How to Build a Great Website

1. Decide on the purpose of your website

Before you start designing your website, you need to define exactly what you need that site to do. Are you looking for how to sell goods and services directly to customers, or do you primarily need a convenient information source where people can learn about your business? Or both?

Get as specific as possible about what your goals are. For example, you might be hoping to:

• Sell physical or digital products or services
• Have a place where local customers can find your hours, prices, or other information about your company
• Communicate your brand’s identity and message
• Post announcements and updates
• Showcase customer reviews and testimonials
• Move leads through your sales funnel
• It’s fine to have more than one goal for your website—as long as you have a strategy for achieving each one.

For example, if one of your primary goals is to progress leads to purchase, how will your website accomplish that? Will you be posting explainer videos and product or service details so people can learn more before they speak with a sales rep? Are you planning to target top-of-funnel leads and generate the first spark of interest? Or will you have sections for both of these lead types?

The more specific you can be, the easier you’ll be able to make decisions about how to build your website.

2. Choose a custom domain

The first thing your website needs is a domain. Your domain is your home base on the internet and the signpost that allows the world to find you. Think of it as the virtual version of your store window.

Selecting your domain name

Your domain name is what people will type into their web browsers to find you. You want it to be memorable and unique while also being a logical match for your business. Don’t worry—coming up with one is easier than it sounds!

If you have a business name, start by finding out if that custom domain name is available as a domain. If not, check if adding location information would help. For example, if “carolsdogwash” is taken, try “carolsdogwashmilwaukee.”

It’s okay to use an alternative if your business name is long or complex. In that case, shortening can work well—“dchlaw” for “The Law Firm of Dewey, Cheetem, and Howe,” for example. Notice that this name has the type of business—law—in the domain. That makes it both easy to remember and easy for search engines to tell what type of content users can expect to see.

Picking a domain extension

When you pick your domain, you’ll also need to select an extension. The classic .com should be your first choice unless you’re a nonprofit because people tend to type .com at the end of websites by default.

Other domain extensions include:

• .net for tech companies
• .org for nonprofits
• .info for information-only sites
• .club for interest groups

Buying or connecting your domain

Mailchimp makes it easy to search for and buy a domain. You can register and pay directly through the website then start building your personalized website using our drag-and-drop website builder.

If you've already bought a domain, you can connect it to Mailchimp for free.

3. Decide on a host

Every website needs a web host. A host is a company that sells or leases data space on its servers. That space becomes your website’s home, holding all the information for every page you build. If it helps, you can think of your hosting company as a property manager for the internet.

There are two types of hosting that are offered by hosting providers. They are:

• Shared hosting, in which multiple websites have storage space on a single server. Each site has its own section of the server, so everyone’s information stays secure.
• Dedicated hosting, in which one website has an entire server. This hosting type is often used by extremely large sites like Google and Amazon that have thousands of pages and massive amounts of data traffic.

New businesses do fine with shared hosting, and Mailchimp provides it for free. If you’ve already gone through the step of buying a domain name from Mailchimp or connecting a domain that you purchased elsewhere, Mailchimp is already your host for that site.

4. Choose a website builder

To stick with the real estate metaphor, by now you’ve chosen an address (your domain) and bought the land (gotten a host). Your next step is to build your site.

Like building a physical structure, a solid framework will make your site look and perform at its best. One option is to pay a professional to build and design your site. The average cost for that service in 2021 is between $4,000 and $10,000, but you could end up paying more if you need multiple pages or more complex functionality.

Part of what you pay for in this case is the design and coding skills necessary to structure a site. Think of that hypothetical building again. It takes Web professional-level expertise to create the framework for a website design from scratch, just like it takes expertise to create the framework for a house.

The difference is that when you’re building a website, you don’t have to create it from scratch. Mailchimp offers free website building and publishing services, complete with a drag-and-drop website builder that you don’t need any technical skills to use. Mailchimp becomes your website platform and does all the coding for you. You just have to make the web design choices—and Mailchimp can help you with that, too.

5. Map out your site

Mapping out your site is incredibly important. Your site works like a family tree; the parents (your home page) are at the center and the children (different pages) branch out from there. So, you need to know how to move site visitors from one page to another.

Site maps are also necessary for the designer as they need to know the depth and structure of the site. Once the site map is drawn, the designers can refine it and make sure the navigation makes sense.

While site mapping can be time-consuming, it’s essential to the development of a smart website that’s easy to navigate and that your customers will find easy to use.

Regardless, it’s a good idea to have a home page and a “contact us” page. Beyond that, your site map will depend on the goals that you identified earlier in the process.

Here are some ideas to get you started in your website creation process:

• A “squeeze page,” which encourages the visitor to enter their email address, possibly to access downloadable content or receive a discount code
• A lead capture page where people enter their name and contact data so that you can contact them with more information
• An “about us” page with information about your company
• A page for customer testimonials and reviews
• A pricing page, which is important for businesses that have subscription or service levels

You can also create landing pages that coordinate with specific marketing campaigns. For example, if you run a campaign to promote a particular product category, you can create a landing page for that category and feature the items you’re promoting. You can even add promotional pricing.

With Mailchimp, you can publish an unlimited number of webpages for free, so the sky’s the limit in terms of your site structure choices. You have free rein to decide what kinds of pages you want and how you want people to be able to navigate from one page to the next through personalized website navigation.

Page design planning

Now that you have the bones of your site mapped out, it’s time to start planning the layout of each page. Will the page have graphics, columns, videos, or even testimonials?

Each page should be thought through and designed using a website wireframe. A wireframe is like a schematic for the page. It serves as the basic structure of the page, allowing you to ensure the customer can navigate through your website easily.

6. Select a web design that fits your brand

Your website is one of the best tools you have for establishing your brand. It highlights all of the major elements of brand identity:

• Logos
• Typography
• Color
• Packaging
• Written content

Your website look blends each of these elements—yes, including packaging, as long as you have some kind of products or services page with images. Together, they showcase the personality of your brand.

Your identity has to be consistent, especially when your business is new and you're building your brand. A consistent look helps attract new customers to your brand. People feel drawn to different brand aesthetics, from the graphics style to the color scheme. You’ll even connect with different people depending on whether your brand is formal or informal, contemporary or classic, and so on.

When you build your website through Mailchimp, you can select from a broad range of template designs, designer-approved fonts, and color palettes. You can also customize the font and color scheme to match your brand aesthetic.

Pro tip: Keep the color, font, and graphic style the same across all of your landing pages. You can still vary the layout and image choices, but your brand identity will stay consistent this way.

7. Build your pages

Once you have your aesthetic set, you can construct various landing pages. This is one of the most enjoyable parts of creating a website—even more so when you use a drag-and-drop website builder. Mailchimp’s editor is easy for anyone to use, even if you have no coding or design experience. Just navigate to the page you want to build and start experimenting with the drag-and-drop site builder.

Your main goal is to make the site intuitive, easy to navigate, and descriptive of your business. Build your navigation menu so that visitors can find the pages they're looking for quickly. Use dropdowns so that the bar doesn’t get too crowded. For example, nest them under a “services” dropdown heading if you have multiple services.

Always have a descriptive heading at the top of every page so visitors know what they’re looking at. Creative phrasing is fine, but make sure the message comes across. That’s important for all content that appears above the “fold,” the invisible line on a page that divides what you see first to what you have to scroll to see.

Do your best to keep the most important information and key messaging above the fold. More details can go below the fold, but keep the design clean and uncluttered.

If you have a call-to-action (CTA), find an obvious place for it. A lot of people will scroll to the bottom to find the CTA, but sometimes it’ll be better at the top of the page.

8. Connect your payment processor

Once you’ve completed the mapping process, have built your pages, and are happy with the look and feel of the site, it's time to move on to the next step. Those that have an e-commerce site must choose a payment processing provider. Anyone doing business online should be able to accept different forms of payment online.

The process only takes a couple of minutes, but a lot happens in those few minutes. During an e-commerce payment processing, all information passes through a secure gateway that keeps the information safe. Preventing the financial information of your customers from falling into the wrong hands is essential, so make sure to do your research before connecting with a payment processor.

9. Optimize for search engines

SEO, or search engine optimization, is something that every business website owner has to think about. It’s the practice of creating and optimizing your content to connect based on how your potential customers look for your products or services in search engines.

Every search engine has a different algorithm, but Google handles approximately 92% of all searches, so it’s best to optimize for Google. Whenever someone conducts a search, Google will show them the web pages that it believes to be most authoritative and relevant to that search. Making your content search friendly means creating content that Google wants to show everyone.

The rules of SEO are always changing, but two things are consistently important: keywords and quality content. Take some time to research the keywords that people use to find products or services like yours in search engines to customize your content accordingly. Your content should be unique and descriptive.

Backlinks, or inbound links—links to your site from other sites—are important too, but they take time to build. As soon as you have a website, start linking to it from your social media, and encourage your followers to do the same. You can also invite your audience to review your products and services on consumer review sites to get more backlinks.

Before your site goes live, follow this SEO checklist to make sure you're leveraging every opportunity to draw people to your site.

Pro tip: Today’s search engines know that 59% of US search engine visits happen on mobile devices, so they prioritize sites that are mobile friendly. Make sure that your pages are easy to view and navigate from smartphones and tablets.

10. Check your links and preview your website

Test your website. Your internal links should be a priority. These links are how your users, as well as Google’s site crawlers, find the different parts of your site, and if they don’t work, your users and Google might not realize that those other pages exist.

Next, check any backlinks that come from sites you control, such as your Facebook page or Instagram bio. Also, make sure any links to third-party sites go to active pages. Non-working links can make your site look less professional and hurt your users' experience.

If you can, let someone else look at your website and click around a bit so you get a second opinion on how well it works. You can send the site to a select few to ensure that the site is functioning correctly and the navigation makes sense. Not only should links and buttons work as planned, but the website should also be free of typos and grammatical errors.

11. Publish your website

If you’ve followed the steps above, your new website is now ready for the world!

Different providers have slightly different processes, but when using Mailchimp, publishing your website could not be easier.

Things to do after your website is published

You can sit back and do nothing now that your website is done, right? Well, not exactly. After learning how to make your own website, knowing how to maintain it is essential.

By now you have checked everything and know the site is functional and live. But you need to do ongoing maintenance to make sure your site is always fresh and has new information for users.

Here are some things you can consider doing regularly to maintain your website:

• Verify the information on the site is up to date and accurate.
• Add new products and services.
• Add customer testimonials.
• Add a blog to help position the company as an industry leader.
• Check the site for customer feedback.
• Ensure the e-commerce part of the site is working properly.

Building a website: Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build a website?

Complex websites can be costly to create, especially when working with a professional designer or website developer. However, there are other options that make them far more affordable. Mailchimp’s website builder is easy to use and free. In a short time, you can have a great, functional website that'll support your business, grow your brand, and generate revenue.

What key features should my website have?

Your website can have an array of features. However, a few of the most important ones include:

• Logo
• Business name
• Navigation bar
• Contact information

How long does it take to build a website?

Creating a website can be a demanding task. However, you can use a website builder to speed up the process. Knowing exactly what will go on the page can also help you finish your website faster.

Build a great website with Mailchimp

A great website is essential to growing your audience, building your online presence, and generating revenue. By following the steps above, you can create a website that enhances your brand and gets you the attention you deserve.

Building a website doesn’t have to be a headache. With Mailchimp’s website builder, you can create a beautiful, professional website for your brand. Easily customize the layout, sell your products, and more.