Have you got what it takes to set up your own website? 

Written on 19 May, 2018 by Jen McKinnon
Categories Web Design & Content

There’s a lot that goes into building a website. While DIY website builders have made it easy to set up your online presence, they may not be for everyone. Aside from the build, you’ll need to consider design, content, not to mention navigation, functionality and mobile responsiveness.

All of these elements take time not only to do, but to learn. Do you have what it takes? Here are the skills you need to launch a website designed to build your online presence and attract your ideal audience.

UX know-how and design

Your website is the digital footprint of your small business. It may be the first impression your brand makes on potential customers. For that very reason, you need a user experience and design that compels website visitors to stay.

DIY website builders may have templates you can choose from but they’re not always designed to convert visitors into leads and customers. High converting websites often lean on the expertise of a UX designer, someone who conducts research and A/B tests to create website pages that aligns with business goals i.e. generate leads and sales.

Once you work out your website’s UX experience, you’ll need to consider design. Because your website is your online storefront, you’ll want to create a design that makes it inviting for visitors. Designers are skilled at knowing which colour palettes and images work best to represent your business.  What they do requires a set of skills including, InDesign, Photoshop and more depending on the complexity of your design.

Coding skills

There are many website building platforms that allow you to simply drag and drop content into an online template but, unless you are a professional web developer, your website will never be specific to your business needs. Professional web design allows you the option to customise the functionality of your website, making it unique to your business.

Those who opt for the DIY approach may also need to use code to ensure their website is mobile friendly. In this day and age, it’s simply not an option to neglect your mobile audience as it makes up over half of web users worldwide. A professionally designed website isn’t just compatible with mobile devices now, it’s adaptable to potential changes in the future. With the web only gaining speed for the rate at which it evolves, it’s integral that your website has the capacity to change with the digital landscape.

The way a site is coded also affects speed and we know the average consumer is highly impatient. If you have installed a plugin on your website incorrectly, it’s likely to slow your website down, causing your precious traffic to bounce off your page back to where they came from. First impressions are everything so, to ensure your site is efficient the safest option to take is to have a professional build it for you.

 

Best practice Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

A website is a great start if you’re looking to build your online presence but you’ll also need to be found on Google. Search engines like Google rank websites based on usefulness to searchers and this is measured using a range of different factors. On-page search engine optimisation (SEO) relates to the content on your website, but there are actually a number of factors to be considered as the website is built. These things include header tags, meta data and URL structure. The ability to stay on top of Google’s ever changing algorithms will ensure your business is found when visitors are searching for your business.

Skills aside, do you have time for trial and error?

Designing a practical, functional and attractive website isn’t an overnight job, especially if it’s your first foray into web development. It takes designers and developers years of training, practice and self-guided study to understand, manipulate and write the scripts necessary when building a website.

In hiring a professional web designer and developer, you save yourself time and hassle; but one thing many people don’t realise is that it also saves you money.

Building a website on a budget may be tempting but if you haven’t considered any of the above, your business might risk losing leads and sales. A website is an investment, a long term asset. Paying for a premium service takes away the endless hours of frustration trying to build a website yourself. It removes the risk of the website breaking and the cost of someone having to fix it down the line.

DIY or Done For You

If you have extensive experience in design, a deep knowledge of web codes and scripts, lots of time on your hands and a solid understanding of SEO, go for it! You’re likely to do just fine building your own website. But if you are not quite sure when it comes to even just one of the above, it’s probably best you don’t give is a red-hot Aussie go.

Skip the hassle and the risk and enlist the help of a professional. At Netregistry, we do it all for you. We’re with you from start to finish to make sure your website becomes something you’re proud of. Chat to one of out Online Solutions Advisors today and get your business online.

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