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When people, companies and brands set out to make a website, it's often guided by a ton of misconceptions. Some will think they need to copy whatever is trending in the digital world, regardless of whether it relates to their own mission. Or it could be they feel the need to invest heavily in social media first because "that's what everyone is doing".
The first step must always be to isolate what the actual goal is. What do you want to achieve?
With the examples above, it is unlikely going to help your business by copying the marketing strategy of Uber (unless you are also an app that helps people order a taxi), or by spending hours of time and copious amounts on filmmaking equipment for TikTok, when you have nowhere to send people should they be interested in what you have to offer. That's why choosing to make a website for your business is almost always a great first step, and this should be aligned with your business goals, because everything can branch out from there.
The first rule of great website design - know your goals!
When people ask how to make a website, they are often wanting to know which platform to choose. There are lots out there, with new technology in AI website design looking to become a more popular choice in years to come but the reality is you need to ask yourself a question first: do I want to be the Website Manager?
If you are a smaller business or one-person band, it is likely you are wearing all of the hats under the sun in order to grow your business and make it a success. Website design and SEO in London, are rarely things business owners are skilled in, but it does happen. A good website designer should be a strong asset to your business and someone who can take care of the digital side of things, whilst you focus on the other aspects you have going on. There are many reasons for this but it mainly comes down to time and money. Figure out what your hourly rate of working is and then see if it is better for you to be spending that time on the computer (it is likely going to take you 3 or 4 times longer to complete tasks than a skilled website designer) or to pay someone to make you a website.
A great London website designer will be able to guide you on the best platform to use for your website, depending on your needs.
Where to build your website in London
Once your goal is established, it's probably important you think about the most common "second page" in website design - the About Us page.
Narrowing down your ethos may seem like an impossible or daunting challenge but it is really worth knowing this from the early stages, so you can learn how to make a website that will reflect your brand digitally for years to come.
The website design can then be geared around your brand, for example, if you are a coffee shop selling hot drinks and delicious pastries, you can make yourself stand out from the plentiful supply of other cafes in the area by tieing in your products with your story. Perhaps you use coffee beans from a certain area for a reason or you really try to promote fairtrade products. Almost always, having images of you and your people is going to help do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to making a website. As they say, a picture tells a thousand words, and it can help you see how to make a website that is personal and on brand.
How to make a website that reflects your brand
How you structure your website could impact its success or failure. To use a shop analogy, if you put the checkout in front of the entrance and asked everybody to pay right away, it wouldn't make much sense. The journey that your customer has on the website should be thought out and planned to ensure they get the information they need and are able to engage with you how you'd like them to.
You also need to consider the varying device experience, in that how someone journeys through a website on their laptop is very different to that on their mobile phone. Over time and using your website's traffic data, we are able to improve the user-experience anyway but it is important to know from the get-go how you would like the website's layout to be designed.
How to design your website's layout
Choose the right keywords. When you're first starting out, it's important to choose the right keywords for your website. These are the words and phrases that people are likely to use when searching for information on your topic. You can use a keyword research tool to help you find the right keywords.
Use your keywords throughout your website. Once you've chosen your keywords, you need to use them throughout your website. This includes using them in your website's title, meta descriptions, headers, and throughout your content. You should also use your keywords in your website's URL.
Create high-quality content. The most important factor in SEO is creating high-quality content. This means content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience. When you create high-quality content, people will be more likely to link to your website, which will help to improve your rankings.
Build backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. They are a very important factor in SEO. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in search results. You can build backlinks by guest blogging, participating in social media, and submitting your website to directories.
Optimize your images. Images can be a great way to improve your website's SEO. When you upload images to your website, be sure to include alt text. Alt text is text that describes the image and is used by search engines to index your images.
Keep your website up-to-date. Search engines love fresh content. The more often you update your website with new content, the higher your website will rank in search results.