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How to choose the perfect domain name for your online store

Female small business owner stood in the middle of her shop updating her online store via a tablet device. She is wearing dark green clothing and glasses

Your domain name is the first time your users will connect with your brand, and it’s important that you get it right. We’ve put together some tips to help you create a memorable and unique domain name for your online store. 

Does it reflect your brand and product?

If you’ve already developed and established a brand name, then use this for your domain. If that isn’t available, brainstorm words related to your core brand and values that are relevant to your business, and think about your potential customers; does this evoke the concepts and feelings your business represents? If you’re not sure, show some examples to friends and ask them what they think the website is selling and what kind of brand it is – if it’s way off, consider changing it to make it clearer. 

Can you optimise it for SEO?

Including keywords in your domain name will help your site rank higher on search engines and be more visible to potential clients, so pick a name that is specific to your product. However, be aware that this could make your site sound generic (cottontshirts.com) and could also limit what you can offer in the future. You can also use the domain extension .store as it both shows that you’re an ecommerce brand and helps you get that keyword into your domain name.

Is it simple and easy to understand?

You want your domain to be unique, but also memorable. Keep it short (17 characters max) and avoid unnecessary characters, abbreviations and numbers. Avoid unusual spellings and make it easy to say out loud, as then it’s easier to remember. 

When you’re starting out, brainstorm lots of ideas! Choose 10 words that represent your brand personality and your product, and play with different variations until you find one that sounds right. Check if it’s available and remember to buy it quickly; there are bots that buy up domains that have been recently searched to sell that at a profit later. 

A domain name should represent you and your brand, but you need a high-quality website as well! Go Sitebuilder has ecommerce capability, personalised domain names and offers five email addresses with that domain. Try out their 14-day free trial, and use their pre-built themes and designs to create a website that your customers will love. 

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Top tips for designing your own website

Young male sitting in his pottery shop in front of a laptop and writing notes on how he is designing his website. He is wearing a black and white striped top and has glasses

Designing your website is an exciting moment for your company, and really lets you flex your creative muscles! But it’s not just making a beautiful design, although this is important to create a good first impression for your potential clients. We’ve put together a list of top tips of things to think about for your website to help make it look professional and help bring traffic to the site. 

What do your customers want to know?

It’s easy to think about what you want to tell your potential customers, but it’s even more important to think about what information they need. Put yourself in your client’s shoes – when you arrive on the website, can you see what service you provide and how to get it at first glance? If not, your visitors might be put off and move on to another site.

Prepare your content

You should have at least 10 blog posts ready to publish as soon as your website launches. And don’t rush it – your content needs to be high quality. Long-form content which has high-authority links and target keywords will rank higher in search results and drive more traffic to your site. Most importantly, make the content useful and relevant to your target audience! 

Keep your contact details visible and up to date

You want your potential clients to trust you and your brand, and if your site doesn’t have any contact details, they’re likely to become suspicious. 44% of users will leave a company’s website if there’s no contact information. It also creates a better user experience if the contact details are where they expect them to be, so make sure they can easily be found both in the main menu and in the footer of your website. 

Update your website regularly

Once your site is online, you can’t just let it sit there! Using an out of date website framework or plugin makes your computer vulnerable to hackers, so make sure the website creator you use has regular updates. Uploading new and up-to-date content that is useful for your target market both increases trust and helps with SEO, making it easier for users to find your site. 

If you’re ready to put these top tips into action, why not register for a 14-day free trial of Go Sitebuilder? You can design the site, upload your content and launch it in a couple of hours, without any previous knowledge of web design. 

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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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Can you do SEO yourself?

Female florist wearing a pink t-shirt and apron is working on her laptop to improve her business website's SEO

The words “search engine optimisation” may sound overwhelming to you, but they don’t have to. There are numerous resources available both on and off the web that are here to help you create a successful SEO strategy; one that you can execute yourself! So, yes – you can do SEO yourself – and here are some reasons you should.

Learn a new skill

SEO is a skill, and there is no doubt about that. You’ll learn how to study trends in optimisation and find different formulas to help you achieve top search results. Tips and tricks can be found in every nook and cranny of the internet, and you get a chance to play around with them all. The best part is, once you find something that works well – you’ll be the one reaping the benefits.

Save money

Taking on any task by yourself can save you money, whether you’re fixing your sink or learning how to write blogs for yourself. By taking on your SEO, you’ll be able to save money on strategists, copywriters, editors and more!

DIY SEO will help you save money from the start, along with in the future. Once you’ve established yourself with your core keywords and have learned how to write incredible content, you can sit back and relax and watch your sales roll in. 

It doesn’t have to be scary

With all of the resources available today, you’re in good hands. Many online communities are buzzing with people willing to help and share their experiences. Whether you join an online forum, sign up for daily newsletters or buy a couple of books – you’ll hit the ground running in no time. 

Hiring an expert 

While DIY SEO is an excellent option for many new businesses, some people simply don’t have the time. That’s where the professionals come in. SEO specialists are here to drive traffic by ensuring that your website gets the best ranking on search engines. SEO experts understand the needs of their clients and promise to deliver, which is why they make a great alternative for those who aren’t looking to take this on all by themselves. Another reason to hire an expert would be to expand on a strategy you’ve developed or for some new and fresh ideas. 

Ultimately, doing SEO by yourself is exciting, and it is your business, after all! We love learning new things and developing new skills, and you should too.

You can achieve great results with DIY SEO or with some help from the experts. No matter what SEO route you choose to take, make sure you have a great site to do it on. Sign up with Go Sitebuilder today to create a beautiful website. 

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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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Core Features to Look For in a website builder

Core Features to Look For in a Site Builder

When you launch your website, you are sending it out into the world wide web to be seen by your audience, and new ones too! Go Sitebuilder helps you build your confidence in site launching, even if you are not a professional site designer. We’ve put together a comprehensive list of what core features to look for in a website builder!

Making your website look appealing

Go Sitebuilder offers several professional designs and a library of beautifully designed sections and themes, all of which are fully customisable. There is a wide range of layout possibilities with the numerous pre-built sections offered. You can style each section of your site individually or even change the whole layout in just a click. These layouts are very responsive to your commands, making it easy to operate your site on smartphones, tablets and larger screens. A beautiful website will make all of the difference. 

Editing images

With the built-in image editor you can re-size, crop, scale, reduce red-eye and even add filters or stickers to your images. This will help you make your photos pop!

Increasing activity on your social media platforms

By adding your social platforms to your site, it becomes easier for site visitors to view your profile and latest posts. Make sure you’re creating content on your social media accounts as well. 

Ensuring communication with customers

When you include contact forms on your site, you’re helping your customers! Following submission of the form, you receive an email on the same in a matter of seconds.

Uploading files

Upload files and PDFs to your site so that customers can easily view, download and print them. We love this feature, especially for restaurant menus.

Embedding external content

You can add relevant outside content from other sites such as YouTube and Pinterest to your site.

SEO

Ensure your site gets fully indexed on search engines by adding site-level and page-level SEO tags and content.

Creating a gallery

Incorporate an appealing multi-image gallery on your site for visitors to view, expand and zoom in. You can import images from your Facebook page or from the Go Sitebuilder stock image gallery to your site. Additionally, you can set these images in a slide-show that transitions both manually and automatically.

Previewing your site

Before you publish, see a preview of how your site will appear on any device in both portrait and landscape layouts. In this way, you can add products and updates from anywhere.

Mapping domains

Do you have multiple domains that you wish to make available on your site? Go Sitebuilder offers a simplified domain mapping page for this.

Analysing customer insights

By incorporating the Google Analytics tracking code into your site, you can see what your audience thinks of your site. This can help you in a number of ways in the future, we’ll touch more on this in a future post.

Website personalisation

Add personal content into your website including videos, audios, text and maps to increase site traffic.

Creating a product store

With Go Sitebuilder, you can create a store with assorted products and stock as much as you wish. Additionally, you get to integrate various payment options such as PayPal and major credit cards and also create customised offers, just-arrived items, discount vouchers or redeemable points for customers. You can create a preset stock level that gives you alerts when certain products fall below that level.

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 our 14-day free trial (no credit card needed) to see just how easy it is.