How To Create The Perfect Website

So you want to build a killer website, huh? Well, you've come to the right place! Creating the perfect website is doable whether you're a business owner, blogger, or someone with something to share. But it's going to take some serious work and know-how.

In this comprehensive guide, I'll walk you through every step of creating a website that looks awesome and just WORKS. From nailing down your purpose and audience, choosing a Hosting plan and builder, designing a stunning visual layout, and driving traffic and conversions – I've got you covered.

Grab a drink, get comfy, and let's dive in!

Define Your Purpose & Audience

Before you even think about colour schemes or fancy animations, you need to get hyper-clear on two things:

1. The purpose of your website
2. Who your ideal audience is

After all, you can't build something great without knowing WHY you're creating it and WHO you're building it for, right?

Your purpose could be anything from selling products or services online to sharing your writing or artwork with the world to providing educational resources on a topic you're passionate about. Get crystal clear on your unique goals and intentions.

Next, create an ideal reader/customer persona. Who are the people you most want to attract and serve with your site? What are their demographics, interests, pain points, and desires? The more specifically you can define and understand your audience, the better you can design and write for them.

Ecommerce Website vs Informational Site?

One key factor that will shape your whole website is whether you plan to sell products/services (ecommerce site) or if your focus is providing free information/content (informational site).

Ecommerce sites need robust shopping cart functionality, secure payment gateways, shipping integrations, and other bells and whistles to support online transactions.

Informational sites are more focused on offering helpful, free content through blog posts, videos, and downloadable guides. The user experience is geared more toward engaging people than making direct sales.

Of course, some sites are a hybrid of ecommerce and informational elements. But it's wise to determine your primary purpose and prioritise functionality based on that.

Choose Your Domain Name & Hosting

Okay, now for some technical nitty gritty! Even in our rapidly advancing age of AI and virtual reality, every website needs:

1. A domain name (e.g. www.myawesomesite.com)
2. A hosting plan to store your site's files and serve it up on the internet

For your domain name, buy something short, catchy, easy to spell and remember, and reflective of your brand/purpose. Your domain registrar is where you'll purchase and manage ownership of your chosen URL.

Popular choices include GoDaddy, NameCheap, Google Domains, etc. You're looking at $10-20 annually to register and renew your domain.

As for web hosting, this allows your site to exist and be accessible online. There are seemingly endless hosting provider options, but a few of the most reputable are Bluehost, SiteGround, GreenGeeks, WPEngine, etc.

Key factors when choosing web hosting include:

• Cost (shared hosting for primary sites can be $5-15/month)
• Features/Limitations
• Server locations
• Guaranteed uptime
• Customer support

Many hosting providers offer free domain registration when you sign up for an annual hosting plan. Two birds, one stone! Shop around, compare user reviews, and choose the best fit for your needs and budget.

A Quick Word on Site Speed & Uptime

We live in an impatient, need-it-now world. Studies show that 53% of website visitors will bail if a site takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Three seconds!

Similarly, downtime is a killer. Even minor blips where your site is inaccessible can mean missed opportunities, lost revenue/engagement, angry users, and damage to your reputation.

Don't cheap out solely based on rock-bottom pricing when evaluating hosting providers and plans. Pay close attention to performance metrics like:

• Promised uptime (99% or higher)
• Built-in caching and CDN integration to maximise site speed
• Server quality and locations
• Ability to use SSDs instead of traditional HDDs

Your hosting is the foundation and core infrastructure that keeps your website running. Prioritise speed, reliability and uptime from the start, or you'll pay the price later.

Choose Your Website Platform

Okay, now the fun begins! It's time to decide which website BUILDER/PLATFORM you'll use to create and manage your site.

There are two main routes you can go:

#1: Website Builder (drag-and-drop, code-free)

#2: Self-Hosted CMS (more code/dev work)

Option 1 – Website Builders

Website builders are your best bet if you have zero coding skills and want to get online FAST. These “hosted” solutions provide a super user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface where you can quickly create pages, add content, tweak designs, configure functionality, and more.

Most are pretty affordable, too, especially for basic websites. You're looking at $10-$50 per month for a solid builder like:

• Wix
• Squarespace
• Weebly
• GoDaddy Website Builder
• iPage Website Builder

The tradeoff with builders is that they have more limitations in functionality, customisation, plugins/integrations, and scalability compared to self-hosted open-source platforms. However, for many websites, their built-in features and ease of use make them an optimal choice.

Option 2 – Self-Hosted CMS

If you want total control, limitless customisation, and the ability to scale your website to the moon as your needs grow, a self-hosted content management system (CMS) like WordPress is hard to beat.

WordPress is free, open-source software you install and manage on your web hosting. From there, you add a Theme to control design, plugins for added functionality, and create pages/posts/products/whatever content you need using their interface.

While there's more of a learning curve versus website builders, WordPress offers unlimited potential to build ANY type of website imaginable. From substantial corporate sites and ecommerce stores to personal blogs, online courses, membership areas – you name it.

Other self-hosted CMS options like Joomla, Drupal and Magento best suit more advanced web developers and enterprises. But WordPress shines for small business sites, content-driven sites, and single-person publishers/bloggers.

Design the Perfect Website

Website design is where the rubber meets the road. This is when you bring your core vision to life visually in a way that both attracts and delights your visitors.

Whichever platform you choose, you'll first need to pick out a theme or template that defines your site's overall aesthetic and layout. Themes are pre-built website designs to which you customise and add your branding, content, styles, and functionality.

Free Theme vs Premium Theme?

If you're on a budget, website builders and open-source CMSs like WordPress offer free theme options that you can use and modify.

But if you want more robust features, unique functionality, and a sleek, professional look – I highly recommend investing in a premium paid theme. Especially for WordPress, premium themes usually range from $50-200, giving you a huge bang.

Look for themes optimised for performance, SEO, responsiveness, ecommerce, and whatever specific needs and goals you have.

Visual Branding and Style Guide

Whether you start with a free theme or a premium, you'll want to create a cohesive visual BRAND for your website. Essential elements to nail down include:

• Logo
• Colour palette
• Typography (brand fonts)
• Images/graphics styles
• Page layouts & UI patterns
• Visual iconography
• Animation & transitions

Create a simple style guide that defines all of these core brand elements. That way, you can apply them consistently across your entire website design for a unified, professional look.

User Experience Design

The most critical element of ANY successful website is user experience (UX) design. You must craft an experience that guides visitors seamlessly through your content while reducing friction and pain points at every turn.

Some fundamental UX principles to focus on:

• Clear calls-to-action
• Fast load times
• Responsive, mobile-friendly experience
• Easy, intuitive navigation
• Clean layout & visual hierarchy
• Engaging, scannable content

Don't underestimate UX! Investing in great UX design can make or break your site's ability to attract, engage and convert visitors. It's that important.

Get feedback on your user flows, layouts, and site interactions early and often during your design phase. The more you can optimise and simplify experiences for visitors, the better.

Create Fresh Content

With your site designed and all the technical underpinnings in place, the next big focus is content creation. After all, compelling content will keep visitors engaged and returning for more.

Whether your site's primary content is a blog, videos, resources, product/service info or something else, you need a clear strategy and process for continually creating and publishing high-quality, fresh content.

Establish a Content Strategy

First, map out all the types of content you'll need to create. This could include things like:

• Service/product pages
• Blog posts
• Lead magnets & downloadables
• Videos & photos
• Site copy & UX writing
• Email opt-in forms & sequences
• Social media content
• ……..and so on

Next, create an editorial calendar to define a realistic cadence and plan for consistently producing each content type you'll need. Plot out topics, formats, promotional channels and more on a timeline.

The key is creating a well-rounded mix of content that serves your audience's needs at all stages – from awareness and engagement to consideration and decision-making to ongoing education and retention.

Tell Stories & Educate

The best content doesn't just sell or spew raw data. It tells fascinating stories and educates in an engaging way.

Share customer success stories, case studies, and interesting anecdotes that resonate emotionally with readers. Better yet, interview happy customers/fans and publish their stories in their own words.

Use examples and illustrative explanations to bring complex topics to life compellingly. People yearn for relevant, practical knowledge they can apply in their own lives. Give it to them!

Also, don't underestimate the power of giving away high-value knowledge and educational resources for free. This establishes your authority and goodwill. Over time, it converts ideal audience members into loyal readers and customers who gladly pay for your premium offerings.

Visuals & Multimedia

Text-only content today is about as engaging as staring at a bare wall. You've got to incorporate lots of visuals and multimedia to capture people's ever-shrinking attention spans and make your content pop.

• Custom graphics & illustrations
• Short videos & animations
• Memes, GIFs & humour
• Charts, graphs & data visualisations
• Screenshots & image galleries
• And any other eye-catching visual assets!

When text and visuals complement each other cohesively, you significantly boost engagement and visitors' ability to understand and remember your teaching.

Marketing & Promotion

Okay, with excellent hosting, a killer website design, and a steady stream of remarkable content, you're almost ready to launch! But no website is an island – without promotion and marketing, no one will ever find or experience all your hard work.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

If your website were a shop in a small rural town, SEO would be your street signs pointing visitors in the right direction. With over 3.5 billion Google searches per day, you simply MUST optimise your website for organic search traffic if you want any hope of being discovered online.

Focus on both technical and on-page SEO:

• Site speed & performance
• Mobile-friendliness
• Keyword strategy
• Page titles & headings
• Meta descriptions
• Image optimisation
• Content quality & depth
• Internal/external linking
• …..and more

SEO is a massively complex topic, but checking the essential on-site boxes above will put you ahead of most websites. Over time, you can dig deeper into off-site link building, local SEO, video optimisation, and advanced tactics.

Social Media Marketing

Creating unique content and resources isn't enough – you need to amplify and promote them through Social Media channels where your target audience is already engaged.

Set up business pages or accounts on relevant platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. Post updates, share content, run ads, host contests and giveaways, engage with your fans/followers and drive them back to your website regularly.

Social media done right complements and supercharges the rest of your marketing and SEO efforts. Use each channel strategically based on your unique business goals, audience, and content.

Email Marketing

One of the highest ROI marketing channels of all? Email! This makes total sense when you think about it – unlike social media feeds or searches, emails hit subscribers' inboxes, i.e. their digital home base.

Create lots of email opportunities opt-in across your website and content, like:

• Sidebar widgets
• Exit-intent pop-ups
• Gated downloadable resources
• Lead capture landing pages

Then nurture your subscribers over time with a mix of:

• Latest blog post/video updates
• Special subscriber-only discounts & offers
• Announcements & news
• Relationship-building storytelling
• Helpful educational series & courses

Most marketers see $38 in revenue for every $1 they invest in email marketing. Those are returns worth capitalising on!

Measure, Analyse & Iterate

Whew! With your website live and promotion in full swing, give yourself a pat on the back. But your work is far from over – the REAL work begins measuring, analysing, and optimising every aspect of your site for even better performance.

Google Analytics

The first (free) tool you need in your arsenal is Google Analytics. Install and configure this bad boy early on to start tracking essential metrics like:

• Traffic sources
• Audience demographics
• Device/browser usage
• Top website content
• Conversion rates
• …and dozens more

Google Analytics gives unparalleled data-driven insights into how people find and engage with your site. Use this data to double down on what works and tweak what doesn't to improve performance!

Running Tests & Experiments

The only other way to truly optimise your website for maximum results is by constantly running A/B tests and experiments on your:

• Design & UX
• Content
• Conversion flows
• Marketing channels & campaigns

There's so much more I could write about split testing and growth marketing, but the fundamental principle is this: Always be questioning, testing, and looking for ways to improve!

Perhaps making a minor tweak to your checkout flow increases sales by 12%. Updating your blog post title templates boosts organic traffic by 8%. Or maybe a redesigned email opt-in form doubles your subscription conversion rate.

You'll never know what works best until you run controlled experiments – don't just make blind guesses or follow outdated “best practices”. Develop a culture of testing, tracking, and relentless optimisation based on cold, complex data.

Final Thoughts

Phew, I told you it'd be a marathon! If you've made it this far, hopefully, you feel way more prepared and confident to build a unique, high-performing website that your audience will love.

Creating the “perfect” site is an ever-evolving process that requires much planning, work, patience, and continuous refinement over time.

But nothing is more exhilarating and rewarding than watching your digital creation grow and thrive! So stick with it, keep learning and improving, and soon, YOU can teach others how to create the perfect website.

Good luck!

FAQs

The post How To Create The Perfect Website is by Stuart Crawford and appeared first on Inkbot Design.