Every business needs to have an online presence. This is standard practice today for any company that sells products, but if you aren’t also establishing yourself online to rent out your services or expertise, then you’re wasting your potential. People go online to learn more about businesses all the time, and having an online portal that can keep you updated on things like progress, as well as make it easy for you to review or approve work, can immediately help your business stand out from the competition.
B2B, B2C, NGOs, charities – every organization out there will benefit from a thriving business website, which is why you need this guide to help you pull together the ultimate site for your brand. So, let’s get going!
1. Website Essentials
If you don’t already have a website, then you need to set one up. At a minimum, this means getting a web host, a domain name, a CMS (like WordPress), and a theme. If you want to stand out, or if you need your website to do something unique, you’ll want to bring on a web developer instead of using a theme.
If you already have all of this, then it’s important to double-check your options. If you skimped out previously and you’re using a slow or unsecured hosting service, you’ll want to make the change now. Speed, security, crawlability, and user-friendliness are all going to play a massive part.
2. Put SEO at the Heart of Your Design
When it comes to creating or revamping your website, know that SEO principles are going to be your best friend. Hiring SEO services means getting more than just off-site improvements. Rather, SEO starts on the page with audits, with content improvements, and then that optimized site is integrated into comprehensive SEO and digital marketing strategies. Before you can get to that, however, you’ll want to pay close attention to the SEO recommendations made by your expert. These recommendations do more than make your site more appealing to a search engine; they make it better to use for real people.
3. Make Your Website Accessible
One of the ways that SEO helps the real visitors coming to your website is by helping you make it as accessible as possible. Accessibility and SEO go hand-in-hand, though there are a few design choices that will help take your design further. Using the right fonts, colors, and layout can also help users in ways that don’t immediately help make your site more SE-friendly. Work to make your site accessible so that all users, regardless of what device they use or what disabilities they may have, can seamlessly use your site.
4. Make Content Engaging
Content is king online, but there’s also so much of it. Having a blog on your site is great, but you really need to consider what your customers or clients need and will want to know. You’ll also want to understand how to convey that information best. Using a mix of mediums, from text to infographics to videos, can help improve engagement drastically. It also helps to naturally improve your social media marketing strategy, making it a win-win. Great content boosts your SE ranking and authority, it’s shared and referenced more often, and it boosts engagement.
