There’s no shortage of articles written about how to get more visitors to a website. But once found, you’ve got about 8 seconds to grab them. If your site isn’t holding up to your sparkly competitors, it’s time to take some drastic measures. Yet, it can be a real pain in the pocketbook to have someone do it for you.
That’s why it’s time to take it over. Managing your own site gives you total control over the virtual aspects of your business. When it’s easy and cheap to add new content, you’re more likely to keep it up to date. Both your visitors and Google will love you for it.
The look of websites – along with the tools to build them – have really evolved over the past few years. They require no coding, are easy to use and are designed for mobile viewing. New formats, like parallax scrolling on one page, deliver a new user experience.
For solid brochure-type sites required by most professionals and small businesses, I primarily recommend Weebly for its pure-bliss, drag-and-drop interface. If you can use word processing, you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting up to speed
on this one. You can always get assistance for the
more challenging technical bits. I often set up
Weebly sites for clients, then hand them over to them for updates and maintenance.
Squarespace is a very tight second, namely for the beauty of its templates. It takes a little bit more practice though.
Both platforms allow you to customize to your heart’s desire with colors, fonts, headers, images and more. Mobile options and responsive templates are available so your visitors won’t have trouble viewing from their favorite devices. Both offer e-commerce for selling physical or digital goods, but for a true storefront, you’ll want to use a tool like Shopify.
For most of my clients, super-popular WordPress has too steep a learning curve. But if blogging or content publishing is your primary focus, few others can beat it.
Robbin Block, founder of Blockbeta Marketing, has more than 25 years of experience in marketing strategy, combining the best of traditional and new media. She’s fluent in web technologies that help her clients make the most of their online presence. Robbin is also the author of Social Persuasion: Making Sense of Social Media for Small Business.
Making Your Own Website Resurrection
Do-it-yourself web templates allow you to take control of your online presence
By Robbin Block
Before
After