Website development is now easier than ever. With WordPress and plenty of plugins, you can develop a professional-looking site without even knowing how to code. However, there are a few website development hacks that are essential to implement.
The following 5 website development hacks can get your site up and running in less than an hour. Let’s get started!
What’s Your Domain Name?
Spending some time brainstorming a powerful domain name is a very important website development hack. Remember, you’re stuck with your domain name once chosen and purchased, so make it count.
“Navigating the world of domain names can be a daunting task if you’re not up to speed on how to get one,” Jane Porter of Entrepreneur explained. “With countless caveats and hosting companies out there, it’s easy to be overwhelmed or worse, make a mistake that could ultimately cripple your business.”
The words you put in your domain name can be beneficial to your online search results as well. Using location or keywords associated with your industry/niche is also a valuable strategy.
For example, let’s say you are opening a personal injury law firm in Miami. Your domain name could be miamipersonalinjurylawyer. com to capitalize on your industry keyword and location. This can serve useful when registering your business with Google My Business, capitalizing on local search results and Google Maps results.
Is your domain name available? Many hosting providers will let you know if your domain name is available, but using the online platform Namecheckr also provide information about domain name availability, as well as social media networks for your business name.
Website Theme
There is a wide range of WordPress themes to choose form online. Many people building out a website will find a hosting provider first, but it may be valuable to search for a website theme before purchasing a hosting provider plan.
The type of website you want will determine your website. For instance, if your site is all about eCommerce, there are eCommerce website themes that will streamline your site development process. Platforms like Themeforest can get you going in the right direction.
Now there are free themes, but it is always a good idea to just purchase the paid version. This can cost in upwards of $100, but well worth the investment. With the paid version, you can customize nearly anything, allowing you to create your site how you envision it.
Different Types of Website Hosting
The type of website hosting you choose will depend on your potential site traffic and offerings. It is very important to be honest about your hosting needs because you don’t want to pay for a hosting plan that is too large or one that doesn’t meet the size of your site and traffic.
Exceptional hosting service providers will serve up features like free domain name, large server space that is scalable, and support in case an issue arises with your site after launch.
Things to think about are:
- Storage Space
- Site Speed
- Server Up-Time
- Site Owner Support
- Back-End Management
- Ease of Use
There are also different types of hosting as well. For instance, shared hosting is when you share a server with other websites. This can cause lag if the hosting provider doesn’t maintain the server properly. However, the hosting price is relatively affordable.
Hosting providers also offer a virtual private server (VPS), which gives your website a dedicated space. It is the next step up from a shared server. Then there are cloud-based servers, a new hosting technology that is scalable.
Getting Organized on WordPress
With a domain name, website theme, and hosting provider picked out, it is time to bring everything together under one WordPress site. Luckily, most hosting providers have an end-to-end solution for everything. You simply need to enter your domain name, purchase a hosting plan, and buy/upload your website theme to WordPress. We even use WordPress for The Startup Journal as well.
However, some hosting providers don’t do this. You may need to manually connect your domain name, and if you’re switching hosting providers, you’ll need to do a manual domain name connection as well. To do this, inject your DNS server name into the domain name user account.
Start Developing Your Website
It is time to start building your website! This may seem fairly straightforward, but there are a few hacks to ensure your site is primed for optimal search engine results. For instance, be sure to employ a few search engine optimization (SEO) tactics.
SEO tips include:
- Use an H1 tag in the above the fold content
- Place one or two keywords in the first paragraph
- Use H2 and H3 tags for subheadings
- Make navigation easy for your target audience
- Compress images to ensure fast page load time
Launch!
These five website development hacks will ensure your site looks good, is optimized for Google, and provides a powerful user experience for your visitors. From blog sites to eCommerce, ensure your website is primed for growth and success. What website development hack did we miss?
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