Creating a website is an exciting time for a business, and you should definitely proceed with doing so – it will benefit your business like nothing you’ve ever done!  Almost all businesses are online these days, with customers checking out even the simplest restaurant or even dry cleaner online before they commit to spending their hard-earned money.

But as you get ready to create a website, you might be thinking, I’ve never created a website before.  Where do I begin?

You’ll want to start with several basics:  what will your website/URL’s name be?  How will you host the site?  Will you maintain your own server or purchase hosting from a hosting company?

Probably the most important and necessary thing to do, though, before you even begin to get into the details of creating a website, is to set up a budget that you can afford to spend on the site, including hosting, creation of the site, content writing, updates, and maintenance.  You want to be clear with what funds you have to work with before you begin pricing.  Setting up a website doesn’t have to be complicated, but it can be overwhelming if you’re just starting.

You’ll need to have a place for the site to be hosted, a domain and a domain name for the site to occupy, and a programmer to program the site.  After that, you’ll most likely want a graphic or web designer to make your site look attractive, professional, and just the way you want it, as well as someone to write the copy for your site that will do the same.

Before you begin, as well, size up the competition:  do a search for the product or service your company offers and see what else is out there.  Get ideas – but don’t steal them! – from your competitors, and go into designing your site with informed knowledge about what you’re going up against.  Don’t let your business be stuck out in the cold with unprofessional or shoddy workmanship because you didn’t want to spend the money on a high-quality site.  The time, effort, and money you put into your site will well pay off in the end.  What exactly is “social media” and what role does it play in developing a successful business online?

Since we’re sure you haven’t been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the phrase “social media” in the last several years, and you’re probably wondering what it’s all about.  More than that, you may have even heard that social media is a great way to get publicity for your business and gain hordes of customers interested in your product or service.  Well, good news, that’s true!  But it takes some finesse and some knowledge to use social media to your advantage.

Social media has exploded, especially with the advent of Facebook and Twitter, over the last five years or so.  Plainly speaking, it has made the world a much smaller place, made new information transferable and shareable within nanoseconds, and, likewise, turned news into old news faster than ever.  Remember when the best way to increase your revenue and customer base was by word of mouth?  Well, social media is essentially word of mouth too – just now, on a global, interactive scale.

All that said, you absolutely can – and should! – use social media to promote your business and to your advantage.  The key thing to remember about using social media, though, is that it is less about selling and more about building relationships with your customers.  Think about back in the “olden days” when customers would frequent local stores because of the special service they received or because they knew the owners or store clerks.  They would be loyal to those stores even if other stores had what they wanted to buy, because they knew someone there, right?  Social media gives you the opportunity to relate to your customers in that way, but on a huge, global scale.

The first thing you’ll need to do is to set up social media pages for your business – a Facebook fan page, a Twitter page, possibly even a Youtube page if you like and have content for it – and then work at developing “friendships” and relationships with your customers.  Don’t try to start selling right away.  Instead, reach out to your network of customers, family, and friends whom you’ve built up already and have them “add’ you on Facebook or “follow” you on Twitter and Youtube.  Have them “like” your business’ page on Facebook.  Start to post status updates and tweets on a regular basis – not selling, but simply conversing.  You’ll want to reach people where they are, not where you want them to be (i.e., buying what you’re selling), in order to win them over.  Get them involved in discussions about current events.  If you can, host a giveaway on your Facebook or Twitter sites where customers compete for prizes by various methods (recruiting others to the site, for example).  Concentrate on the content on your social media pages; again, the quality of the content will be vital.  Is it well thought out?  Is it cleanly, succinctly, entertainingly expressed?  Are you engaging your “friends” or “followers” in the conversation instead of just trying to sell them something?

Once you have built up a following, the interest in your site and your services, and then sales, will come naturally.  Remember – social media is all about building and maintaining relationships through active use of social media sites.  Stay in the conversation; make yourself congenial and your business vivacious.  If you can do this, social media will open doors and expand your customer base on a global level like you could never have experienced otherwise.

You’ve made the leap; you’ve commissioned a designer and/or a web programmer or developer to begin work on your website for your business.  That’s great!  You’re well on your way to expanding your customer base by leaps and bounds.  It’s an exciting time for your business as you prepare to launch your site.

One of the things you might be thinking about at this stage of the process is, “What are potential customers looking for when they search for a topic and bring up my website?”

That in itself is a complicated and yet very simple question.  Basically, when customers search for a topic, they’re searching for answers.  They’re searching for a site than can meet their needs.  Depending on the product or service you offer, that could be something they want to purchase, a service they want to commission, or just a piece of information they need to get their job done or improve their lives.  So what you really want to be asking yourself is, how can my website most effectively, efficiently, and memorably serve my customers’ needs within the scope of my business?

When you create your website for your business, no matter what you’re selling, rest assured there will most likely be hundreds if not thousands of other websites selling that exact same thing.  First and foremost, you need to be cognizant of the way your website looks.  It must look professional, or customers will not even spend more than two seconds on it before clicking back and going to the next search result. Online customers, conditioned by years of savvy internet shopping and searching, are very savvy and judge businesses largely based solely on what their website looks like when it first loads.  You want your website to look well made, professionally designed, and like you, pardon the phrase, mean business.  You don’t want to have a shoddy, bare-bones, or scrappily designed website which leaves the customer feeling insecure or unsure about doing business with you.

Customers are also ultimately looking for the best value for their money and time.  You want to present your website in a way which will lead your customers to what they need quickly and in such a way that they’ll feel comfortable with choosing you.  Don’t underestimate the power of personal service, even virtually.  Think about what you’d be looking for if you were a customer, and draw from your own experience with online shopping and searching.  Ultimately, if you can meet your customers’ needs in the most efficient, professional way, your website will gain momentum and viewer ship in your field as being top-notch, therefore increasing your customer base exponentially.

When you’re beginning to think about building your website, you’ll probably have a lot of questions about the first steps you’ll need to take, what you should expect, and possibly even how long it will take to attract a website that will attract viewers.

First of all, to develop a website in general, most web designers will ask for about two weeks or up to a month to design your site and get it up and running.  You should shop around for different web designers and programmers before you commit to one; speak with different designers about your vision for your site, the product you’re selling, and the kind of site you want to project to your customers.  Depending on the kind of site you want to have designed, you will have to discuss time limits and expectations with the person you ultimately choose to program and set up your site.

So your site is then up and running, you have quality content, and you’re ready to get your site listed high up in search engines like Google so your potential customers can see it easily.  Getting your site listed and ranked high on search engines can take some time, but it’s well worth it in the end.  Some things you’ll need to keep in mind as you begin to put work into your site to have it ranked are: what kind of competition are you up against based on the content of your site and the products you’re selling?  How much of a head start does your competition have?  Are you up against major, million-dollar companies selling the same product or service as you are?  Are there ideas they may have overlooked that you can focus on in your site?  How focused is your brand?  How much risk are you willing to take?  And, of course, are you more passionate about the subject of your website than other leading sites?  Try to capitalize on as many advantages as you can.

Ultimately, the time it takes for your site to be listed as a top site will vary based largely on the competition, and it can take up to a year or more to get your site listed near the top.  However, it will be well worth all that work in the end, when customers search for your topic and your site is one of the first that catches their eye.

So you’ve taken that first step and you’re ready to start researching and developing your website for your business. That’s great! Congratulations. We’re here to help you with every step of the journey towards making your website visually appealing, informative, interactive, dynamic, and – ultimately – successful.

The first thing you’re probably thinking is where do I start? In other words, what are some key elements I should be researching when developing my website?

Well, let’s get started. First, you’ll need to outline the point of your website – what are you trying to sell? We’ll assume you already know what the point of your website will be. Granting that premise, let’s move on to several further important steps in your website-development process – the nuts and bolts of your website, as it were.

For a website to be successful, you’ll want it to have a high-quality visual design. In this day and age, websites are so common that everyone has one. It’s very easy for even the most inexperienced customer to tell what a sloppy or badly designed website looks like, and often that will surround you and your business in an unflattering, unprofessional light from the moment the page loads. The visual design is probably the most important part of developing the site itself because it’s the first thing the customer will see.

How do you make sure your website is designed well? First of all, come up with a budget that you’ll be willing to pay a high-quality graphic and web designer. Next, research web designers with experience in your field and ask to see samples of their work. The best part about this digital age is that web and graphic designers can work remotely, so you can hire someone from anywhere! Be prepared to pay for quality, but it will reap its own rewards well in the end.

Next, you’ll want to be sure your website has a well-thought-out, easy-to-navigate user interface, including navigation options right at the forefront of the page. Don’t let your customer get confused on where to go or get frustrated trying to work out how to navigate your page. The attention span of the average person is only a few clicks – after that, they’ll get frustrated and move on to something else. You need to have a layout on your page that they can easily understand and navigate.

Thirdly, the content you place on your page or pages is the most important thing (after the basic design of the page) that you want to consider. If you are filling your webpage with text that is not well-written, cohesive, does not make sense, or does not point back to the main topic of your business, you’re going to lose customers quickly. It is your job as a business owner and the owner of the website to make sure the point of what you’re selling comes across clearly. Be sure to acquire content for your page that says exactly what you want it to say – and, moreover, says it well.

These are just the first steps towards building a thriving, successful website – but, like the foundation of a building, these have to be strong first and foremost. They are a great place to start!

Voila Media is proud to unveil our brand new state of the art website, featuring a crisp modern design, innovative features and a great blog. Check out the Our Work Section to see a showcase Voila Media’s work.

We used innovative technology like HTML5, and Jquery to create a uniuque showcase of our work.

Check out our blog, and check back often to find out whats going on with Voila Media, new projects we are working on, and post from the Voila Media team all things web.