Building a Website Tip

Regardless of the business industry you’re in, a website is critical for it’s success. A website is the perfect tool to market your services and/or products. We’ve had the pleasure of working with over 200+ companies worldwide and have a solid idea about what it takes to create a captivating presence online. Whether you’re looking to build a completely fresh site or you’re looking to redesign your current small business website, here are 8 tips you should consider:

1. Grab a GREAT domain name

A domain name is essentially the identity of your website. It’s the name you pop into your search bar to load your website. It’s important to pick a name that leaves a lasting impact on the visitor (it also helps with usability and SEO too – but more on that later). Here’s a few pointers to think about when selecting a domain:

  1. Pick a name that’s easy to pronounce. Don’t choose slang terms or words that can’t easily bounce off the tonghe. You may want to use the name of your business (if it’s a company website) or a name that reflects the content (e.g. a website on travel could have a name like thetravelguru.com).
  2. Remember the KISS Rule (Keep It Stupid Simple) Now that’s not an insult but research has shown that short domains are memorable.
  3. Avoid Using Hyphens or Numbers in the Name. Why you may ask? Numbers can confuse your visitors. For example imagine a domain like new2shopping.com. If you were to tell a friend about your website, you can imagine there would likely be some confusion between the number 2. Do they spell the word or write the number? Research has also shown that “domains with numbers” are harder to remember.
  4. That leads us to the next point, Let it Stand Out. There are a ton of sites on the world wide web. Your domain should be catchy enough that it is easily remembered years down the line.

2. Use a Great Website Building Tool

There are so many options available to anyone looking to build a website. There are popular tools like Wix.com, Content Management Systems (like Drupal and WordPress) and then the option of hardcoding your website (HTML,CSS, JavaScript etc.) But which option is better? The answer really comes down to personal preference. Personally, we recommend using a CMS. But what is that exactly? A content management system (CMS) is a tool that allows you to easily produce digital content.

A platform such as WordPress provides you with options to add, edit and manage the posts and pages of your website with ease. There’s also a ton of plugins (feature-rich functionalities) available to help you add cool stuff to your website. Need a contact form or a gallery? There’s a plugin for that. Need to accept payment for your goods and services? There’s a plugin for that.

To us, the most stand-out feature about WordPress and plugins is the ease of which everything can be added and managed without ever having to interact with any lines of code. Most importantly, once you get over the minor learning curve, you’ll find that you have full control yourself. Now that’s power! If, however, you find it’s a bit tricky figuring things out on your own, you can consider hiring the professionals over at web design jamaica. We have had the pleasure of working with this team on several of our sites and can honestly say the work they produce is amazing (our clients think so too). But enough of the recommendation. Let’s look at the other factor to consider.

3. Choose a Good Hosting Company

A website host is that place where you store your files so that they can be accessible on the world wide web. The domain you choose will be interconnected with the host. So when someone visits your website e.g. google.com the website you created would show up. Hosting prices tends to differ depending on the needs of a particular customer and the functionality provided by that host. You’re typically looking at anything from $1 to $200+ and more. You’ll often find that hosting companies provide special discounts (especially during sales periods like Black Friday). This is a big plus for the everyday entrepreneur. So what do you look for when choosing a web host? Here are some tips:

  1. Scalability – Pick a host that is easily scalable. As your website grows, your needs may change. You may require most storage space for example, enhanced security, more bandwidth and the list go on. Ensure you choose a host that allows you to scale as your demands change.
  2. Great Support – We’ve had first-hand experience with companies that have crappy support. Imagine the type of support where you’re waiting 2 hours for someone to come on the other end of the line. So it goes without saying that you’ll want to pick a company that is relatively quick to give you a fast response time. Afterall, your business can take a significant hit should customers not be able to access your domain and make purchases. Issues like this you’ll need to resolve ASAP. Here are some hosts with great support: Name Hero, Blue Host, SiteGround (top recommended option)
  3. Look for cPanel While most modern hosts provide cPanel as an option many don’t. The cPanel is a user-friendly interface that provides customers the option to make changes to the server quite easily. You can install databases, make changes to files and easily install WordPress using the tools.

Get Out There and Get Started

If you’re thinking about dominating online, the most important step is to get started. Read through this guide and do further research to ensure you make the right choices. If you need help, reach out to us and ask about our “Getting Started” resources. We’re more than happy to help and may even pull you in on a hassle-free consultation call to discuss your business and its needs. We wish you all the best with your future business and success online.

Website Tip #1 – Going Green

Welcome to Savannah Co.com. We’re excited to share with you some tips on Website Design. Before I dive into a more detailed post however I’d like to talk about the importance of going green and ensuring that your company does.

Going green has a lot of benefits for web develpoment companies, but before we genuinely enjoy them, we must first understand what those benefits are. “Going green” refers to the actions taken by an organization to reduce the harm it does to the natural environment in its immediate vicinity. Using less energy and implementing recycling and reuse programs are two essential actions companies ca take to lessen their environmental impact.

Laws and regulations about various aspects of the environment can currently be found in several jurisdictions around the globe. Environmental compliance is required in different ways due to these rules and regulations. New legislation is being created on all levels of government, including the local, state, and federal ones, as a result of the realization that being green benefits the health of the environment. Suppose a company wants to gain an advantage over its rivals. In that case, it should start adopting environmentally sensitive practices as soon as it is logistically viable. Only then will it be able to give other companies a run for their money. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken several comprehensive projects, one of the most notable of which is the 2020 Action Agenda. This schedule is designed to promote environmentally responsible practices and reduce carbon emissions.