How to create your own website?
Today, having a professional website is a must. In recent years, ergonomic online tools have appeared on the market. Anyone can now create a site without any advanced computer skills. Find out all our advice on using CMS.
Turnkey website tools
Easy-to-use tools have been developed to make your life as an entrepreneur easier. You no longer need a hammer and chisel to carve your new website in stone - although some of you might think that would be easier! Website creation applications, also known as CMS - Content Management Systems - give you the freedom of choice.
Of course, it's not a question of creating a gas factory, just a showcase site to demonstrate your activity as a craftsman, shopkeeper, manager or self-employed entrepreneur. Ideally, you should be able to do it yourself with a simple online solution, so you don't have to call in a webmaster for each new modification.
Today, if you use your favorite search engine, you'll see that there's no shortage of them, so how do you choose? Look at the features that interest you according to your needs:
- some online solutions offer a turnkey website, and all you have to do is insert your content
- others provide a platform with all the functions you need to create your site independently.
If you're looking for a full-featured toolbox, the Wix CMS is for you! It guarantees independence in the creation of your site, with tools just like the pros: design template according to your sector of activity, analysis of visitors to your site (Google Analytics)... You can do it all.
A beautiful website for your customers
Once you've chosen the tool you need from the online software comparator, it's time to set things down and see who your website is aimed at. You'll need to personalize it to match your customers' expectations as closely as possible. It's a good idea not to use a black background and yellow lettering for a wedding website!
You need to get to the heart of the matter straight away. Internet users are anything but patient: 3.5 seconds is the maximum waiting time for half of them. Your site needs to be clear and well-structured, so that customers and prospects can find their way around just as they would in your store. There's no point in creating a site with animated gifs or heavy photos: you'll need to clean it out to speed up page loading times. Fortunately, many CMS do this for you.
Designing a site is all well and good, but it has to be adapted to your target audience! Before you create your site, you have an advanced idea of your clientele. Thanks to the website and its analytics, i.e. all the data linked to your site, you'll know your web target inside out! Habits, needs, age range, geographical and professional location, and even interests will no longer hold any secrets for you.
Online CMS can themselves be adapted to your target, such as MemboGo. This application is dedicated to managing associations. It offers powerful tools for creating a website, including management of members, memberships, events and elections.
A website to be seen
Your website created with a CMS has a different kind of visibility from the one you might be used to. Your store will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Whether you're a craftsman, shopkeeper or manager, you'll be able to attract visitors at all hours of the day and night.
This visibility means that you'll need to take a number of steps to ensure the loyalty of this 2.0 clientele:
- regular site updates. To continue attracting visitors to your site, it needs to be updated in line with your business. For example, if you have a clothing boutique, you can update your online catalog before the sales. This will be very easy with the CMS adapted to your needs.
- natural referencing. Building your own website also means optimizing it for search engines. A well-referenced website comes up first when someone types in your company's name. There are a number of site design techniques that can make your pages even more effective in search engine optimization: original, attractive content, a well-chosen title, an appropriate URL, a body of text that is readable by search engines, and so on.
- use of social networks. Any means of free communication with your customers is a good one. Social networking is one of them, but beware: it's a very time-consuming activity!
- create a blog. Content helps your website's referencing and gives you free rein to offer advice and expertise. CMS generally develop specialized "templates" - i.e. page layouts - for blogs. All you have to do is get your best pen to work!
All of these steps, which promote your visibility, are free advertising and great marketing and communication campaigns.
A website for a better relationship
Building your own website means managing your content. As I said earlier, this applies equally to the pages, the blog and the social networks. You'll be able to stick as closely as possible to your customers' needs and your company's values. In the example of the wedding website, it's not a good idea to write about the latest political developments. Brides-to-be will be more interested in reading about the choice of doily color...
Interaction with your customers will be easier. There's no longer the barrier of opening hours, and you yourself can manage comments on your site when you're available to do so. On the other hand, Internet users aren't patient. Customers who wait in the store are less likely to do so online. A request for a quotation made on your site, which has gone unanswered, could just as easily be made on your competitor's site. Reactivity is key.
This gives you a considerable advantage if your competitor doesn't have a web presence. Even today, one out of every two very small businesses doesn't have a website. With easy-to-use online CMS, it would be a shame to miss out on this competitive advantage. What's more, as you build up your customer portfolio, all you need to do is implement Customer Relationship Management software!
Conclusion
As you can see, a professional website today is more than just a playground for budding artists. It's a genuine marketing tool designed to generate sales and increase your earnings. You don't need to be an IT expert to find the right online solution for your business. Make an appvizer.fr comparison without further ado!
Article translated from French