How to Get Started With Building a Website

The best way to start with building a website is by doing several things. First you want to find a web designer or developer. Second you want to choose a business name and a domain for your business. Third, you need to find a good host for your website (more details below). And fourth, you need to have a website dream vision in mind.

Best Web Host for Your Website

I have been using SiteGround for my hosting platform. Their customer service is amazing and I’ve had an overall amazing experience with them. I am currently on the GrowBig plan since this is what works best for me. I needed the space and the room to continue to grow. Many of my clients also use SiteGround and love it. You can learn more about their services and how to sign up below.

Why WordPress is the Best Website Platform

When I first started my other blog I went with Weebly. I quickly came to realize how limited I was on design and growth. I eventually made the switch over to WordPress (.org not .com) and absolutely love it. I have more freedom to design as I wish with no limitations, the website is my own to keep without any worry, and best of all, SEO and growth has been great ever since.

Determining the Main Purpose of Your Website

Before starting your website you first need to determine the main purpose of your site. What is the main goal you want to reach? What do you want it to provide to your audience? How will it benefit your business?

10 Website Pages to Build on Your Website and Why

Let’s dive in to what you’re really here for! The 10 landing pages that you absolutely need for your business website. Below I am going to go over each individual landing page, what to include in each, and why you need to add them to your website.

Please note that every business needs different pages so please adjust according to your business needs.

Website Page #1: A Homepage

This is by far one of the most important pages on your website. The homepage tells a quick glimpse into the story and offering of your business. You can find different sections in the landing page including:

• A brief description about the business.
• Brief description about the owner.
• A brief description about the blog or services.
• Call to action sections for email subscribers, shopping, services, and even to visit the blog.
• FAQ section (optional)

Website Page #2: About Page

An About page is important for your website because it tells your visitors exactly what your business is about, who the owner is, and sometimes even the team behind the business.

When composing an About page you want to make sure it tells the story of your business. It doesn’t have to be extremely long. A good 3 to 5 paragraphs can be long enough to tell your story.

Website Pages #3-5: Service Pages, Blog Pages, or Shop Pages

These next few pages all just depends on the kind of business that you have. If you are a service provider then you would need to have a service page. For bloggers or businesses that have a blog you want to showcase your blog since you will be consistently sharing valuable information with your audience. For shops you would need to have a Shop page that will lead your customers to the items that you are selling.

#3: Service Pages

If you provide a service or various services to clients/customers then having a Service Page is a MUST for your business.

On a Service page you want to showcase all of your services with a brief description of each service. You can also choose to display the cost of the service or a starting cost.

Another thing you can do is create an individual page for each service that you offer if you want to go more into detail about each service. This is however optional. It all just depends on how you want to display your services on your website.

Note: The goal is to give a clear picture of what you offer and answer some questions that your clients may ask.

#4: Blog Pages

Having a blog will mean that you will have multiple pages related to your blog. These include:

• Blog post page
• Blog posts displaying all of your blog posts. Usually it’ll be 10 blog posts per page.
• Category Page (optional)

Having a blog on your website can be a great way to build trust, brand awareness, and show your expertise in the content, service, or product you offer to your audience.

#5: Shop Pages

If you have a shop you want to make sure you have a shop page linked on your menu. However, just like with blogs, you will need multiple pages to go with your shop. These pages include:

• Main shop page displaying all of your listings.
• Category section pages. This is when it takes your shoppers to a specific list of products. For example: if you are shopping for women you will be click on women on the menu and look at everything that falls under that category.
• Individual listing: This is when you click on the product you wish to learn more about. You usually find a price, images of the product, description, and option to choose a size or style and add it to your cart.
• You will also want pages for when customers go to checkout which may need multiple pages depending on your checkout process.

Website Page #6: A Contact Page

It is important to always have a contact page. I personally like to include a form with a reCaptcha underneath to prevent spammers from submitting entries. However, you can also just add a link to your email address or just an unlinked email address where people can reach you at.

If you are receiving a lot of the same questions, I would also recommend adding a ‘Frequently Asked’ section to this page so you can answer some of the most commonly asked questions before people reach out to you directly. It helps narrow down the amount of emails coming in as well.

Website Page #7: 404 Error Page – “Page Not Found”

Another page that is important to have on your website is a 404 Error page. While this page won’t be listed on your menu, the soul purpose of this page is to redirect your audience if for some reason they run into a link on your website that no longer available or working. You can customize this page to make it your own.

Website Page #8-10: Website Legal Pages

This is super important to have on your website! Your site should be legally protected with a GDPR Compliant Privacy Policy, Website Disclaimer, and a detailed Terms and Conditions page. These pages should be written by an attorney or lawyer and never stolen or copy/pasted from another website. You need to make sure it fits your business by customizing the clauses within the policies. I have two different sets of legal page templates that you can purchase below.

• Legal Website Template Bundle from A Self Guru
• Legal Website Template Bundle from Artful Contracts (Use code CPDS10 for 10% off your purchase.)

You’re probably wondering what each of these are? Well let me explain each page and why they are each important to have on your website.

#8: GDPR Compliant Privacy Policy

A Privacy Policy tells your website visitors what information you collect through your website and what exactly you do with it. Most websites collect the same data for analytic purposes.

Your Privacy Policy should include the type of data collected on your website, how it is collected, what you do with that information (how it’s store and used), and how your visitors can contact you.

The GDPR portion of your Privacy Policy (also known as General Data Protection Regulation) is mainly for the residents in the European Economic Area. So if you have any website visitors from the EEA, your website Privacy Policy NEEDS to comply the GDPR regardless of where in the world your business is located at.

#9: Website Disclaimer

A website disclaimer is important to have because it declares a written statement denying responsibility for certain things on your website. This can include legal liability for information used or shared on your site. This can be helpful when a visitor misunderstands something about the relationship with them or about the information or resources given. The Disclaimer also clarifies the relationship you have with your website visitors and describes exactly what you provide and don’t provide to them.

#10: Terms and Conditions

A Terms and Conditions page, also known as Terms of Use or Terms of Service, goes over a written agreement between you and your website visitors on how your website can be used. It allows you to choose a governing law (according to your state), limit your liabilities, ban users who are abusing your website, protect your intellectual property and content (very important when it comes to copyright laws), and clarifies the responsibilities between you and your website users.

Other Types of Pages For Your Website to Consider

There are other landing pages that you can consider for your website. This just all depends on how established your business is, what content you need or want to share with your website visitors, and what you want to cover on your website.

Here is a list of landing pages to consider:

• FAQ Page: I mentioned having a FAQ section on your contact page but you can also choose to make a dedicated landing page for all of your frequently asked questions.
• Portfolio: If you own a business where you need a portfolio then you can have a Portfolio page on your website to showcase all of your work. This is perfect for photographers, graphic designers, service providers, home remodeling businesses, home decor businesses, etc.
• Testimonial / Review Page: If you want to showcase your testimonials and reviews on a landing page for your customers and clients to view, then a landing page is a great option. This will help your customer learn more about past experiences with other customers and make a better decision on whether to hire you or purchase from you or not.
• Press / News Page: If you are a blogger, influencer, content creator, and someone who has been featured on the press numerous time then you can display these awesome achievements in a landing page of it’s own. However, most people just showcase some logos of the brands they have worked with or that have featured them in a section of another landing page such as the homepage, contact page, or about page.
• Gallery Page: This is slightly similar to a portfolio page but the difference is that instead of showcasing individual projects, you will have a collection of images showcasing your best work. This is perfect for photographers or similar service businesses to showcase their top and best images of their work in a single page without being specific about the photoshoot or project it pertains too.
• Case Studies Page: If you’re a blogger that has worked with numerous brands and want to gain more sponsorship or partnership opportunities, then having a case study landing page showcasing your previous work is a great idea. This type of landing page is very similar to a portfolio. The name and content displayed in it is the only difference but the style of the landing page is the same.
• Sitemap: A sitemap is important for your website for SEO purposes. It displays a full breakdown of all of your landing pages and categories and displays it in a way that helps Google and other search engines learn more about your website.
• Resource Library: Having a Resource Library is important for some businesses. It can help you grow your email list consistently by sharing freebies and free resources with your email subscribers. A Resource Library is a password protected landing page that only your email subscribers have access too to download valuable resources that you share with them in exchange for them joining your email list. It also help to create a community with your audience.
• Events Calendar Page: If your business holds a lot of events then having an Events Page or Calendar Page showcasing your events may be important to have. It allows your website visitors to learn when the next event is and more information about the upcoming events.
• Announcements Page: An Announcement Page is perfect for shops and businesses that want to share upcoming promotions, a new product, or event with their audience. On this landing page you will share different announcements related to your business. This also helps create a sense of community and excitement around your business. You can even send the announcements to your email subscribers every time you create a new announcement to make it even more exciting for your audience.

How Many Website Pages Should I Have?

The answer to this question greatly varies from business to business and what that business needs from their website. I would definitely say that you need at least these 6 pages to have a good starting point for your business:

• Homepage
• About page
• A page that talks about what your company offers
• A contact page
• A 404 Error page
• and your legal pages

How to Build Your Website

I would recommend starting with a WordPress .org account hosted on SiteGround. You will start the process with the hosting platform and then install the WordPress dashboard. You can either buy a WordPress theme and try to DIY your website or you can hire a professional to do it for you. The choice is yours but I would recommend hiring a professional web designer to design your website if you’re not skilled enough to design it yourself. It will save you a lot of time and allow you to focus on your business instead of trying to learn how to design a website.

Why Hiring a Professional Web Designer is Important

Hiring a professional web design is important because they can make sure your website meets all the requirements needed for your business. A web designer will also look at things that most people don’t look at such as the responsiveness of your website, optimization, branding, spacings, development of the website, and much more.

Summary of Must Have Website Pages

Now that you have learned about the main website pages that your business needs, you can start brainstorming on how you would like to display them, what you want to include, and how to make it work best for your business. Remember that you don’t need all of the pages mentioned above. As long as you have the landing pages needed for your specific business, you can have a well rounded website that will bring value to your business and a good browsing experience to your website visitors.