The prospect of starting a website might strike some entrepreneurs as intimidating. They do not know anything about coding, marketing, or security. But fortunately, there are a few sophisticated hosting platforms that simplify the process for an affordable price.
Designing Your Page
You might have heard of a concept known as branding. Branding is the process of controlling what people think of your company, and it is prevalent across every industry. Your page’s design will contribute to your brand. If you want to convey a professional image, that should be reflected in your design. But even if you do not know anything about graphic design, there are hosting platforms that offer a range of high quality web designs.
Optimize for Mobile Use
The days of the computer tower are all but over. In fact, some statistics report that even the laptop’s days seem to be numbered. 20% of millennials are exclusive to mobile devices. Therefore, you need a hosting platform that optimized templates for mobile use across different tablets. A website that is optimized only for desktop use will be difficult to navigate on the phone. Consumers are more likely to just leave your site and go to a competitor.
Marketing Tools
As an entrepreneur, you have probably read a few good books about digital marketing. But it is still a complicated and time-consuming industry. Universities offer graduate degrees in digital marketing, so you probably should not expect to master it without a lot of effort. The problem is that as an entrepreneur, you are already working eighteen hour days. The tedious, draining tasks that accompany digital marketing can create a lot of schedule conflicts.
Fortunately, hosting platforms often make that process easier by implementing a host of SEO tools into their service. Some even have a marketing budgeting for your website depending on the package that you buy. For example, many hosting platforms will get their subscribers listed in local directories, such as the Yellow Pages. Similarly, they will offer a Google AdWords budget or provide resources for you to learn more about marketing. Hosting platforms want you to be successful because it will reflect well on their service, so they will share your load by offering expertise and resources.
Forum Building
A successful forum can drive a lot of traffic to a website. People will come to your website for the active discussions. But when they need a product that you sell, you will already be on their mind. Many hosting platforms will connect you with a forum building service.
Client Support
If you are in the middle of an advertising campaign, a technical problem on your website can be a little frustrating. You need to have support from the hosting service. Many platforms do offer 24/7 tech support.
WordPress Plugins
The most important benefit of a service that integrates with WordPress is probably their long list of plugins. WordPress allows developers to create and submit plugins that address specific functionality issues or make improvements. Since it has been active for years, there is a plugin for virtually anything that you could want. If you want to chat live with your customers who are browsing your site, WordPress has a plugin. There are also plugins for SEO, security, an RSS feed, and much more. If you integrate with WordPress and do some research on their plugins, you will have a bit of an edge over your competitors.
Benefit from WordPress’s Secure Updates
WordPress regularly offers updates that enhance the user experience and protect the privacy of your customers. This will be particularly useful if customers submit payment information through your website. Hackers are regularly trying to access large hosting platforms to steal that information. WordPress updates the system to stay one step ahead of them. Just when they are familiar with the old system, WordPress creates another version. Something else to consider is that these updates typically fix bugs. They are always improving.
Backup Your Data
Every blogger dreads the idea of losing their content. Websites have crashed before and entire blogs have been erased. That is why it is important to have a hosting service that will back up your content automatically. Many platforms create automatic, daily backups of your account. Then your website can be restored with the click of a mouse. There are also WordPress plugins that offer that feature.
Create A Blog
The blog is one of the most important functions of WordPress hosting. Bloggers command a lot of respect on the internet. They allow entrepreneurs to establish their expertise. Further, there are substantial SEO rewards to having a website that frequently updates with new posts. Static websites tend to fall into disfavour with search engines. But with a blog, people will frequently find your website when they are looking for answers to difficult questions pertaining to your industry.
This means that you must create content. A good blog will update with something useful at least once every week. But you must ensure that you are not duplicating material on the internet. If the content is not unique or lacks depth, consumers are going to get bored with it. One potential solution is to produce long-form content that addresses points and counterpoints.
WordPress enables bloggers by providing a simple platform. If you want to utilize some basic coding throughout your articles, you can do that. On the other hand, if you would rather keep it simple, then you can just switch to the Visual option and let WordPress handle the HTML behind the scenes.
E-Mail Accounts
An e-mail account with your personal domain name will have an aura of professionalism. If you have a large company, you could offer all your employees an e-mail address under your domain. Many hosting platforms have packages that offer unlimited e-mail addresses.
A few of the linked hosting sites offer WordPress integration and are to be preferred over competitors. All the listed services are necessary components for an entrepreneur or anybody who wants to build a website.