How to Build a Website from Scratch?

We all know that increasing your online presence and reaching more customers is directly linked to having your website. You should strategically build a website from scratch if your goal is to have a good audience and a reliable customer base.

The good thing is that process of website building has become extremely simple over the past few years. Using website builder tools, it is possible to make highly functional websites without any coding skills or the need to hire a web developer.

For instance, Zoho Sites is one of the best instant website builders that enable you to create a visually attractive website within a few minutes only with a drag-and-drop tool. You can also create a website for free and get hosting easily.

What’s more, there are three upgrade options that offer additional features, including basic e-commerce tools. In case you have purchased the Zoho Corporation’s other software suites, you have instant access to Zoho Sites as well.

What is Zoho Sites?

Zoho Sites is an online website-building solution that makes creating a website a simple process. It does not matter if you are a beginner, an intermediate, or a pro, the features of Zoho Sites make website building a very simple process.

From building something simple like a blog or complex like a business website, Zoho Sites makes the entire process highly intuitive and easy to understand. There is no technical knowledge or web design experience required to build a website.

Zoho Sites comes with many features, including a professionally designed template, drag and drop site builder, responsive theme and design, image optimization, visual marketing tool, auto update databases, google tools, etc. You can start choosing a design template from the wide collection of Zoho.

Why Use Zoho Sites?

1. Responsive Design

Zoho Sites offers highly responsive and mobile-friendly design templates. This means that the site looks good on all screens and devices, including phones.

With the help of a drag-and-drop editor, one can customize a template to reflect business needs along with design preferences. Furthermore, the themes are professionally designed, which ensures that all our efforts look mature and well-defined.

2. Advertising Feature

Many website builders, particularly the ones that are free, provide you with the services in exchange for only being able to create and place ads on the website. In this case, many times, one does not end up getting any input on the ads that are displayed on a website.

On the other hand, for the users of the free version of the website builder, the space that you give is just a small spot in the website’s footer. This is right where there is a Zoho Sites logo and a link that says, “Create a Free Website.” This logo is appropriately adjusted and aesthetically pleasing in a way that does not distract the visitors.

3. Product Data Updates

When you create an online store and make some regular changes to the products in lines of pricing, models, etc., all that is needed to do is to create the update in the database.

Every page on the website featuring the product ends up getting automatically updated. When you create an online store with Zoho Sites, you are not just creating a web presence for a brick-and-mortar business, but you are also adding fundamental e-commerce features that can be integrated with useful applications.

For example, some of the Zoho Sites packages include a product gallery that can be listed for including all products that one wishes to sell.

4. PayPal Integration

It is possible to connect a website with PayPal so that all customers can check out easily and safely. This also involves multimedia tools like slideshows and support for videos that enable a variety of visual marketing techniques for showcasing products, image optimization, etc. 

Zoho Sites gives unlimited file storage and bandwidth so that one never has to worry about running out of space or a site being unavailable due to heavy traffic load.

5. Zoho Sites Builder

The entire process of Zoho Sites is very simple and includes an email address and a password. You can be immediately redirected to the themes page while selecting the design templates.

There are multiple themes that can be chosen from, and regardless of the presence of a section for responsive themes, Zoho ensures that all themes are exceptionally mobile-friendly.

On the basis of an industry that a business might belong to, it becomes possible to browse themes related to photography, furniture, art, construction, real estate, non-profit, music, fashion, food, etc.

Right after the themes have been chosen, you can be led to the drag-and-drop editor, where it is then possible to customize the themes based on individual preferences and website goals.

Regardless of the fact whether you change the images and text or if you are interested in a detailed overhaul, it is possible to make the changes easily. Besides this, you can also alter the layout with elements, collect leads with forms, access data easily, use applications to integrate with third-party providers, and manage a store with a commerce tab.

Step By Step Process of Building a Website

There is no doubt that building a website can be a challenging task. However, we will collectively walk you through the process and show you that there is nothing to fear.

1. Purpose of Building a Website

You should be clear about the reason why you are building a website. Always start by thinking objectively and holistically. Just like building a brand, creating a website also needs a roadmap.

The purpose of your website should be branding and selling products online along with advertising your services. You should also know why your site exists so that you can set it in the right direction.

The next step is to note down the content sections so that the goal can be supported clearly. This can include a brand’s story, propositions, values, and practices. Moreover, this also tells you why most people will want to visit your website. If you want people to do something, then you must make that clear.

2. Do Visual Research

When it is about planning the entire look and feel of a website, then visual research helps a lot. Whether you are managing things independently or you have hired a digital marketing agency, you should prioritize preparing a visual vault.

There are many websites that are useful for finding images and videos to be used for pages where otherwise the content gets overlooked. It is best to collect and upload all your brand’s elements in just one place and organize them under different folders.

You can make different folders for photos, logos, articles, videos, illustrations, and fonts. Once this is done, it will become very easy to pull together elements that eventually work well for your brand.

3. Prepare Content

It is now time to collect all the content. Make sure that you spend a good time at this stage because good content is clearly one of the top things that make the audience stay.

You can start by preparing and sorting all the content for your pages so that everything goes smoothly and you have all the information at your fingertips. Streamline the content that will go on your site from top to bottom, including headlines, taglines, main content, and CTAs.

In addition, you can also update the content when you are building your site. It is highly recommended that you always start with a good base of content to make the journey a productive one.

Keep in mind that less is always more. You should leave your visitors wanting as compared to overwhelming them with a lot of information, and the quicker, the better. You should not leave your visitors leaving your site irritated because of extra loading time.

4. Define Sitemap

You must define the sitemap as a framework that forms the structure of the site. The site must include all pages you plan to create and the way in which they will connect. All pages that are well linked to one another give meaning to a good SEO strategy.

A nicely constructed website should have an attractive homepage, an about page, a products and services page, and a contact page. Other than this, it should also include a blog, FAQs, and a client or portfolio page.

5. Well-Designed Layout

Once the website structure is completely clear to you, it is easily possible to put together the important elements of a web page. It is also easy if you have been using a drag-and-drop website builder such as Zoho Sites.

You should choose a multi-functional template and also customize it to create a website that is not just unique but also true to your needs. That said, you should be mindful of following some best practices so that you can offer a good user experience to the users.

Make sure that you pay attention to the basis by including a relevant image; a footer with social media buttons, terms of use, a sitemap, and trust badges; relevant social proofs; well-optimized subscriptions; and CTA buttons.

6. Add Effects

The process of adding website effects can be quite challenging. Although you never want a dull website, it is important to keep in mind that even small things go a long way.

You can improve the user experience of your website by adding animations which is pretty possible in Zoho Sites. It helps in using relevant lines of code and also helps in adding a dynamic user experience.

There is a wide range of font and button colors that contribute to how visitors react to the messages, including bounce rate, conversion rate, etc. There is no need to get overwhelmed by these options.

You can have a good plan in place and execute it all through the site. These small but important additions can be helpful in linking visual elements and adding overall effectiveness to a site.

7. Add Social Media Button

In the present world, social media plays an important role in ensuring that people know more about your brand. Many website builders allow you to add social sharing buttons to a website easily.

You can place them in the header and footer of your homepage while allowing visitors to share content across social media accounts. This also helps in adding exposure that improves the fan base.

8. Search Engine Optimised Website

Search engine optimization often seems like a challenging topic to understand well and even execute. However, it is actually a rather simple topic.

A condition for ensuring good SEO is also to make sure that the content is strategic so that the site ranks higher. Taking small steps to optimize your site for SEO while including titles and descriptions for your pages can help.

You can also add ALT text to all the images, and most importantly, it is about picking an attractive and clear domain that makes sense from a marketing point. Optimization also means ensuring that you keep mobile devices in your mind while building the site.

It should be easy to navigate a website on any device without any scrolling results so that the user experience is optimal.

9. Publish Content

After all the elements have been put in place, you should also double-check everything. Read the content again and check all the buttons to ensure that they are working just as you wanted them to.

It is always good to get another opinion as well. Allow someone to use the website for some time and then ask about their user experience. It is necessary to ensure that the website is easy to use, the brand message is clear, and the overall user experience is positive. After this has been confirmed, you can go ahead and publish your website.

Conclusion

Zoho Sites is one of the best website builders that allow you to create professional and mobile-friendly websites in a matter of minutes. It comes with a simple drag-and-drop editor, meaning there is no need for any design experience or technical knowledge. It is possible to start your website today.

You can either build a website yourself, or you can also take professional support from Zoho consultants. If you wish to know more about building a website, take the support of consultants at Encaptechno today.