If you’ve been thinking about how to build your own website but you’re not quite sure how to go about it, then you should probably read this blog. I’m going to outline some of the key things you need to think about so that you don’t experience any of these common mistakes:
- Buying a domain but no hosting
- Building a website that doesn’t perform because you haven’t considered SEO
- Going to your mates, brother’s cousin for a freebie
- Investing in a web builder but not knowing how to use it
- Building something average because you don’t know what you’re doing
- Having a website that doesn’t “feel like you” because you’ve not defined your brand
- A website that never gets finished because you don’t know what you want to write
Let’s take a look at each of these challenges and what you can do about them.
1. Buying a domain but no hosting
If you’ve started your own business, you’ll know that one of the first milestones is deciding on your business name. In a sort of ceremonial baptism of your business, you go headlong into buying your first domain. The problem with this however, is that you might have missed out on the opportunity to set yourself up properly online.
Firstly, you may have missed out on getting your domain free of charge – if you go on to buy hosting for a website, hosting companies usually throw your domain name in for free – and secondly, you may have missed the chance to choose a domain featuring your favoured keyword.
When you explore how to build your own website, it’s important to slow down and think things through properly, before you go off buying up domains.
So what is a domain?
A domain is like your street address. It’s where Google sends your audience when they want to find you. Metaphorically speaking, you need a plot of land (hosting server space) so you can build your house (your website) on it. There are a lot of companies who sell server space, you pay this monthly or annually and, for as long as you do this, your website has a home.
There are two main ways you can buy server space – you buy a hosting package from companies like IONOS.co.uk who sell you the space and you install your platform onto it (usually WordPress), and there are companies like wix.com , squarespace.com and pagio.co.uk who include their own site builder platform and hosting together in one package so no extra installation is needed.
This can be a good option if you’re looking to build your own website, but there are some advantages and disadvantages to both options, which you will find in this blog.
What does apply to both options however, is the need to think about SEO before you pick your domain.
2. Having a website without considering SEO
So what is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, which is about optimising your website so that the search engines will find it easily. We learn exactly what the search engines are looking for and give them exactly what they want. If you don’t take this into account before you build your own website, you might end up with one that looks great, but is nowhere to be seen on Google.
Thinking about SEO from the outset, is a lot easier than trying to shoehorn the keywords into your website at a later date. So how does SEO work?
The fundamentals of search
A user comes along and types a keyword or key-phrase into the search box. This triggers the search engine to go scouring the internet for every eventuality of that search term. The bot has to judge the content it finds and return it back to the user in a way that provides them with the best answer. The bots judge the content based on how well it answers the search query, how well regarded the website is (is it from a credible source?) and how good the experience will be for the user if they should go and take a look.
These three things are a key part of optimising your website and here’s how should you start:
First steps of optimising your website
Think about keywords
If you are a total newbie to SEO, just have a think about the words your audience might put into Google to find you. What would you like to show up for? This, aside from anything else, is a great place to start. Your best guess is better than nothing and no-one knows your business quite like you do. Try and avoid things like buzz words and language that maybe you would use but your customer might not. Sometimes they don’t know what they are looking for, so try to be as objective as you can.
Make a list of the keywords, phrases, search terms that you would like your website to be found for. Ideally, attribute one keyword or phrase to each page of your website. For example, I would like to be found for ‘marketing strategy’, ‘social media marketing’, ‘web design’, and so creating a page for each of these keywords, would work for me. They form part of my service offering and are a core part of the navigation.
Think about your domain
Your domain is as much a part of your content as anything else on your website. It’s something that will come up on every single webpage, so why not make it do some of the work for you. If you can incorporate your go-to keyword in your domain name, it boosts your chances of Google picking you up organically.
For example, if my business was called “Precision Investment Castings”, and I wanted to be found for ‘castings’ or ‘investment castings’, would PIC.co.uk or precisioninvestmentcastings.co.uk be the better choice of domain?
From a pure search engine point of view, the latter would serve the company better, but in this instance the character length makes it counter productive and, since domains are often used as email address endings, they would need to pick something that was a better compromise. Something like PI-Castings.co.uk might work well, since they would still have a keyword in their URL but it is shorter in length which allows them to keep things clear, memorable and is easier to use.
3. Going to your mates, brother’s cousin for your website
I get it, you’re a start-up, you probably haven’t got the money to invest in a web designer, so when you get an offer from your mate’s, brother’s cousin to ‘knock you one up’ for free, then why wouldn’t you take them up on it. I get it, I really do, but unfortunately, unless they are a professional web designer or marketer, the chances are they’re probably not going to give you the right level of thought. Yes it’ll probably look ok, but I guarantee that you’ll be coming back to it in a year from now, realising you’ve wasted so much time.
If you did go to your mates, brother’s cousin for your website, make sure that they connect you to Google and leave you with all the right log-in details, passwords and admin control for the future.
4. Investing in a web builder tool but you’ve got no idea how to use it.
Starting out with a web builder like WIX is absolutely fine, it does a great job of helping you build your own website. With out-of-the-box templates, loads of great add-ons, it will take you seamlessly through the process and get you a website live on the internet. It handles SEO and even email marketing, but unless you know how to work the system, you’ll likely end up wondering what you did wrong, or worse, throwing your laptop out of the window.
How can you build your own website with WIX (and every other web builder)?
Setting up WIX, or something similar, is usually a really easy process, with a plethora of ‘wizards’, you can be up and running in no time at all. Sometimes however, things don’t go exactly as you planned. Maybe your self built website doesn’t quite look how you want, or it didn’t convert to mobile very well, whatever the problem is, there are some fundamental web design principles you can adopt to help you work with the builder, rather than against it.
Design in rows
When you’re working with ‘drag and drop’ site builders, the sections of your website are designed to move up, down, left & right very easily. When you start to customise (or try to customise) spacing, that is when you run into problems.
Think of your website like a ladder, and section by section you cover something different.
- Rung one – Navigation bar
- Rung two – Header image
- Rung three – Welcome message
- Rung four – Product/service overview
- Rung five – Social proof/testimonials/portfolio
- Rung six – Call to action
- Rung seven – Footer
If you keep each of these things in their own section or strip, when you move them around, you can move them up or down as you please.
Design in columns
Most websites would look weird if they just had text the whole way across the page. Best practice is to use at least 2 columns – one for text and one for an image. It is usually best to alternate images on the left or right so that you don’t end up with all the images down one side and looking a little lopsided.
What to look out for in a web builder
If you’re going to choose a web builder tool to help you build your own website, be on the lookout for one with integrated SEO. At a bare minimum, being able to enter things like the meta description, SEO title and selected keyword will help you get your website off to a good start.
They also have email marketing or social media integration which means that you can add things like email subscription sign ups or social media feeds.
Some web builder tools can also double as a basic customer database if you haven’t already got one.
If you’d like any pointers on how to set any of this up, get in touch.
But what about WordPress instead of a site builder?
Everything I’ve just described in the section above, can also be achieved with WordPress. WordPress is one of the most common website building platforms, or “Content Management Systems”, on the planet, which means you will have no trouble finding someone to help you. If you are thinking about having a WordPress website, I would recommend an initial consultation to discuss your IT set up.
Once your WordPress platform is set up with your hosting company of choice, I use a series of third party apps called ‘Plug-ins’ that provide any additional functionality you need. Some of my ‘go-to’ plug-ins are:
- Divi Theme Builder – this provides the ability to ‘drag & drop’ and build/design websites easily and offers built in functionality like social media integration & google maps integration
- Google Site Kit – this connects the site with Google Analytics and Google Search Console and enables us to track visits from the WordPress dashboard
- Rank Math – this initiates the indexing of a website with Google and handles all the SEO elements
- Cookie Yes – this provides a cookie opt in
- Mailchimp – this provides an email marketing module that can integrate with the website
- Woo Commerce – this enables a shop to be built on the site and e-commerce integration
There are literally thousands of plug-ins for WordPress websites, each offering a different user experience or function, whatever you need “there’s a plug-in for that.”
The benefit of using WordPress to build your own website, alongside the fact it is massively supported all over the world, is that it offers an advanced aesthetic ‘look and feel’, with thousands of pre-designed templates available to buy and implement. In this way you can get an amazing looking website, fairly quickly and cheaply.
5. Designing a website that’s distinctly average because you don’t know what you’re doing
Without knowing how to properly leverage site builder tools, you might find yourself feeling less than happy with the results of your DIY website. What happens when you don’t love something? You lose interest in it, you stop paying attention to it and eventually it fades into the distance. Why would you want that to happen to your own businesses website?
Short answer, you wouldn’t! Especially not when there are some really simple things you could do to breathe new life into your website:
- Add colour – use different colours on your section/strip backgrounds to break up the monotony, but be careful not to create a stripy looking website, keep it subtle.
- Invest in photography – images can make or break a website, so why not invest in a decent photographer to add value to your website
- Invest in illustration – if you’re not feeling the photographic route, maybe an illustrator could knock up some nice icons & graphics for you to add colour and personality
- Add movement – you’re not wanting to turn your website into a PowerPoint presentation, but occasional movement is not a bad thing. Sliders and animation are good to draw the eye to things you want people to see, but use it sparingly because it can sometimes slow down your website too
- Add depth – shadows are a good way to add some depth to your web design, but use sparingly and subtly, almost invisible shading behind images
- Use imagery consistently – if your products are sometimes on a white background, then ALWAYS use a white background, if they show up on a coloured background then ALWAYS use a coloured background. If some images have a filter, then apply the same filter to all the images. Be consistent with image styling
6. Having a website that doesn’t “feel like me”
Guess what, if you went to your mates, brother’s cousin for help with your website, you might well end up with a website that doesn’t “feel like you”, but what does that even mean? I interpret this to mean that the words, the design and the messaging just don’t feel like you would say them or that they’re not what you want someone to think of you.
If you find yourself in this position, the chances are that you probably didn’t define what ‘you’ felt like in the first place.
The difference between your mates, brother’s cousin and myself is, that I spend time defining the essence of ‘you’. I run a brand workshop before building any of my clients’ websites, which helps to uncover their brand’s personality – in the written and visual sense. The workshop covers things like:
- Your personal or business values – We do some basic colour research to look for colours that represent your values, what colour is synonymous with ‘integrity’ ‘honesty’ etc, whatever you feel your values are, we find the colours that connect with those words.
- We head to coolors.co to have a look at complementary colour palettes – using the colours we’ve found in our research, we work with a colour wheel to select some complementary colours.
- We establish the key messages that you want your website to have so that your visitors are clear about what you do.
This, along with some of the tips from point five, allows us to build a website that feels more like the brand you are. Find out more about the brand workshop here.
7. Stuck with a website that’s still not finished
The problem with a cheap web designer, or when you build your own website, is the probability that you could go months and it still not be finished.
Not all web designers are created equal, some will provide the copy for you, like I do, whilst some will provide just the design and build elements and leave you to provide the copy.
If you are doing the copy yourself, you might struggle with creativity, with writing or with ‘blowing your own trumpet’ which makes hiring a copywriter an invaluable part of this process.
Many web designers and agencies don’t provide copy with their websites. If you’re a confident writer you can of course save yourself some money by writing the content yourself, but either way, just make sure you know who’s doing it, before you part with any money.
Final thoughts about how to build your own website…
Building your own website can be a great way to establish your online presence, but it’s not without its challenges. From navigating the technical side of domains and hosting to ensuring your website is optimised for SEO, there’s a lot to think about. Whether you choose a web builder or WordPress, remember to focus on your brand’s identity and invest in quality content and design that will make your website a true reflection of your business.
As a startup or small business, it’s natural to find yourself in “penny-pinching mode,” trying to save costs wherever possible. However, cutting corners on your website can be a false economy. As the saying goes, “you buy cheap, you buy twice.” Investing in doing your website right the first time can save you significant time, money, and effort later down the line. More importantly, it provides a strong foundation for your business to grow and succeed.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or unsure about where to start, you’re not alone. Many small business owners face these challenges when tackling their first website. But you don’t have to do it all yourself. Seeking guidance – whether it’s from a professional designer, a mentor, or resources like this blog – can make all the difference. Remember, your website is often the first impression customers will have of your business, so make it count.
Ask yourself: how much could an unfinished, unimpressive, or underperforming website be costing your business? Surely it’s worth the investment to create a website that reflects your brand, engages your audience, and sets the stage for long-term success.
