Building a WordPress Website for Your Business

How to Build a WordPress Website that Will Help Your Business Grow

Building a WordPress website does not have to be intimidating or even a challenge, in fact, it can be fun. Follow the roadmap laid out in this post, and you will not only have your website up and running in no time, but you will learn a lot, and enjoy doing it.

Step 1: Buy a Domain Name

This step sounds easy, but this may be one of the most time-consuming parts of the entire process. Choosing your business’s domain name is extremely important, and you should not take it lightly. You must consider a few things to ensure you pick the best possible domain name, so read on.

What Domain Name Should I Register?
You need to consider four critical things before purchasing your domain name, and we have listed them below. Please take this seriously and do your research before choosing a domain name, or you will certainly regret it later.

We highly recommend registering your domain name with Namecheap (NOT an affiliate link) because we have been using this registrar for many years and have never had any issues.

IS YOUR DOMAIN NAME…

1. The same as your business name?
2. As short a possible, keeping in mind #1?
3. Available on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites?
4. Choose a .com domain, period! No .net, .org, .anything!

The .com thing and keeping your domain name short as short as possible were clear enough that we don’t need to go over those, right? Great, let’s focus on points 1 & 3, so you understand how important they are to your website’s success.

One and three are quite similar in that your business, website, and social media names should all be as similar as possible; in fact, it is best if they are the same. This may not be easy depending on your business’s name, but if you have not registered a business, this is the perfect opportunity to create a business name that can satisfy all three of these points.

We highly recommend finding a business name that is available as a .com domain, and on all of the top social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Depending on your business there will likely be additional social media sites where you should create an account, so take your time and do your research.

For Example

Business Name: My Island Designs

Website: MyIslandDesigns.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myislanddesigns/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/myislanddesigns/

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/myislanddesigns

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-island-designs/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myislanddesigns/

Get the idea?

Step 2: Create a Web Hosting Account

There are hundreds of good web hosts, but we highly recommend selecting a host that offers cPanel and a script installer. cPanel is user-friendly and an excellent tool for managing your hosting account. cPanel is also very widely used and thus well documented, so your questions can be answered with a quick Google, Bing, or Duck Duck Go search.

All web hosts are not equal, and having unlimited storage and bandwidth is insufficient. Far too many hosts put too many users on underpowered servers, making your site load slowly, especially during peak demand, which will cause visitors to back out of your site before it even loads.

We recommend purchasing a mid-tier account at a reputable web host since this should offer the best balance of price and quality. We also recommend upgrading your hosting after you begin making money. If your website is doing well, it will probably receive more traffic, so upgrading your web hosting account can help your business grow.

Ten Things to Consider When Searching for a Web Host

• Uptime guarantee
• Scalability
• Security
• Support
• Pricing
• Performance
• Backup options
• Control panel
• Location
• Customization options

a2 HOSTING

The My Island Designs website is hosted by a2 HOSTING, and we are delighted with their services and support. They offer a good selection of hosting products at great prices, and their shared hosting accounts include cPanel and free SSL.

A2 Web Hosting is fast, dependable, and affordable. They also offer excellent customer service, which is crucial in times of need. The parent company of My Island Designs owns and operates over 100 websites, and A2 Hosting hosts all of them. Visit our WordPress Speed Optimization Services page and scroll down to see how well this site does on the Google PageSpeed Insight test.

Step 3: Find the Perfect WordPress Theme

We will not go into great length on this topic since it was addressed in a previous blog post, so please read our previous post to learn how to pick the Best WordPress Theme. However, please understand people who create WordPress themes need to make a living from the theme, and if they don’t, they will stop maintaining it, and you will need to update your site.

Switching to a new theme can be very difficult, expensive, or take a lot of time, so go with a theme with A LOT OF SALES! Suppose the developer is making money from a WordPress theme. In that case, they have the incentive to keep it updated, which means your site will not only remain secure, but the developer will most likely continue to add new functionality to the theme.

Ten Things to Consider When Searching for a WordPress Theme

1. Responsive design
2. Customization options
3. User-friendly interface
4. Modern design
5. Search engine optimized
6. Cross-browser compatibility
7. Mobile Optimization
8. Regular updates
9. Long-term theme support
10. Plugins compatibility

Step 4: Building a WordPress Website

One of the reasons we recommend purchasing your hosting from a company that offers cPanel and Softaculous is how easy it is to install WordPress. On some hosts, you will need to install WordPress manually by creating a database, downloading WordPress, editing the configuration file to add the database information, and then upload your WordPress files via FTP.

Although this is not hard to do for someone tech-savvy, it represents a steep learning curve for someone who wants a new website up and running and has no interest in learning to do this manually, especially if this is the first and possibly the only site they will create.

One-Click Installs With Softaculous

With Softaculous creating a WordPress site is quite easy; you log in to your cPanel, scroll to the Softaculous section, choose WordPress, and click a button to install it on your domain. Now you can log in to your WordPress dashboard and install a theme, plugins, and start creating your pages and posts.

Softaculous is a program that automates the WordPress installation and configuration process. Using Softaculous, you may install WordPress with a single click, rather than spending time doing it manually. Your website’s launch time will be reduced as a result. As a bonus, Softaculous makes it possible to install and administer many applications for use across several websites from a single administrative interface.

If you’re starting out with your website and don’t have a lot of expertise in keeping it up-to-date and secure, Softaculous can do that for you and automatically create backups of your site with the touch of a button.

WordPress is free, open-source software and can be downloaded directly from their website, where you will also find a list of free themes and plugins you can use on your new site.

Step 5: Add These Essential WordPress Plugins

Depending on the type of website you are creating, your business needs, and the site’s purpose, you may want to add plugins that we have not listed here. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of plugins; it is only meant to be a starting point that will be useful for most websites.

Recommended Plugins

• All-in-One WP Migration: Backup and migration.
• Auto Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (updated: 08-07-2019, we no longer recommend this plugin. Download a free template online and add these pages manually)
• Caldera Forms: Our favorite form builder
• Ninja Forms: Caldera forms was pruchased by Ninja Forms, who has provided a utility to migrate your old forms, which is one of the reasons we are now recommending Ninja Forms.
• Companion Sitemap Generator: XML sitemap generator.
• Duplicate Post: Create new pages by cloning existing pages.
• Duplicator: Backup and migration.
• Blog to Social: Social media auto post.
• UpdraftPlus: Backup/Restore
• W3 Total Cache: WordPress performance.
• Wordfence Security: WordPress security.
• WordPress Importer: A must-have plugin.
• WP Smush: Image optimization.
• Yoast SEO: Search engine optimization.

You may notice there are THREE plugins used for backups and migration. That is because this is one of the most important things to consider when managing your site. In our experience, no plugin is perfect for backing up and restoring a WordPress website, so having multiple options is highly recommended.

There are alternatives for most or all of these plugins, but we have used these plugins together on many of our sites and our clients’ websites, and they play nice together, which is not always the case for WordPress plugins.

Step 6: Get Traffic to Your Site – SEO – Social Media

Learn how to drive traffic to your website by reading our blog article Get Better Rankings. This article goes into detail on achieving higher rankings in major search engines like Google, Bing, and Duck Duck Go. However, there are no shortcuts unless you want to risk being banned at some point in the future. The way to get better rankings is to create a great site that is useful to your target audience and filled with awesome content.

Search Google for almost any topic, and you will see authority sites like Wikipedia rank well for countless keywords. If you want to rank well for your target keywords, you should consider establishing yourself as an authority on that topic. At the very least, you need to build your website with these keywords in mind and create enough high-quality content for the search engines to understand your site’s focus clearly.

Tips for Small Business Owners With Little or No Experience

• Your website’s content, meta tags, and URLs will benefit from your diligent usage of researched keywords.
• Create inbound links to your site from authoritative resources like local and industry-specific websites.
• Improve the site’s loading time and responsiveness on mobile devices.
• Construct and regularly disseminate informative and engaging material.
• Promote your website and interact with readers by posting on social media.
• You can increase your company’s visibility in Google Maps and in Google Search by using Google My Business.
• Make sure your website is organized and simple to use by using a clear header hierarchy and lots of internal links.
• Make sure that both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools have access to your website.
• Make sure search engines can get to and index your website easily.
• Analyze your site’s stats and functionality to find out where you can make changes for the better.

10 Reasons to Seek Professional Assitance

Table of Contents:

1. Reason 1: Expertise and Experience
2. Reason 2: Time Management and Efficiency
3. Reason 3: Improved ROI and Conversion Rates
4. Reason 4: Access to Advanced Tools and Technologies
5. Reason 5: Strategic Planning and Market Analysis
6. Reason 6: Content Creation and Optimization
7. Reason 7: Social Media and Online Presence Management
8. Reason 8: Website Design and User Experience
9. Reason 9: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
10. Reason 10: Monitoring and Analytics

Reason 1: Expertise and Experience

By engaging the services of an agency to manage your website, and digital marketing efforts, you gain access to their wealth of knowledge and proficiency. A team of seasoned professionals has dedicated years to refining their expertise and remain current with the latest industry trends, and you need to keep your online presence competitive and relevant. Leveraging their expertise, they possess the ability to detect and resolve potential issues that may have eluded your attention, thereby mitigating the risk of incurring significant expenses.

Reason 2: Time Management and Efficiency

Managing a business and its internet presence takes time. You can focus on other parts of your organization that require your attention by outsourcing these jobs to pros. By entrusting these tasks to skilled designers, developers, and marketers, you can divert your attention towards other critical aspects of your business that demand your focus. By implementing this solution, you can optimize your daily operations and streamline your marketing strategies for timely and effective execution.

Reason 3: Improved ROI and Conversion Rates

Professional assistance with your online marketing plan might result in increased ROI and conversion rates. A dedicated team of experts possess the skills to effectively identify and engage with the appropriate audience, while crafting persuasive content that drives engagement and conversions. Leverage their expertise to optimize your marketing budget and achieve substantial business growth.

Reason 4: Access to Advanced Tools and Technologies

Digital marketing experts can leverage cutting-edge tools and technologies to augment your marketing endeavors significantly. Leverage the power of analytics platforms and marketing automation software to obtain valuable insights and optimize your marketing campaigns. By utilizing their specialized knowledge and extensive resources, you can maintain a competitive edge and attain superior outcomes.

Reason 5: Strategic Planning and Market Analysis

Professional marketers are skilled at developing strategic plans and conducting market analysis to identify opportunities and challenges in your industry. With their expert guidance, you can develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that is perfectly aligned with your business objectives and effectively targets your desired audience. This tool will assist you in maintaining focus and making well-informed decisions for your marketing endeavors.

Reason 6: Content Creation and Optimization

Compelling content is essential for both engaging and retaining your intended audience. Expert content creators and optimizers are capable of generating compelling and enlightening content that caters to your target audience while also being search engine-friendly. An expert web designer can optimize the content of your website with the right keywords and structure, resulting in higher positions in search engine results pages (SERPs) and more organic traffic to your site.

Reason 7: Social Media and Online Presence Management

Building your audience’s trust and credibility requires careful management of your social media profiles and online reputation. Internet marketers can effectively manage your social media accounts, create engaging content, and monitor online reviews and feedback to address any concerns promptly. By outsourcing these tasks, you can maintain a strong online presence and foster positive relationships with your audience.

Reason 8: Website Design and User Experience

A website that is thoughtfully designed and intuitive to navigate is essential for both capturing and maintaining a steady stream of visitors. Web designers and developers may create a visually appealing and functioning website that meets your audience’s needs. Our experts can optimize your website for mobile devices and speed it up, improving user experience and search engine results.

Reason 9: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is a crucial part of online marketing that can boost your website’s exposure and organic traffic. You may optimize your website and content for search engines by hiring experienced SEO consultants, securing a high ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) and attracting more customers. Search engine optimization experts can help you find and target the right keywords, generate effective links, and follow the latest SEO best practices.

Reason 10: Monitoring and Analytics

It is imperative to monitor and analyze your marketing endeavors to facilitate data-driven decision-making and gauge the efficacy of your campaigns. Experienced marketers are equipped to furnish you with comprehensive reports and valuable insights, enabling you to gain a deeper understanding of your marketing endeavors’ efficacy and pinpoint opportunities for enhancement. By utilizing their specialized knowledge, you can make well-informed modifications to your marketing approach and optimize your return on investment.

Conclusion

Acquiring expert assistance for your business, website, and online marketing is a valuable investment that can yield significant returns in the future. Leveraging their extensive knowledge and proficiency, these skilled professionals can assist you in devising and implementing impactful marketing tactics, enhancing your website and content for optimal performance, and overseeing your digital footprint. By delegating these tasks to external service providers, you can concentrate on expanding your enterprise and attaining your objectives. We recommend taking into account the aforementioned top 10 reasons and making an informed decision to collaborate with seasoned professionals in order to elevate your business to unprecedented levels of success.

Final Thoughts

Give careful thought to each step of this process, and you will save yourself a lot of trouble creating and managing your WordPress website. If this process is too hard or boring, you will most likely not follow the recommendations in this article. Take your time, plan, and enjoy the process of creating your WordPress website. 

Summary

1. Register a Great Domain Name
2. Purchase Hosting with cPanel
3. Find the Perfect WordPress Theme
4. Build Your WordPress Site with One-Click
5. Install Essential and Compatible Plugins
6. Search Engine Optimization