{"id":23594,"date":"2022-12-15T02:10:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T02:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/8-easy-steps-to-launch-your-first-website\/"},"modified":"2022-12-15T02:10:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T02:10:16","slug":"8-easy-steps-to-launch-your-first-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/8-easy-steps-to-launch-your-first-website\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Easy Steps to Launch Your First Website"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In this day and age, a website is a vitally important part of any business. In fact, it might be the only venue you conduct your business on. It\u2019s the first place people go to learn about a brand and the experience people have on your website can impact revenue, customer loyalty, and the efficacy of your marketing efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Using a tool like Wix<\/a> to launch your site is a great way to avoid mistakes that a lot of first-time site builders make. Lean on their templates to easily set up a beautiful, functional website within a day, then tap into their ecommerce-focused offerings to quickly start selling on your new website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Crazy Egg\u2019s Favorite Tools for Launching Your First Website<\/h2>\n

When you\u2019re ready to build your first website, you want a tool that\u2019s easy to use, trustworthy, and comes with many useful features. Below, you\u2019ll find our Golden Eggs, our top picks for setting up and launching a great site in mere hours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wix<\/strong><\/a> gives you plenty of customization options, templates, and features so you can build a unique, functional website, even without any web design experience. Get started on Wix today for free<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Squarespace<\/strong><\/a> sports some advanced features for marketing your new website and a stunning array of templates that make your website stand out from the crowd. Try Squarespace on a free trial period today<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zyro<\/strong><\/a> is great for ecommerce sites, with advanced store plugins that help you address abandoned carts, international currency, and more. Sign up today for Zyro<\/a> and get up to 78% off a two-year subscription.<\/p>\n

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More Top Website Builders\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The Golden Eggs we mentioned are our favorites, but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t another website-building platform that is better suited for you. We\u2019ve reviewed this category in expansive detail, breaking down the top platforms in light of how easy they are to use, their range of customization, support, pricing, and more. Get all the details by reading our post reviewing the best website builders<\/a> on the market today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 1 \u2013 Get Started with Wix\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The first thing you\u2019ll want to do when launching your first website is to get started with a great provider that delivers a site-building tool and hosting for your new site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wix<\/a> is a top option because it\u2019s easy for anyone to use between its range of beginner-friendly templates and its drag-and-drop interface. Plus, their paid plans include valuable extras like a free year of domain registration, 24\/7 customer support, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you head over to Wix\u2019s homepage, you\u2019ll see a button that says Get Started<\/strong>. Click on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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You\u2019ll then be asked to add your details and set up an account.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The great thing about Wix is that you don\u2019t have to commit to a paid subscription at this point. Use the free version to dip your toes in the water and get used to the interface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you publish your website while still on the free plan, it will be live and available to visitors, but It will also mean that you\u2019re stuck with a URL like mynewwebsite.wixsite.com<\/em>. That isn\u2019t great if you are trying to look professional. You won\u2019t be able to get rid of the wixsite subdomain unless you upgrade to a paid plan.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, when you upgrade to a paid package, Wix will help you register a custom domain that fits your brand or business and even give you one year of registration for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve set up your account, you\u2019ll get started on Wix\u2019s site building wizard. On the first screen, click Get Started,<\/strong> and you\u2019ll be taken to the first step in their easy, guided process. Or, if you left the site before moving on from the account creation step, simply log back into your Wix account, go to your dashboard, and click Create New Site<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Step 2 \u2013 Choose a Site Theme<\/h2>\n

The first step is to answer some of Wix\u2019s questions to determine the proper theme for your site. This will help you choose the best template for your needs and set up the overall visual feel of your site without having to do any coding or manual work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wix<\/a> will ask you the kind of site you\u2019re looking to build (such as an online store or blog), the name of your business or what you\u2019d like to call your website, and a few other questions determined by the type of site you select in answer to the first question, like what kind of site elements you\u2019d like to have added (like an online store, events sections, or social media feeds).\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Once you\u2019ve answered the questions, you can browse a selection of templates and choose the one you like best. Once you\u2019ve made your selection, click on the template and click Edit<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll then be able to tweak the style, look, and elements that come with the template. Edit everything from colors and images to text, widgets, logos, and much more to make the site your own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At this stage, it\u2019s smart to give yourself some time to play around with a template. See how well you can adjust the visual and textual elements to fit the vision in your head. If it\u2019s not working out, you can always go back a step and try a different template.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve edited the template to match the look and feel you want, save your edits and start adding your content and site elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 3 \u2013 Place Site Elements and Content<\/h2>\n

Once you\u2019ve chosen a theme and you\u2019ve finished editing the visual elements of your site, you\u2019re ready to move on to actually updating the content.<\/p>\n

You can start by adding any elements that you feel are missing. The term \u201celements\u201d refers to anything from text fields, image containers, and buttons on your site to widgets for contacting you, streaming videos, web store features, and much more.<\/p>\n

Just click the plus button<\/strong> on the left-hand sidebar while viewing your live template, then click on the bottom icon to view all the possibilities you can add to your W<\/a>i<\/a>x<\/a> site.<\/p>\n

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Wix\u2019s drag-and-drop editor makes it really easy to place these elements where you\u2019d like them on your site pages. And you can edit everything text-based and update headers, buttons, and more with your own copy. Try and personalize all of these with your target audience in mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wix\u2019s templates usually have placeholder or example text in content-heavy sections to give you an idea of what kind of function that section should have and what you should be writing there. You can also look at other websites you admire or that are in your niche to see what kind of copy they add to their sites in similar sections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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If you really want to create good copy that converts your visitors into subscribers or shoppers, check out our Crazy Egg guides on writing web page copy like this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You should also consider adding some keywords to your written content to boost your chances of being found by your ideal audience. We\u2019ve written many whole guides on using keywords and applying SEO strategies on your website. Start with our comprehensive post on optimizing your website for SEO<\/a>, if you\u2019re interested in learning more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget to spell-check all your content using a free tool like Grammarly. You don\u2019t want people to land on a site full of spelling mistakes. Apart from that, try to have fun! If you\u2019re building a blog for your first website, make sure your personality shines in your content. If you\u2019re building a business site, stay true to your brand identity and think about what sort of voice and tone will resonate most with your target customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019re done, save your site again in Wix before moving onto setting up the site navigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 4 \u2013 Edit Links and Navigation<\/h2>\n

The next thing you\u2019ll want to do is to add links on your and adjust the site navigation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most Wix<\/a> templates will set up a navigation menu for you, but you may want to alter which options are listed there and what pages they link to. In the Wix editor, it\u2019s easy to change the text and link destination just by clicking on the text container for each menu entry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond navigation links, you\u2019ll likely want some site elements to link to other portions of your site or other places on the web. Making sure these link destinations are correct is important. Broken links (ones that don\u2019t point to a valid URL) can negatively impact both your user experience and your SEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can add links to any page, button, or text in Wix easily. Just select whichever element you want to add a link to and edit the link by clicking the chain link icon above the element.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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You want to go through every single link on your site to make sure the destination links are accurate, including any time you mention another page, any blog posts you add, your footer menus, your buttons, social links, and any forms that are included on your site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An easy way to check these once you update your site is to save your changes in Wix, then click Preview<\/strong> in the upper right-hand corner. This will give you an idea of what your finished site will look like and help you check if links are pointing to the right places.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 5 \u2013 Add Apps\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Want to really soup up your first website? Tap into Wix\u2019s App Market to implement advanced widgets that can handle things like email signup forms, testimonial sections, and many other elements that can really improve the visitor experience on your site.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can access the App Market from your Wix dashboard or within the site editor by clicking the fifth icon (four squares arranged in a grid) in the left-hand sidebar. When you arrive, you\u2019ll see a range of different apps that you can install on your site to deliver unique and impressive features to your site visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Some of these are free, others you\u2019ll have to pay for. You may be surprised by the selection of free options, which include tools for social media pop-ups and site analytics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you go to the My Business<\/strong> section of the sidebar (the third icon from the bottom), you\u2019ll see that there are additional Wix apps specifically designed to help you with different parts of your business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Once you\u2019ve added all the relevant apps you need to your site, you have just one more step before officially launching your first website!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 6 \u2013 Add Legal Pages\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The last step is one a lot of folks gloss over. You\u2019ll need to set up pages that cover any legal elements that are important to what you\u2019re using your site for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For most sites, this entails your cookie policy, your privacy policy, and your terms and conditions. Having these pages is a requirement for data privacy regulations. Not having them could land you in a lot of trouble.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Your Wix template should come with a boilerplate version of these included that can usually work without editing anything since they\u2019re created for Wix templates and thus are written to match how Wix uses cookies and collects data on their users\u2019 sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If your template didn\u2019t come with any or all of these legal pages, you can generate them for free using a tool like Iubenda<\/a>. Wix\u2019s Privacy Center within your dashboard also may have settings that allow for you to generate a site banner that accomplishes the same purpose as these subpages.<\/p>\n

Step 7 \u2013 Launch Your Site\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Now that you\u2019ve set up all the pages, apps, design, and content on your site, you\u2019re finally ready to launch!\u00a0<\/p>\n

To do so, just go to the upper right-hand corner of the Wix editor and click Publish<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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You can keep editing and tweaking your site once it\u2019s published, but this version of your site will be what visitors see until you save any new changes in the Wix editor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After your first website has gone live, it\u2019s a good idea to go into incognito or private browsing mode and look at it as if you were any web visitor. Check links to make sure they work, check the loading speeds for images, forms, and content, and test out the navigation and overall user experience. If you notice any issues, go back into the Wix editor, make your fixes, then click Update <\/strong>and review your site again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once you feel happy with your new website, take a breath and enjoy the feeling for a bit! Your first website is now live and available to any browser on the internet!<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve celebrated, take care of the true last step, which is a key task for your first website\u2019s continued health and efficacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Step 8 \u2013 Set Up Google Analytics\u00a0<\/h2>\n

The last step you should take when launching a site is setting up Google Analytics on it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even though Wix<\/a> has its own tools for site analytics, it\u2019s a good idea to use Google\u2019s tools at the same time. Google is the biggest search engine and therefore it gives you the best insights into how your site is ranking in searches, how people are interacting with your site and your links, and how you can improve your SEO.<\/p>\n

Simply log into your Google account and then head to the website for Google Analytics<\/a>. You\u2019ll then fill in all of the details about your Wix site and add the URL to your Analytics account. With that, you\u2019re ready to start tracking your site traffic, visitor actions, and much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Setting up Google Analytics is easy, but if you want a step-by-step guide showing you exactly how to do it, you can read Crazy Egg\u2019s full guide here<\/a>. And don\u2019t forget that once you\u2019ve set up your Google Analytics, there\u2019s nothing to stop you from using Wix analytics at the same time to give you an even better idea of your site\u2019s traffic and data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n