. Here are a few attributes to consider when selecting a website builder: Customization options: If you like to change your design often, you’ll need a website builder that is easy to change and customize. Finding a website builder with a lot of templates can help you redo the look and feel of your site without much overhaul. The good news is that you don’t have to know a thing about front-end development for different platforms—you can find a skilled web designer or web developer on a platform like .

  Features: If you’re building a blog or portfolio site, make sure you find a website platform that offers easy-to-use portfolio and blog post options or widgets. If you’ll be adding videos to your website, find a web builder that makes it easy to add video code to your site. Lastly, if you want to sell products, pick a site that makes it easy to conduct online sales, like WooCommerce or Shopify. Usability: No matter your experience with website platforms, make sure you find a website builder that’s easy to use and update. Many builders offer free trials, so you can poke around and begin building, allowing you to find the most intuitive interface. SEO practices: Making a website is only half the battle—you also need to draw traffic to your site. It’s important to find a site that makes it easy to incorporate SEO tools, from meta descriptions and titles to keywords and tags. Price: Luckily, most website platforms are similarly priced or have free trial options, but remember to keep the monthly or yearly cost in mind when selecting a platform. Knowing the basics about website builders is a good start, but how do you choose one for your new website? Determine your goals. For example, if you’re a designer wanting to display your projects, choosing a website builder that is customizable might be your best option. On the other hand, if you run a jewelry business, you may want to look into a site with good e-commerce options and one-click shopping. Here’s a quick glance at popular website builders: Wix: Wix is a website builder designed for those who crave freedom. They offer a free website option with add-ons or other paid options. With the help of an automatic website creator, it’s much easier to use than other options. If you use Wix, you’ll need to take a more hands-on approach, though, as the platform is less structured than other options. Whether you’re into blogging, social media or design, Wix provides the perfect space to share your work.

  Squarespace: Although not as intuitive as other website builders, Squarespace offers several add-ons, templates and tools. Plus, your website will always be optimized for mobile devices. This website builder is best for e-commerce and small businesses with lower transaction rates. Weebly: For those wanting an easy-to-use website editor, Weebly might be the perfect option. However, it might be limiting to those wanting to heavily personalize their website since they have fewer add-on and customization options. WordPress: We’re referring to WordPress.com, which is easier to use than WordPress.org, which is an open-source software, which can take some time to learn. A WordPress site is best for bloggers and writers, as the website editor is more limited in terms of design but can be very easy to start using. Shopify: This user-friendly website builder option is best for e-commerce stores. The platform was designed with product and sales descriptions in mind. Because of this, Shopify’s website set up process helps ensure you don’t miss any essential e-commerce-related steps. Select a website theme Now, it’s time to consider your website’s theme. This process can feel a bit overwhelming since many web platforms offer so many options. Here are some key components to keep in mind when choosing a theme:

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  Look and feel: This is the most important aspect to consider. Finding a theme that matches your website design vision is important. But don’t just fall in love with a design and select it—do your research. You’ll also want to check the theme details to make sure key areas are easily updatable so that you can customize them for your website. Popularity: You may decide you want a theme that no other sites are using. However, if you will need assistance with web development, you’ll want to find themes popularly used by developers. A good web developer can easily tweak your look and feel to make any theme feel like your own. Keep in mind that you’ll have more options when choosing independent web talent if you opt for a theme that’s more well-known or widely used. Responsiveness: These days, finding a responsive theme isn’t optional. With so many people viewing websites regularly from mobile devices, it’s important to find a website theme that’s not only responsive but also allows you to edit your settings to customize better how pages will look on certain devices and screen sizes.‍ Additional plug-ins, extensions and apps: Some plug-ins work better with certain themes. If you already know of plug-ins, extensions or apps you’d like to use, make sure they’re compatible with the theme you choose. While a DIY approach to website building might work for some, not everyone has the time, artistic eye or expertise to pull it off. Engaging an independent professional can help you build a professional website that meets your business needs. For example, an independent web designer can bring your ideas to light while also offering a unique perspective regarding website needs, usability, font type and size, website load speed, etc.

  There’s a lot to say about getting the professional-looking website of your dreams. With , you can find experienced web designers offering hourly pricing within your range. ‍ Plan and produce page content Remember the sitemap you started building in step one? You’re ready to put it to full use. You’ll want to lock down every page you’ll need on your site and decide which content will be placed on your homepage, which pages fall into the navigation menu, and which should only be accessed through links and buttons across your website. Once you have your final page list, it’s time to determine how each page should look and the content you’ll need. If you already have some designs or content to use, great! If you need more, you don’t have to go through the process alone. Create a content plan (such as coming up with a few blog ideas to start with) and work with independent designers and/or writers on to fully flesh out each webpage. Just be mindful of including keywords in your website’s content. When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), keywords can be as little as one word or a longer phrase. Either way, keywords alert search engines (e.g., Google) to what your page is about. Using targeted keywords can increase organic search traffic to your website, increasing brand awareness and converting potential customers.

  Add functionality for your business You’re ready to add extra functionality to your website to enhance user experience further. Here are a few options to get started with: Scheduling apps: Do you want users to be able to set appointments? Integrating scheduling apps like Calendly or Square Appointments would be your next step. Look for the app you’d like to use and make sure it’s added to the correct pages on your website. Media plug-ins: Will you be hosting a large number of pictures or videos on your website? Media plug-ins can help you better organize and store this content, enhance the way it looks on your website, and offer you more robust storage options. E-commerce integrations: Do you need to be able to conduct sales on an online store? If you didn’t select an e-commerce platform, you might need to consider integration with a tool that can accept payments on your behalf. You can keep this simple with PayPal or Venmo integrations or build more professional stores using WooCommerce, Shopify or BigCommerce. Account creation tools: If you want users to log into your site to gain access to specific content or shopping tools, you’ll want to secure a plug-in or app that offers protected user accounts. Security apps: Keeping your information secure, particularly if you’re saving customer data like credit cards and passwords, is critical. These are just a few additional plug-ins and tools to consider. Do some research on your niche to find more that are well-suited to your industry or connect with an web developer to discover other recommended tools.

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  1 Business Hours If you have a physical storefront, or if you’re only reachable at certain times, include this on your about page. Having hours clearly listed helps people know when you’re more likely to answer their calls or process returns. 1 Contact Info Contact information gives users a way to get in touch with you. Include a phone number and potentially a support or informational email address on your about page. This way, anyone who has further questions or who is experiencing issues with your product or service can make contact quickly. 1 Contact Form A contact form is another way of making your company available to users. Contact forms gather an individual’s information while giving them a message box where they can voice their concerns. 1 Biography A biography for your organization and its founders helps visitors better understand who they are doing business with. People love familiarity and feeling good about where they invest their time and money. A company bio can brighten up your about page with some storytelling and personal anecdotes.

  Other Inner Page Features for Your Business Website The other internal links on your site will vary largely depending on what you’re selling and what tactics you enact to drive traffic. Below are some examples of internal pages and the types of features you’d need to include in a website update to make them successful and navigable. 20. Team/Careers A team and/or careers page is a marketing tool to show visitors who works at your company, what they’re interested in, and who you could work with if you were also to apply. 2 Teams and Employees Employee pages are often sorted according to who does what, meaning they’re listed in terms of who works in marketing, sales, research, etc. These pages include headshots or other team photos, with the employees’ names and titles. Teams will vary depending on how your organization is broken up and what teams you have.

  team-page-features 2 Employee Bios Team biographies show the diversity of your organization in regards to their interests, backgrounds, and modes of thought. Including short bios for employees gives everyone a chance to make their own personal impression on the people coming to your site. 2 Media A lot of companies will include a video component to their team or careers page that includes interviews with real employees. This serves as great marketing collateral for when your company goes on a hiring spree. Video components also improve SERP rankings. 2 Feature Page If you’re a SaaS company, you’ll likely want to include a features page to show visitors how you stand out against your competitors. features-website-page 2 Functionality This is, quite literally, just a list of features your product has. What can it accomplish for other professionals? Be sure to organize features according to the specific categories they fall under. If your software product can update and organize customer contact information, list that under a contact management category.

  2 Integrations Users are always wondering if a certain software tool is compatible with something they already use. Including integrations on the features page is a good way to address these questions early, as well as increase traffic to your website by including the names of popular tools. 2 Case Studies Case studies allow visitors to explore how your product or service has benefited the customers before them. Case studies are unbiased and have the data to back up the claims. Learn how to write a case study to help convert your business website's visitors into qualified leads. 2 Blog Blogs are great for any organization wishing to bring traffic to its site through unique content, or wishing to provide regular updates through published posts. Even if you’re not particularly a blogger, having a blog on your site can still gather attention. blog-features 2 Organization Blogs can be organized in a number of ways, but it matters that they are organized. Readers and visitors should have a clear understanding of how your blog is broken out and how they can find the content most relevant to their interests. \

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 30. Blog Search Function We spoke earlier about having a search bar located on every page, but having one on your blog page is perhaps the most pertinent, as matching keywords can lead your visitors to locate content. 3 Author Pages Readers occasionally want to know more about the professionals writing blog posts. By adding a hyperlink to blog bylines, you can navigate readers toward that employees’ bio. This creates familiarity with certain writers, potentially encouraging readers to return specifically for their content. These also can establish credibility for authors with relevant experience. 3 Comments Blogs are meant to be conversation starters, are they not? Including a comments section after blogs allows readers to participate in a forum-like discussion that shows how engaging your content is. 3 Blog Internal Links If a visitor is interested in your blog, it’s possible they would be interested in a different blog of similar devices. Take this opportunity to include a bar or list of recommended content that could potentially keep them on your site for longer. 3 Knowledge Base or FAQ These pages help visitors find answers to questions that have been asked before. This reduces your team’s need to respond to the same questions repeatedly, and also makes visitors feel more self-sufficient.

 faq-features 3 Questions and Answers Questions are the building blocks of a forum. Once questions are asked, other people can start to offer up their answers and truly begin a community of shared knowledge. Organize the questions and answers of your forum or FAQ by topic, much like you organized your blog. As with the blog, make these questions searchable. 3 Documents and Guides Every company has set guides and processes, and customers benefit from that documentation as well. Consider making customer-facing documentation and making that available in your knowledge base. 3 Infographics Infographics explain a big concept in a small picture. If your company has infographics that explain processes or data, make that available through the knowledge base. A Business Website's Back-End Functionalities

 Everything we’ve discussed so far has been customer-facing, which is helpful in creating a wonderful user experience. But what are some of the elements you should consider on your end, in the control room? We’ve certainly gone more in-depth on this topic in the business website ultimate guide. But for those of you just looking for a quick checklist of things to consider, the following will get you off to a good start. 3 CMS Tool A content management system (CMS) helps organize and retain all of the content that is on your website. Even if you take a post down after its related event or holiday, you can store it within the CMS should it be needed again later. Many CMS platforms have hundreds of customizable add-ons for any use case. For example there are countless popular Wordpress plugins for e-commerce stores. 3 SEO/Optimization Tool SEO software tools help you word content in such a way that it attracts the most visitors possible. Keyword optimization helps you utilize the words other people are searching so as to lead them directly to your website. 40. Site Analytics Analytics tools help you understand who is coming to your site and how much time they’re spending on it. This kind of insight is great for analyzing the effectiveness of certain pages or content for the purpose of changing failing strategies. 4 Website Hosting Similar to a domain name, websites cannot function without a host. If you’re using a website builder, you won't need to worry about a web hosting provider as your site is probably hosted through them, and you don’t have to worry about finding a host externally. 4 Content Descriptions

 On the back-end, your website should offer you the option of adding meta descriptions to content and updating its title. This is useful for improving SEO, as adding in certain words in the meta description will make your site appear in certain searches. Avoid These Features on Your Company Website Among multiple sources, a few things are clear: Do not upload video content directly to your site, as it increases the likelihood of error. Instead, use video hosting websites, such as YouTube, and embed the video to your site. Auto-playing videos is also bothersome to some. Avoid using elements that require Adobe Flash Player, as not every visitor is able or willing to download the corresponding software. Stay away from background music. Many consider it bothersome to forcibly listen to music they did not choose. Next Steps for Your Business Website There are certainly more elements to consider, but there’s no need to bog you down as you’re just getting set up. The aforementioned thoughts and advice should get you started on what we hope will turn into a beautiful, functional and successful website. You can then begin to consider web design trends and overall user experience to breathe life into your business website's essential features.