Whether we are establishing a business, building our personal brand, or merely sharing our thoughts with the world, there are few better practices than establishing a personal page. The internet drives the very world that we live in, offering insight and interaction from one place on the planet all the way to the other. With hundreds of millions of online users strewn about the web, your personal website offers a foundation upon which you can build your base of viewers, develop your brand, and ultimately launch the business that you had hoped for.
In today’s discussion, we are going to narrow down our focus on a handful of steps that must be undertaken when developing a small business website or personal page. These tips will vary based upon your industry, so make sure to adjust where necessary!
1) The Domain Is Everything
Think about your favorite websites, both personal and commercial. What do they all have in common? Probably, most of them feature a domain name that is as memorable as it is unique. Focus on crafting a unique domain name that is memorable and accurate for what you are trying to accomplish. A personal author page might feature a pen name as the URL, as an example.
Focus on a short and punchy domain name that ends in one of the more revered extensions, .com or .org. Skip the use of numbers and avoid hyphens as often as possible. The goal is to craft a name that is easy to memorize so that it can land comfortably within the memories of your potential clients.
2) Find a Scalable and Secure Web Host
Finding a great website host should be one of your first goals after selecting a name. Your web host will be responsible for keeping your website online, so it is important to pick someone with great tech support and solid security. A scalable web host will adjust with your viewership, offering access to your clients and visitors no matter how high traffic numbers may get.
Depending on where you are at with your business or brand, you might be able to save money by signing a longer-term contract with a WebHost. Take some time to look at the most popular industry options. HostGator, Bluehost, and Dreamhost are all viable options for businesses of varying sizes.
3) Engage in Best SEO Practices
Your website won’t simply rise to the top of the search results page just because you built it. Instead, you are going to need to work with a search engine optimization (SEO) expert to maximize the best practices of your page. An SEO expert will help embed the keywords and technical details necessary to get web crawlers to find your page and push it to the top of the search engine.
SEO experts vary based upon industry and business size, so make sure to shop around before building your team. If you have a tact for picking up details quickly, you can even research SEO techniques on your own to help your business.
