There are more than 1.8 billion websites on the internet today, and that number increases by almost 550,000 every day. Are you someone that is considering building a website to host your personal blog, to sell a product, or be a place where readers gather information about a topic? If you are, you are likely racking your brain thinking of how you can create engaging content. After all, most website-building tips correctly state that a successful website requires regular fresh, engaging content. However, before you reach the content writing stage, there are a few steps to consider.
Domain Name Selection
Before considering what to write for a website or blog, you must find the perfect domain name and web hosting company. Some companies, such as GoDaddy or IONOS, allow you to buy a domain and hosting package simultaneously. Your domain name can be almost anything you want, but it should always reflect your site’s purpose and the content you will publish. Potential visitors want to know what to expect when they type in the web address. If you click on a link for the best Vegas sportsbooks, you know what will greet you when the page loads. If you were creating a website to promote your florist business, it would not be a good idea to purchase the domain fancyshoes.com, would it? It is misleading at best.
Keep things simple when choosing a domain name, avoiding long addresses, hyphens, numbers, and misspellings. Remember that someone must first remember your address and then type it in at least once to visit your website. Do not underestimate user error.
Always check if there are competitors with similar domain names or if your domain name is already taken but with a different top-level domain. A friend spent an age creating a brilliant website with what he thought was the perfect domain name. However, he bought the domain for .co.uk and failed to check, and therefore did not realize that there was already a .com version of his domain name that was active and performing well.
Web Hosting
Once a domain name is sorted, it is time to look at web hosting. These companies host your website on the world wide web. You have plenty of choice regarding web hosting companies because more than 330,000 such companies are on the internet. Opt for one with 99.9% uptime and the fastest loading time you can afford. Some people try to save a few bucks by signing up for a cheap web hosting package, but they fail to realize that a slow-loading website not only gets downranked by Google, but potential readers and customers will visit another site if your website does not load within a couple of seconds.
Purpose of Your Website
You now have a domain and a company to host it on the internet, but you are still a little away from having to write any content. This is because you must decide what your website’s purpose is. Your website’s purpose governs your content creation. Are you there to provide information about a topic? Are you showcasing your unique products or services? Do you hope to monetize your site? If so, what are your plans for doing so?
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail, as the motto goes. Have a clear plan on what you want your website to achieve, and plan with military precision the steps you will take to achieve those goals.
What is Your Target Audience?
In addition to knowing the purpose of your website, it is vital to consider who your target audience is so that you can create content that appeals to them. Your target audience dictates your website’s color scheme, the language used in your articles and blog posts, and much more. For example, you probably should not use slang if your content is aimed at professionals, and you would not use language aimed at 40-50-something professionals if you were promoting holidays for 18-20-year-olds.
Once you have these three areas nailed down, you can start thinking about the content for your website. How do you do that? We’re sure you’ll find many articles on blog and article creation right here at WoahTech.