5 Simple Steps to Create a Successful Website or Blog

No matter how big or small a web site or blog might be today, what they all have in common with each other is that at one time it was their very first day and they started with nothing.

Starting a web site of blog of your own can be an exciting and scary time. Exciting because there is a world of opportunity just waiting for you, and scary because many people simply don’t know how or where to get started.

The good news is that there are many different online resources and guides to help you along the way.

What most site owners don’t realize is that the pre-planning and actual launch of their site is the most important time and area that they should be spending their focus.

In the 5 Steps to Starting a Successful Web Site infographic from A Small Orange Coupon, we are going to look at the five simple steps every would-be site owner or blogger should look through and consider before actually launching their site.

I’ve also taken the liberty of breaking down each of these steps for you below.

photo/ Michael Jarmoluk via pixabay.com

1 – Plan for the Launch of Your Site

The planning phase of your site is so important because it’s the foundation on which your site will lay. Just like a house needs to have a solid foundation and plans in place before getting built, a web site or blog needs to have the same. Your initial site planning should include the niche focus of your site, how you are going to create content and why people will find value in your site.

2 – Build Your Site with Purpose

Once you have an idea for what type of site you want to create, it’s then time to start thinking about the content you would like to create for the site. It’s not just about creating more content to clutter up the internet, instead it’s about providing value and giving people reason to visit your site. In most cases, when people are online they are looking for information, to buy something or to be entertained. Which of these target audiences will your site cater to?

3 – Choose a Solid Hosting Platform

Web sites and blogs can be created in many different ways. WordPress is one of the most common methods for creating a site today. You can create a free site through services like WordPress.com or Blogger.com, or you can go the professional route and register your own domain name and premium hosting, then installing WordPress on your server to create and run your site.

4 – Pick a Domain Name that Represents Your Brand

The domain name of your site should be easy to spell, memorable and also give your audience a good idea of what to expect from your site, without even being there.

When coming up with a domain name for your site, you will likely need to get a big creative, as most of the original and exact match domain names are already taken.

5 – Publish and Go Live with Your Site

The last step of pre-planning and launching your site, is to pull everything we mentioned together and actually going live with your site.

With a domain name registered, web hosting setup and WordPress installed on your server, you are now ready to start posting content to your site. Once you start creating content for your site and have traffic flowing through it daily, you may even be able to start making money with your blog.

Moving forward you will need to keep creating content for your site, setup social network profiles, build backlinks to your site and eventually gain the trust of your audience and have a loyal following.

Guest Author: Zac Johnson