These days, if you’re considering starting a business (or many other endeavors), a website is a must. But when you’re bootstrapping, the idea of paying someone else thousands of dollars to develop a website may just be out of reach.
Luckily, it’s easier than ever to set up your own website these days. In this #BloggerGuide, I’ll let you know exactly how you can get all set up.
Choose your platform
When you’re setting up a website, the first step is to choose the platform you’d like. WordPress is the most popular by far, however, there are also options like Drupal, Magento, and Joomla. I personally recommend WordPress since there are so many free resources available to help you set up and get started with your website.
WordPress also has thousands of free themes to choose from- perfect if you’re starting out with a low budget.
Choose your domain name
Your domain name is completely unique, and it allows visitors to find your website. There are a few things to think about when you’re choosing this. Is it relevant to your content? Is it short and easy to remember? Is it an easy domain name to spell?
Make sure that your domain name represents your business or content and will easily stay in your customers’ minds.
Choose hosting
There are thousands of hosts available for your website. Think of this as where your website ‘lives.’ You’ll pay a monthly or annual fee for hosting, and some of the most popular hosting companies include Hostgator, GoDaddy, and BlueHost.
Write Content
When you first launch a business or blog, it may feel like you’re writing content for no one but yourself. But you still need to keep writing. It’s a good idea to create a blog calendar and plan your blog posts for a few months in advance- that way, you won’t need to constantly be thinking about what you should write next. Consistency is key, so make sure you’re writing interesting, helpful, and unique blog posts at least a few times a week while building your audience. If you’re also wanting to look into tools that can help you improve your website, content, and improve your traffic and potential sales/reach then you may want to read into the likes of this Recent survey by whitehat or a similar resource you can find online.
Optimize for SEO
SEO is super important because it helps people find your website, and also allows Google to ‘crawl’ it. There are some great services available if SEO isn’t your strong suit, such as Click Consult which can help you get all set up the right way, streamlining your SEO.
Get Promoting
Now that your blog is all set up, it’s time to start promoting it. Creating your blog and writing content is just the beginning, and you’ll need to spend a lot of time promoting it as well. One great way to do this is to use social media accounts like Twitter and Facebook.
When people do read your posts, you’ll want to turn them from readers into loyal fans. This is a good opportunity for email marketing. You can collect email addresses of your visitors by offering them something they’d like- a magnet. Then, when you have a new post or some big news, you can notify them with an email, drawing them back to your website.
