So you want a website..let's do this!
Firstly, I wanna clear the Smoke & Mirrors of Website Building
Building a website is like building a shop but visitors virtually visit rather walk in the door. See the parallels in the steps below:
Plot
- Real World - a bit of land
- Virtual World - a hosting server eg. Namecheap.com
Foundations
- Real World - Ground prep, foundations & framing
- Virtual World - WordPress Content Management System & Plugins to give you a solid platform and functionality you need
Services
- Real World - Plumbing, water & wiring
- Virtual World - cPanel backend, SSL for HTTPS so hackers can't go in and make a mess, Google Analytics so you can see what your visitors are up to etc
Decore
- Real World - Gib Stopping & painting
- Virtual World - a WordPress Theme. I use Thrive Themes because they are great at providing an infrastructure that looks good on desktops and mobiles ie. 'responsive' - this means they respond by restructuring themselves depending on screen size. We customise the Theme using your logo, colours and preferred fonts.
Styling
- Real World - Soft furnishings
- Virtual World - I use Thrive Architect to create attractive pages and blog/vlog posts that don't require you know how to write code
Opening
- Real World - Put up a sign and serve your first customers
- Virtual World - Link your web address/URL/Domain Name (all the same thing) with the IP address of your server (like your virtual phone number)
Admin & Security
- Real World - Put in an monitored alarm system; do your repairs and maintenance
- Virtual World - Keep all your coding up to date so hackers (it's nothing personal it's automated and they are always sniffing around) can't break in and make a mess
Visibility
- Real World - Advertise, change your shop window around...
- Virtual World - Update your content so search engines know you site is active, collect prospects and customer contact details into an email list and send e-newsletters to encourage repeat purchase...
As a website architect and builder I create your online shop front. You may want to take it from there or you may want me to do it. If you are into DIY website maintenance then there are a few skills you need...
DIY Site Maintenance - Admin, Security & Visibility
Steps 7 and 8 are ongoing...forever! Google loves to list up to date website in it's search results and is not so keen on that are neglected. But hackers love neglected websites - it's much easier for them to sneak into an unmaintained site - old code can leave the door wide open. Not cool and very preventable.
Admin & Security
I use a Plugin called 'Wordfence' to help with Admin. It emails me when any code needs updating. Click on the image to learn more.
Visibility
I use a Plugin called 'Thrive Architect' to help you create great looking and mobile responsive pages and blog/vlog posts. Click on the logo to learn more.
When visitors do find your website you want it to look awesome. Imagery is a big part of that.
Click here to learn more.
Another big part of being visible is making sure search engines, like google, can find you.
Contact Suze to discuss your online project
