How to Make a Website
Are you looking for a free website builder to create a website? I can teach you how to make a website in 7 simple steps.
Before I can show you those 7 simple steps, I have to make sure you have the right tool box. Many people believe that all website builders are the same, but the truth is quite different.
There are now dozens of website builders who offer free or very inexpensive solutions to build a website. Unfortunately for you and your small business however, not many of them have all the tools you need to be successful built right into one system. Many website building platforms run off of plug-ins, or they require complicated coding to fully achieve minor details. As a small business owner, you simply do not have the time to constantly be fixing your website or recovering from hacks and crashes. You want something that is clean, professional and most of all, easy to use and reliable. No business owner wants to be tied down to an expensive monthly bill just to make simple changes to their web presence. Having the right tool box will ensure your success.
So what do I look for in the "best website builder?"
For me personally, it boils down to two things. The user experience for the website, and the user experience for the content management system and editor.
If the end user of a website cannot easily and successfully navigate the site, then it most likely will not produce good traffic or results. Users will struggle to find the information they are looking for, and will not spend much time going through each page. The average user must be captured in about 3 seconds, so time is of the essence.
Immediately, it must be evident that this is the correct location for the user. They want to know that everything is at their finger tips and that the information is relevant. Being able to convey that message easily on a website is difficult if you don't have the right content management system. Things must be clean, professional, organized and easy to understand.
Working on Content Management Systems can also be a difficult task, if you are not a computer pro or just a general business owner. Where do you start? How do you make simple changes? You can spend hours trying to figure out the basics without ever getting the answer to your questions, but instead only creating more questions.
Are you ready for Calgon to "take you away" yet?
Ok, so now you know what I feel are the most important aspects to look for when evaluating for the best website builder, which one do I think actually hits the mark, and why?
In my professional opinion, WIX is the best Content Management System and Editor for small business owners.
Why?
It is easy to use, easy to learn, robust in it's offering and it has built in tools designed to help you manage and grow your business. You no longer have to get a website, an email client, a video maker, a social media person, etc. You can be your own webmaster, and produce high quality content without having to hire another person, or sometimes an entire staff.
Let me explain...
With the new WIX Ascend tools, you can produce high quality content to help you grow. The email marketing and automation tool allows you to add text, image, video and more to your emails, and you can manage your contact list and inbox easily in the dashboard. You can produce social media marketing posts and videos in just a few minutes and then easily share them to multiple platforms like Facebook and YouTube. Links are made available so you can keep your expansion going and put your content on Google, Pinterest, Reddit and any other platform you can imagine. What took 3 hours to do before can be done in about 30 minutes.
Do you need a way to send proposals and invoices? WIX has it built in.
Do you need a way to chat live with visitors to your site? Wix has it built in.
Do you need a robust blog with strong organic SEO? Wix has it built in.
Forum for discussion? Wix has it. Members only area? Yep. Password protected pages? You betcha... Yeah, but what about code??? Yep, they have Wix Corvid, a robust coding package that allows customization of any WIX Website.
"Top to bottom, WIX has all the nuts and bolts that you will need to build a strong web presence. WIX has a dedicated company and staff that work tirelessly to develop new features and tools on the platform based on direct feedback from every day users like yourself. Unlike WordPress, they are actually a company, and they actually care about your company's success."
So what are those 7 simple steps again?
My offer to help you make your own website required the right tool box correct? Well now that you understand why you need to work on the WIX platform, I can show you the different areas that I see as most important when trying to learn WIX.
Here is what my 7 - One Hour 1-on-1 session course entails.
1. Dashboard Overview - Blog and WIX Stores
Overview of the tabs in the dashboard area. Email, Contacts, WIX Ascend, etc
The Blog and how to use it
WIX Stores, setting up categories, new product
WIX Stores, adding new pages to the website and displaying the proper product
WIX Stores Video Marketing Feature
2. WIX Editor Part 1
Brief Overview - Header Bar, Tools, Save Publish, Gridlines and Page Drop Down Menu
Changing Text Color, Size, Font, etc
Changing Images/Videos already in place
Moving elements up and down the page
What is a Strip and why should we use them?
Handlebars and How to move more than one element at once
Managing Pages
Duplicating Pages
Hiding/Showing Pages
3. WIX Editor Part 2
Adding New Elements to the Website or Webpage
Managing elements such as menu, picture frames, map and App Plug-Ins
4. Email Marketing and Automations
Contact List
Set Subscribers for Blog
Inbox integration to your email/contact on website
Creating automated email responses and triggers
5. Mobile Optimization
Using the mobile editor
Switching between mobile and desktop
Why mobile optimization is last
6. SEO, Google, and Social Media Integration
Learn how to manage your SEO within the website
Integrate Google to your website
SEO/Google Wizard
Keywords and descriptions
How to integrate social media sites to your website
Social sharing icon in SEO area
7. Set up a Google Ad (Google AdWords) Review site, final changes/ Q&A
WoW! That's a lot to take in! No worries. I set this course up at your pace. One hour at a time, I help walk you through the system and make the changes you want to see to your website. Lesson by lesson we #build #your #own #website and gain the knowledge and skills needed to maintain your site by yourself down the road.
For more information on how I can help you build your own website, please check out the other areas of this website at: https://www.webmarkdesignz.com or give us a call at your convenience.