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How long does it take to build a website?

A male and a female sat at desk, looking at a laptop. The male is wearing a red hate and pointing to the laptop. The female is looking at the male.

You’ve decided your company needs its own website, and you’re ready to go. But how long will it take until you launch your website and welcome its first visitors?

The answer to this question varies considerably depending on the way you decide to build your website, and the features you want to include.

Hiring a web developer

If you want complete freedom to create a custom-built site, you’ll have to hire a professional web developer, where you’ll work together to make your vision a reality. This is what the process will look like: 

  1. You meet with the developer to discuss your requirements for the website.
  2. They create a mockup of the design and the sitemap for you to approve or ask for changes.
  3. The developer builds the website according to these specifications.
  4. The website is then sent to you for review, where you can ask for modifications until you are happy with the product.

This process typically takes around 14 weeks for a standard website, but could take longer depending on the complexity of the design and how many modifications you need. The main cause for a delayed website launch is lack of content, so make sure you have all the content prepared for the developers to upload as soon as it’s ready. 

This is a good option if you aren’t working on a deadline and you have a lot of specific requirements for your site. Hiring a web developer costs upwards of £5000, however, so you’ll need the financial resources to be able to go down this route.

Using a website builder

A website builder is the fastest – and cheapest – way to get a website up and running, because rather than relying on a web developer to create your design from scratch, you choose from a list of ready-made themes. Then you can customise it to fit your design, upload your content and you’re ready to go, even if you have no experience. Realistically, if you already have your content prepared, you could launch your website in a couple of hours. 

However, the website builder you choose is important. You need to make sure that they provide everything that you need at a price you can afford. If you realise that a website builder doesn’t give you the features you need after you’ve customised the design and uploaded your content, it’s a laborious process to start over again with another company. 

If you’re not ready to hire a website developer, or you’re in a rush to get your site online, then have a look at the features offered by Go SiteBuilder. If you register for their 14-day free trial you could have a beautifully designed website online today!

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Which domain extension is right for you?

Male sat at a desk updating his Go Sitebuilder website via his mobile phone. His laptop is also in front on of him on the desk

Deciding on a domain name is an important step to building your website, but what about the domain extension? The extension can signify what sector a company operates in and it’s important to choose one that is relevant for your business. 

The four most common top-level domains (TLDs) are:
.com
.net
.org
.co

.com

This is by far the most popular domain extension. And is likely the best choice for your domain extension, as it’s familiar and adds to the credibility of your brand. SEO companies also suggest that a .com is better for search rankings on Google. Backlinks with .com have more authority than other domain extensions. However, many of the .com domains are either taken or are very expensive to buy, so you might have to look at other options.

Quick tip: If you’ve decided on a domain name but there is already a .com version with the same name in use, consider changing your domain name. Many people automatically type .com and you don’t want them to end up on a different site!

.net

This extension used to refer exclusively to internet or network providers but now it’s used for a variety of different companies. It does mean that it’s a great option for tech-based companies, as users still expect this kind of business. It’s also much more likely to be available than a .com domain. 

.org

You’ll recognise .org from sites like Wikipedia, and the extension is often expected to be a trustworthy source of information, rather than a commercial brand. The domain extension used to refer to not-for-profit organisations, and is one of the original TLDs so has good user recognition and search power. 

.co

This is an interesting one. The domain used to function exclusively as the country code of Colombia but has recently become a popular choice to refer to companies and corporations. This would be a great choice if you are a young business and the .com extension isn’t an option, as .co has high availability. The issue with this extension, however, is that people might accidentally end up on .com instead, just out of typing habit. 

These are the top four domain extensions, but there are 1500 TLDs available. The most important factors to consider is whether your domain and extension are memorable, easy to type and match your brand identity. 

Decided on the right domain extension for you? At Go SiteBuilder, you can create a stylish website with a unique domain and five email addresses with no previous knowledge in web design. Try out our 14-day free trial today!

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10 things you should think about before building your own website

Female florist sat on the floor with her laptop resting on her legs whilst she updates her Go Sitebuilder website. She is wearing jeans, a blue top and a neutral coloured apron. Flowers can be seen in the background.

Creating a website is the next step for your business, but where do you start? Before you leap into choosing a colour scheme, have a look at our 10 pointers on the most important factors to consider when planning your webpage.

1. Domain name

This should be short, simple and memorable. You’re going to have to pay a fee to have the rights to use this name, so make sure it counts! Brainstorm ideas, align it with your branding strategy, and check that you’re not violating any copyright law with your domain name. 

2. Audience

You need to know who your target audience are and what they want, this way you can appeal to their needs. Use analytics tools to get data on your current clients so that you can create a website that will attract traffic with a higher potential conversion rate. 

3. Social media

Much as we complain about them, almost all of us are using at least one form of social media. This is a great tool to help expand the reach of your brand and for users to recommend and share your services, so make sure your website has an option to share content on social media. 

4. Design

Users create a first impression of your site in a couple of seconds, so good clean design is paramount. Make sure the homepage isn’t too cluttered, and make sure it has a clear call to action so that users know what you provide and how they can access it.

5. Sitemap

Before starting to build a website, you’ll need to sketch out a quick plan of what pages you want to include and consider the user experience at each step. Will the user easily be able to find what they need? Are the pages presented in a clear and efficient way?

6. SEO

It doesn’t matter how beautiful and engaging your website is if it doesn’t get the clicks in the first place. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an invaluable step in the creation of a website, as it allows Google to easily rank the page and make it visible for your target users.

7. Security

It is easy to forget about this step, but good security is vital in order to keep your website healthy and to build trust in your clients, especially if they are sharing personal information through your site. This should be addressed at the beginning of website design, as pages need to have SSL certificates and regular security checks. 

8. Compatibility

Your website needs to work on all browsers, but most importantly, it needs to be compatible with mobile devices. Mobile internet use has increased by 222% since 2013, and 85% of adults think that a website should work just as well or better on a mobile device than on desktop.

9. Hosting

The website host you use will determine how quickly your site loads. If your site takes a long time to load, it will directly affect the amount of people who visit your site; 53% of users will stop engaging with a site if it takes over three seconds to load. Make sure your file sizes aren’t too big and run tests to check your loading speed before you make your site public. 

10. Price

What you can get will depend on what you can spend. A custom-built website will cost thousands, but a website creator can give you a great design for a fraction of the cost. Do your research to get the best deal. 

There are lots of factors to consider when building your website, but if you’re still feeling lost, then Go Sitebuilder gives you a 14-day free trial of their simple and streamlined process to create and manage your website. Give it a go today!

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Can you build a website for free?

Male business owner working from home and using his laptop to update this Go Sitebuilder website. He is wearing a blue v-neck t-shirt, sitting at a desk that has a mug, notebook and hard hat on.

If you’ve got a business you need a website. If you’re just starting out, though, is it worth shelling out a monthly sum for a paid domain when there are so many free options available? We look at the pros and cons of free website builders and building a website for free.

Why choose a free website?

With so many free website creators on the market, it’s easy to see why so many people have chosen the unpaid option to make their first digital footprint. Even if you don’t know anything about website design, they offer ready-made themes tailored to specific sectors that give your site a professional look in minutes. Many small companies start off on social media, and a free website offers a significant step up from a Facebook or Instagram page. Seems like a good deal, but there are limitations to a free website.

Why choose a paid website?

A free website provider normally has its drawbacks. First, you cannot get your own domain, but instead, have to piggyback on the name of the provider. One of the most popular free website creators, Wix, forces you to create an unwieldy and unprofessional web address along the lines of www.yourname.wixsite.com/yoursite. 

Another disadvantage is that most free websites cap their storage and bandwidth, which means you’ll be limited in the number of images, videos and blogs you’ll be able to upload. Restricted bandwidth will make your site slower, resulting in a worse user experience and a less visible site in terms of SEO.

The website may be free for you, but the providers need to make money through you somehow, which they do by cluttering up your page with their own adverts. The companies also bombard you with emails detailing all the features available in their paid version in a bid to get you to upgrade.

To decide whether it’s worth getting a free website rather than a paid one, then you need to look at your priorities. If you just want a web presence where you can show your services and upload blogs, then a free plan is all you need. However, if you are looking to grow your company, increase your SEO and need certain features such as online selling or mobile capability, then it might be better to look at a paid version. 

If you’re still not sure, Go SiteBuilder offers a 14-day free trial where you can see which features work for you and your business, as well as a team of experts on hand to offer support if you need it. Give it a go today!

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How can I build a professional website

Female small business owner is leaning over a table in her clothes studio to reach her laptop. She is building a professional website with Go Sitebuilder.

Just seconds after clicking on a website, you’ve already made an irrevocable first impression. 75% of users admit to making judgements on a company’s reputation based on the website design. So, how can you wow your users in the first few seconds of landing on your homepage?

What makes a website professional?

A website is often the first experience a user has with your company. Before they even interact with what your product offers, they will be impressed with a good design and good user experience. 

High-quality designs often use high-resolution images with overlaid text. The average user spends just seconds on your website homepage, so it’s important to make it simple and clear; what do you want the user to do? A call to action on the first page lets the user know what you provide and how they can access this service. 

The website can’t just look great though, it needs to feel great. Make sure the site navigates smoothly, that the links make sense and most importantly, that the pages don’t take too long to load. According to a Google study, 53% of users will stop engaging with a site if it takes over 3 seconds to load, which could result in a massive bounce rate for your site. 

Another thing to bear in mind is the growing importance of mobile capability for a website. According to Broadband Search, mobile internet usage has increased 222% in the past 5 years, and this trend is set to continue. Digital marketing site SWEOR also revealed that 85% of adults think that a company’s mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop one, so having this capability will increase both your company’s reach and credibility.

How to make your own

Your success depends on your website design, but how can you get a stylish and professional look when you’ve never made a website before? You can spend thousands of pounds on a custom-designed website, or you can use one of the many website creator tools available, as long as you create that will grab your users in that all-important first couple of seconds. 

With Go Sitebuilder, you can choose from a huge selection of professional and beautiful themes and personalise it to your company, safe in the knowledge that whatever you choose will work just as seamlessly on mobile and desktop. Take advantage of the 14-day free trial (no credit card needed) to try it out for yourself!

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What you need to start building your website

Caucasian female working from home in her kitchen. The kitchen is white with a dark wood surface. She is wearing a casual denim shirt and has notebooks, pens and a camera on the desk next to her

Thinking of building a website for your company but don’t know where to start? It’s easy to get bogged down in the details of what you do and don’t need, but we’ve compiled a handy list of key things you should think about to create a great website in line with your brand. 

Web hosting

First things first; you need to find somewhere to host your website. The best options provide a personalised domain name and multiple business email addresses, but there are three other areas to bear in mind; website speed, uptime reliability and customer service.

A website with a fast connection will rank better in SEO and increase your conversion rate, so avoid shared hosting and know that the cheaper you go, the slower the connection may be. 

Uptime reliability is also extremely important, as if the host isn’t working properly, your users won’t be able to access your website from any server. Look for a host with a 100% uptime guarantee, so that if your site does go down for any reason, you are likely to get some form of compensation. 

You might not think that customer service deserves a place on this list, but let’s face it, things go wrong. If this is your first time building a website, it’s much easier to quickly talk to an expert who can fix the issue in moments rather than spending precious hours trying to find a solution yourself. 

Design and Content

Not a designer? Don’t worry, most website creators have their own pre-loaded designs and themes ready to use and optimised for the type of service you provide, but check that they also have mobile capability. You can always try a few out before you decide on a final one, but make sure it aligns with your brand and your logo. 

When you’ve got your web-hosting site and themes set up, it’s time to start adding content to your website! Optimising blog posts for SEO is a great way to help your website rank better on Google and stand out as a relevant resource for your prospective clients. 

Creating a beautiful and effective website shouldn’t be a hassle. If you want all the features mentioned in this article and more, why not sign up for a free 14-day trial with Go SiteBuilder? Let us know how it goes, and contact our team of experts if you have any questions!

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How to go about launching a digital product

Male wearing a blue, white and red checkered shirt is standing in his kitchen looking at his phone and making a coffee

To launch a digital product, it’s very helpful to have a digital presence. You can create this digital presence in one of several ways. You can do it through social media, online advertising, or you can do it by publishing a blog. But the thing that underpins all of these methods and makes it easy for interested parties to be aware of your digital presence is a website. A website is a place to tie it all together and express yourself with your customers.

Your website is your digital presence

A digital product is an online representation of a product or a service in the virtual world. Or in easier terms, this us what you do or sell – but online. Launching that digital product or service is all about raising awareness of its existence. But if you first use blogs and online advertising through social media or virtual directories to awaken public interest, in order to receive and action orders for whatever it is you are offering, you will need a website. A website helps you finish it all up, make payments and more!

To launch a digital product successfully, creating a website has to be your starting point. A website is your digital presence. It announces your existence to the virtual world and shows potential customers where to go.

How to create your first website

You could hire a bespoke website designer to create a website for you from scratch, but most product launches start off in a small way through a small business. Small business owners need to keep their costs down and hiring the services of a dedicated website designer can be an expensive undertaking.

So, to help entrepreneurs to get started affordably, we here at Go Sitebuilder came up with the modular website design concept. It empowers users to create their own professional websites a section at a time. Most importantly, you don’t need any website building experience. It works just as well for novices as it does for geeks.

By building your website in sections, you can make it as small or large as you require and add or subtract from it as your needs change. But whatever you do, thanks to the user-friendly programmable templates we have, you can customise your own unique website with ease. It will look and perform as good if not better than if you had employed the services of a bespoke website designer at many times the cost.

The complete website package

All of the websites you can create through Go Sitebuilder are available with a personalised domain name chosen by you, and five unique, business email addresses. The websites are compatible for mobile use, and you can access them via any device from anywhere to modify the site, process orders or do any other sort of maintenance as you see fit.

Ready for launch

With your website up and running, you will then be in a position to launch your digital product or service. You now have that all-important anchor point and can set about updating social media outlets, publishing blogs and instigating email marketing campaigns.

Anyone who wants to know more about the product(s) you are offering or who wants to go ahead and make a purchase will know where to go. You are on your way.

Having a website is crucial for every business. If you haven’t created yours yet, why don’t you check out Go Sitebuilder? Create your website from anywhere without the need for any technical skills. Try Go Sitebuilder free for 14-days to see just how easy it is to get your business online.

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Launching a new website – should I use .com or .co.uk?

should I use .com or new .co.uk

Where are your clients from? This question will help you get to the answer quickly. All .co.uk websites show that the business deals with customers based in the United Kingdom. All .com websites show that a company deals with customers on a global scale; therefore, they may lack tailor-made services for local customers. Sites with country codes like .co.uk command the market in their respective countries but have little to no effect in others. This article is here to break down whether you should use a .com or .co.uk domain extension.

Pros of using a .com extension

A .com domain extension is the most widely used website extension. Its market is wide as it does not incline to users from a specific area. Therefore, a business that wants to reach the global market can use the .com extension. In the worldwide market, a .com website extension seems more authentic and legitimate. Potential customers from diverse areas feel that the information or services offered are tailored to a global audience. Therefore, your website can reach more people globally if you choose .com as your website’s extension.

Pros of using a .co.uk extension

Knowing your target market is the first step in realizing the best website extension for your website. All website extensions with country codes are best for businesses that operate within that specific country. Therefore, the most clicked websites in the UK have the .co.uk extension. 

Having a website with a country code like .co.uk proves to be more authentic in the United Kingdom when compared with other extensions. If your site has a country code in its address, its legitimacy may only be recognized in the specific country. Long story short, if you’re a local business with your clients close to you, such as a plumber, tutor, painter, etc., this is the way to go. 

Finding the right extension for you

Using the pros and cons we have listed above, you can now make an educated decision on which extension is the best for your business. If you are a small to medium-sized company located in the United Kingdom, then it would make sense for you to use .co.uk. If you’re wanting to draw in a larger audience, then choose .com, as it is recognized worldwide. Alternatively, you can purchase both domains, but you’ll need to make sure they direct to one single place for search engine optimisation.

Decided on the right domain extension for you? At Go Sitebuilder, you can create a stylish website with a unique domain and up to five email addresses with no previous knowledge in web design. Try out our 14-day free trial today and see just how easy it is to get your business online.

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How to launch your new website the right way

Young, male entrepreneur using his mobile phone to launch his new website

How you launch your new website is important and we want to help you do it right. Your launch can impact on how many people visit your site, and whether they return in the future. Here are some effective strategies to get your website launch on the right path to success.

Timing

Timing is key when you’re about to launch a new website. You’ll need to let people know about your upcoming site, but when you do this is also important.

Ideally, let your audiences know as soon as possible that you’ve got a new website on the way, but if it won’t be out for several months or more, you’ll need to remind people nearer the time in case they’ve forgotten about it.

Create a schedule of updates and news posts in the run-up to launch day, so that you can firmly get into the minds of your target audiences. Whenever you do post a new update, make sure to include it on all of your social media feeds and other relevant places that your target audiences will get to see.

Announcing your launch

It’s not just when you announce your website launch that matters, but where you do this is crucial too. You should have an idea in mind of your target audiences. When you make announcements about your launch, do so in places where these groups will see it.

You want to make sure you’re speaking to your target audience. This is the best way to direct your time, effort and money. This approach is also more likely to be successful!

How you say it

People will need a compelling reason to visit your new website so don’t just let them know you’ve got one coming. Think of how you can entice them to visit your site on launch day and keep coming back for more.

Engage with your audiences as soon as you start your website launch campaign. Ask them for feedback, such as what they’d like to see on the new website. Create competitions or promotions, like offers or discounts for the first number of customers who purchase from your site. You might even wish to ask for relevant user-generated content from audiences to build anticipation and excitement for launch day.

Be honest! Don’t make any exaggerated or false claims about your website prior to launch day, this is key to running any business or relationship. Make sure to only launch the site once it’s fully operational and there’s sufficient content on it to inform and entice visitors while leaving enough to keep them coming back for more.

Having a website is crucial for every business. If you haven’t created yours yet, why don’t you check out Go Sitebuilder? Create your website from anywhere without the need for any technical skills. Try Go Sitebuilder free for 14-days to see just how easy it is to get your business online.

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What is the best day to launch a new website?

Male business owner reviewing some paper work in a stylish, light office with exposed brick work

Launching your new website is a grand event. Some people choose a day that resonates with them while others maybe don’t have any idea at all. However, if the website aims at targeting increased traffic, the day of the week matters a lot. When setting the launching day of your site, you need to be aware of the schedule of your clients. In most cases, sites depend on employed people. Therefore, you have to understand their common behaviour in terms of workload, personal time, and attitudes towards the days of the week.

Monday

Launching a website on a busy day for your customers is an ultimate miss. The potential clients are not just about to stop their busy schedules to look at your site. Mondays are known to be very slow days; most people are yet to adjust to the working environment from a fun and busy weekend. The workload is very high when employees deal with stalled tasks from the previous week. On Mondays, people do not have time even to visit their social media pages, and therefore it is hard for them to visit a newly launched website.

The weekend

For most people, weekends are there to be enjoyed. It is during this time that they move out of town to refresh. Most people have physical conversations with friends and families. With the current trends of technology taking over human connections, some people prefer to keep off from the internet. On the weekend, there are very few people to share with the trending issues as families do not have the best environment to discuss emerging issues. Weekends are not the best time to launch a new website as it may not get optimum traffic.

Mid-week

Most people who recommend news are workmates and colleagues. However, this happens when they have some free time. Employees are trapped in their jobs over the weekdays, and this is the best time to launch your new website. However, Mondays are extremely busy and dull for people to have free time. Similarly, Fridays are extremely hyper as employees look forward to the weekend. In this regard, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are the days with a conducive environment for the launch of a new website. If a website goes live on Tuesday, people have all day to not only discuss it but visit. For the people who fail to know about the new website, there is Wednesday and Thursday for the word to spread. Before the end of the week, the website will have become popular with many potential clients.

Having a website is crucial for every business. If you haven’t created yours yet, why don’t you check out Go Sitebuilder? Create your website from anywhere without the need for any technical skills. Try Go Sitebuilder free for 14-days to see just how easy it is to get your business online.