When you first start an online business (or any type of business for that matter) – the first questions that may come to mind are...

How do I start my website? 

Where do I host my website? 

What do I need to put on my website? 

How do I make my website sell my offers?

Oftentimes, when we first get started in our business we don’t have the resources to outsource to have a professional create our websites so we end up DIY-ing our website - and not always in the most strategic way to drive sales for our businesses.

On the most recent episode of Wealthy, Worthy and WILD - Mary McWilliams (professional Squarespace designer)  joins in a conversation giving us everything we need to know about how to DIY your website, tips for increasing conversions, the biggest website mistakes, SEO and so much more!

To listen to the full episode you can do so, here.

If you are seeking a quick and digestible Q+A format to assist in your website woes… keep reading! Mary gave all sorts of gems during our conversation and if you are setting up a website (or wanting to adjust yours) this conversation is a game changer!

Question #1:

Can you give me some tips on how to set up my website?

Pick a platform (Squarespace, WIX, Wordpress) and make sure that you’re picking a platform based on your business needs - but also be sure it addresses content and programming needs and fits into your businesses finances. 

Squarespace - Best customization, lowest cost, ease of customization, gives you the option and ease of editing (without needing a professional to help all the time!) Squarespace is by far the most bang for your buck and has great drag and drop customization offerings.

WIX -  Is great, but the customization is limited and it costs more than Squarespace and has less to offer (as far as customization).

Wordpress - Is great, but you will need to have the ability to hire a professional website designer that can be on hand for edits. So if you are wanting to be more in control of your site, site editing and want to keep costs down - this may not be your best bet!

1. Remember: your website isn’t the end all be all. Your main goal with your website should be ‘how can I serve the community’ through my offerings? Does my website make my offerings clear?

2. And last -but certainly not least- you want to get really clear on who you are serving… and what you are offering them. Your website simply cannot be effective if you don’t know who and what you are offering.

Question #2:

How do you choose a platform for your site?

You again want something that meets all your needs as a business. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when deciding on your website platform:

1. What platform offers you the customization options that you need?  Write down a list of your needs (scheduling events/bookings, hosting events/webinar/streaming, selling courses, blog, etc). Be clear on what you want on your site and make sure you are choosing a platform that has the ability to meet (and exceed) your needs.

2. What gives you the option for building and hosting the content that you share in the way that you want to do so?

3. What website hosting platform allows your brand and company to grow with you? Think about what your current business needs are and what your long term business goals are - will your chosen website platform offer you flexibility to grow and adapt as your business grows? You want this ability!

Question #3:

How can I be sure my website works for me and my business?

>> Set a Goal for Your Website <<

• You want to make a goal and then work backwards when creating your site.

You want to set a goal for your site - whether it’s to get more people to sign up for your free webinar (so you get their emails for your email list) or if you want them to buy your course.  You want to think about what action you want your website viewers to take - and that should be your goal for your site.  Once you have this goal in mind - you want to set up your website in a way that makes this the obvious step for anyone who visits your site.  You want to build your site in way that guides everyone who visits towards the “goal” of your site - to buy, to sign up for your newsletter, to listen to your podcast, read your blog, etc….

• Don’t copy other entrepreneurs and businesses “like” you...their goals are DIFFERENT. You want your website set according to your goals. 

When it comes to building your site… it is super tempting to get inspiration from websites and individuals that you admire - the trick is, not everyone has the same business goals as you - and they most definitely won’t have the same website goals as you.  You want to make sure you build your unique site in a way that caters to YOUR business needs and not someone else's.  You’ll do this by getting clear on what action you want your website visitors to take and guiding them along on the way.  

Question #4:

How Can I Use SEO to Help Drive Business to My Site? 

It depends on your platform of course - but the main thing you want to try and do is sprinkle SEO  (search engine optimization) words within your content throughout your site. You can do this by making sure you have keywords (based on your niche) in your titles, website description and everywhere possible throughout all pages on your site.  Squarespace has some great customization for SEO and it is extremely user friendly.  The best advice I can give is to use terms that people will be searching for within your niche and use them frequently within the content on your site.  When your website is seen on more screens (which SEO helps you achieve) bigger brands/companies in your niche may backlink (sharing on their sites) to your content - making your content rate higher in Google (giving you more priority) in Google searches. This happens because when people share your content - especially bigger companies and brands, Google recognizes you as a credible source. 

Question #5:

How can I make best use of my time when I need to create for my blog, Instagram, Pinterest, newsletters, etc.?

Repurpose your content!

You want to create one long form piece a week (podcast, blog post, Instagram post) and break it up into a week's worth of content to share and engage your community!  Not everyone who follows you or is on your email list will see everything you share.... You want to be sure you are presenting content several times so it is seen at least once by each person (or has the potential)! 

I highly recommend you give the full episode with Mary a listen - this conversation is a game changer and something I certainly could’ve used when I first started my online business! You don’t want to miss this conversation with Mary McWilliams of Wellness Site Shop.

To listen to the full website you can click here.

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>> P.S. You’re invited to my FREE webinar on how to turn your passion into an online business! {CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP}