Website Logistics
Website Logistics
You may already have a website in place but if you haven’t, or you are thinking of improving then you might find this section useful. A well-designed and constructed website is a key part to every business but also a total minefield! This is a quick guide on the services we use.
Website Domain Name
There are so many domain name registration companies to choose from! Godaddy is the company we use. You can purchase a domain name for between £10 – £40, cost will depend on the name you would like (some will have many zeros!!) and the ending – .co.uk, or .com etc.
There are many variations of web address endings but .co.uk is a well established mark of a UK business. It’s recommended you try and get both the .co.uk and .com web address to protect your name and any confusion for customers. You are able to have 2 website addresses pointing to one website server, in fact you can have more than 2!
Website - Server/Hosting
Again there is a vast number of companies that provide this service (Godaddy being one of them, they offer a package to host your website when purchasing a domain) we use a UK-based company – Kalagoo and they charge £60 per year for hosting a website.
Website - Content Management Software
We use WordPress* as the platform to build our website, as above and with all things web-related there are many companies such as Wix and Squarespace. It can be very confusing. If you choose WordPress, make sure you find a reputable developer, we are happy to recommend someone we have used.
There is an article here that compares the top 3 website content platforms – WordPress, Wix and Squarespace and I’m including as it will present a fairer view, my preference is WordPress, it’s more customisable, you own the content and if you need to add a shop or contact form this can be done at no extra cost, other services like Wix will charge more money for add ons and you have less overall control. Here is the article – https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-squarespace-vs-wordpress/
*WordPress is a website content management system and consists of a combination core files, a database (which are provided when you download it to your website server) and files that you can add or install (media files such as images and pdfs and plugins**).
** Plugins are specific to WordPress and are an “add-on” or “extension”. Plugins are like building blocks for your WordPress website and enable you to add additional functionality, for example: Elementor – a visual page builder (no coding necessary!), Contact forms – a plugin to enable to set up forms for contact or any other forms you require – many many more plugins are available!
SEO - Search Engine Optimisation
SEO is all about ensuring your business is listed as high as possible when a customer is searching for a service or business. Most SEO is focused on Google as over 90% of internet users will be searching using the Google search engine. You can pay for a company to set up the SEO on your website, or you can allow it to grow organically. Again a bit of a quagmire as many companies provide this, at varying costs and it’s extremely daunting to understand what you need. There are a few basics that can at least get you set up correctly, if you have a website already it may be worth checking (or checking with your developer) that you have these set up as they are key to organic SEO growth – ensuring your listing will appear higher on the Google results page!
SEO - Website Setup Tips
- Keywords must be in the webpage heading tags (these are called H1) . For example on our Tongue-tie page, “Tongue-tie” will be an H1 tag.
- Research and try to gauge what questions people are asking – eg, Doula in Brighton – this needs to feature in the H1 tag, or in your page content. Think of it as answering people’s questions – if you do this Google will love you!
- Does the website look good and trustworthy (enquiry forms, contact details). Google learns from customer interaction – if someone is looking at your website for contact information and you are providing this, once a customer engages Google records/recognises this and this will work in your favour.
- Blogs are valuable for SEO optimisation, providing they are regularly produced and relevant to your business or service (Google scans your website, even pdfs to check it’s relevant to search terms or questions)
- Make sure your website is mobile friendly! Only 0.51% of visitors to our website in one 4 week period were on PCs, the rest were on Android or Apple mobile phones.
- Quick capture content is essential to reduce your bounce* rate on key pages.
- Understand your audience – Google Analytics is helpful for understanding demographics, behaviour, and details on bounce* rates.
- Google loves backlinks! Google reads content (even pdfs!) and checks for reputable and relevant links. Make sure any links to and from your website are good quality sources. Google has an ever-changing algorithm for listing websites but backlinks are key to organic growth, so build relationships with other practitioners and service providers and encourage them to share your content and vice versa.
- Quality content – Google checks content is relevant to the questions being asked by users, put yourself in your customers’ mindset and try googling the questions they may ask – then make sure you answer these questions on your website!
- Register your business with Google Business
- Google Reviews (only available with a Google Business account) will improve your Google search rankings.
*Bounce: a bounce is someone that visits your homepage, or a page on your website then leaves immediately.
**Backlinks are links from a page on one website to a page on another.