Growing your website

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Growing your website

So You’ve created a website, it could be a storefront, a blog or even a factual based online magazine, whichever it is you now need to make it a success. Keeping a website up and running need not be hard, but it does require time.  You need to treat it like a business and exhibit the behaviours that breed success. These tips can get you started.

Get The Word Out

The first thing you need to do is get the word out there. You likely know key areas you can advertise in or where you can shout about your website. If you’re a store then solicit reviews, if a blog then get people involved with your posts. The key is content. To begin with, you must have a message worth reading. Not just something you think is great, but what an audience would invest time in. Your page content needs to offer value and it needs to be consistent.  If you want to deviate then build a different page relevant to that content. The more search engines can understand the subject your pages are about, the easier and more appropriately they will be indexed.  Getting the right content means more people will read your website and return to it. Make sure your writing is succinct and that it is accessible for all kinds of readers. This may be time for you to dabble with SEO, but get everything else right first before doing so.

Not Sure Where You Are Going Wrong?

Don’t worry, there’s a tonne of content on the web to help you. However a lot of it is generic and won’t really help you if you have a specific website. To get around this you can have an expert take a look, although some do charge fees for this, but there are some who offer a free digital audit.

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Keep It Secure

Your website is going to do no good if it’s been brought down by hackers. Security needs to be high on your list of priorities. Ensure you keep an offline version which is kept up to date, also, pick a web host that has 24/7 support, because if things go bad you want someone who can help immediately. There are many security tips online for you to have a look at, when you’re first starting out take care of the basics, but if you become a success you may want to pay someone to keep it secure.

Interact with your fans

Make it easy for people to contact you. Be open to some criticism or less than positive comments about your website. Sure some comments will come from negative people but you can also be alerted to bugs and spelling errors and by listening you can improve your website. Just don’t retaliate to angry comments or emails, it’s just a waste of time and after all people are entitled to an opinion.

Make Sure Your Website Is Easy To Navigate

I’ve quit a website because the navigation was just awful. I’ve done it more than once, and i’m sure i’ll do it again. Don’t be one of these websites. Keep it clean and functional, don’t have links built in that don’t need to be there. From your homepage customers or surfers should be able to see exactly where they want to go.