6 Very Crucial Elements to Consider When Designing Your Website. 

Whether your website is going to be for an established business, ministry, or even a home-based business, these are 6 critical elements you should always consider even before you begin your Christian Website Design.  

Before you even get to the design stage, please carefully consider your Domain Name, Domain Host and your website’s Theme. Then, and only then, will you begin the designing process.  And once it’s time to design… designing your site for conversion is of utmost importance. 

Therefore, prepare to learn about the 6 elements of website design that include your:

• Site Domain
• Domain Host
• Site Theme
• Designing Your Site For Conversion
• Search Engine Optimization
• Conversion with Email Setup

When it comes to the domain name, or your website URL, it’s always wise to keep both the consumer and the search engine in mind when choosing the name.  And this is good advice whether you’re about to launch a business website or a blog. 

Therefore, consider these suggestions when choosing your domain name: 

• If at all possible, choose a domain name that ends with .com
• Make certain it’s relevant to the content that’s going to be on the website
• Keep it short if possible, making it easier to remember
• Don’t use numbers in place of words (i.e., 4everyours.com, foreveryours.com)

Let’s say you’re about to open an automotive insurance company in Dallas, TX.  Before you even name your business, it would be wise to get with an SEO Expert who could do some keyword research about automotive insurance in Dallas, TX. Why?

Let’s say there are 19,000 consumers (19,000 is fictitious – could be more or less) every month in the Dallas area who go to Google and search, “Auto Insurance Dallas TX.”  19,000?  Every Month?  Can you imagine the possibilities?

Therefore, if it’s available and you haven’t yet named your business, you might consider something like “Auto Insurance of Dallas.”  Then, launch your website with the domain name of autoinsuranceofdallas.com – or something like it.

NOTE:  This does not ensure that your website will be at the top of Google in this particular search… but it’s a great start.  Why?  Because the consumer is searching for auto insurance in Dallas, TX.  And here’s what Google knows:  The name of your business and URL – along with the content on your website – all point towards a perfect match for what the consumer is searching for.

WHERE TO GET YOUR DOMAIN NAME

There are several companies where you can research and purchase a domain for your site.  However, regardless of which you use, I always advise making your purchase through the company whom will also host your website. And you can expect to pay anywhere from $5-$15 per domain name. 

When I first began launching my own websites, I actually purchased a couple of domain names at Godaddy.com.  But then, I chose to build my websites on Bluehost.com.  And that’s when I ran into a couple of techy issues.  By “Techy,” I mean there were some technical things I had to do in order to point my domain name (located at Godaddy), toward Bluehost, my website hosting platform. 

Now, if you are a seasoned site builder this means nothing.  However, if you’re new to this, it can be very frustrating.  Which is why I suggest purchasing your domain with your web hosting company. 

I must say, however, I have gotten frustrated with the Bluehost customer service.  And my last couple of sites I’ve actually used inmotionhosting.com to both purchase my domains, and build my sites.  Their customer service, professionalism, and knowledge has been nothing short of superb.

Whether you’re kicking up a new blog or preparing to launch your new business website, the theme is always an important decision. 

Now, there are several platform options available with which to build your site, but I’ve always enjoyed building with WordPress.  Feel free to look around at other options, but WordPress is definitely one of the most popular in the world.  When preparing to build with WP, you’ll also discover that it comes equipped with several free website themes. 

However, I’ve also discovered that free isn’t always what’s best for my website designing capabilities. 

When it comes to Website Themes (and I’ve used several), I haven’t found any that compete with the ease of an Avada Theme-Fusion Theme. 

The Avada Theme is incredibly easy to use, because they’ve simplified the web building process with building blocks.  Not only is it super-simple to build a specific page or post, but you can also save any specific template that you’d like; enabling you to save time with never having to build the same page again.  You simply insert the saved template, change the content… and viola!  You can create page after page after page.

This is actually excellent for showcasing several of the same products on separate posts.

You might even expect to pay a premium of $249 for this theme, but you’d be wrong. It’s fairly priced at only $60. 

I have several clients in the automotive industry.  And in order to perform my SEO or Page Building, I often have to call the companies who actually host the site for the dealers.  When speaking to the dealers assigned site rep, I so often hear the jokingly, “Oh Josh!  I can tell you’ve been working on the site…”

Why? 

It’s because the work I do doesn’t always look pretty when I’m building pages for Optimization and Conversion. 

Therefore, what I’m eluding to is the fact that you can have the most beautiful website in the world, with a million website visitors a day.  But… if your website traffic isn’t converting into leads and sells, then what’s it all for?

Don’t get me wrong!  Having a beautifully designed website is wonderful, and can most definitely be attractive to your customers.  

However, let’s not forget what the consumer in 2019 really wants.  They want what they want, and they want it now.  He/She does not want to have to click through filter after filter to get to the center of the lollipop.  She wants to get there as quickly as possible, make her purchase, and be on her way. 

Perfect example:  I was visiting with a good friend awhile back.  He owns his own business, and has had his website for several years.  And the site is drop-dead gorgeous.  But, while he was showing me his site, after about 60 seconds I asked him: 

“Tell me… how much business do you do through your website?”

“Well,” he paused, “I guess really not much… if any.” 

Keep in mind: this is a website that he paid roughly $1,500 to a popular, local website building company to have built.  And for what?  What has it benefited him?  To use his words, “I guess really not much… if any…”

Now… I knew the answer before I even asked my friend.  However, what caused me to ask the question was even more important.  So I followed up with a second question: 

“Where, here on your Homepage, is either your business address or your business phone number?”

It was an eye-opening experience for him.  And that’s exactly the point I’m trying to make here.  If you get too caught up in the “Look” of your website, you might have the tendency to look past that which is of most importance…. Conversion.

I have previously written about Christian SEO Services and Christian SEO Keywords & Keyword Phrases.  And it all continues to ring true when it comes to the importance of creating and maintaining superb SEO for your website.  Believe it or not, I was actually told a few months back that “SEO is DEAD!”

After a few minutes of conversing about his statement, I quickly realized two things:  1. The gentleman doesn’t really know much about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  2. What he was really trying to say was, “SEO has Evolved.” 

… and it has!

However, when you come to the understanding of what it is exactly that Google is trying to achieve, then, and only then, will you be able to take your SEO skills to another level.  For, SEO is no longer about keyword stuffing in the body content and Meta of a page or post.  Rather, it’s about keywords and keyword phrases being implemented into the best copywritten content on the web. 

When it comes to your competition (in whatever business niche you’re in), I assure you… there isn’t much competition that exists when it comes to good SEO.  And when you get an SEO Expert to really spend good quality time on your Christian Website Design, you’ll be amazed at the FREE, Quality traffic that will be visiting your website. 

Just as I have with SEO, I’ve also written extensively about both Email Segmentation and List Building With Email Marketing. 

When it comes to your Christian Website Design and converting traffic into leads and sells, this is done by connecting your site to an email marketing company such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact. 

Now, I have used, and still use both email marketing software companies.  However, for several reasons I prefer Constant Contact.  I feel as though they are: 

• Easier to contact for customer support
• Have detailed functionality in their marketing software that are more convenient and “Better” than Mailchimp. 

Nevertheless, this is how you maximize your leads and profits.  How it works is: 

Website visitor fills out a form on your website (whether to subscribe or get more information through a lead magnet) and has now become a lead. 

The “Lead” then receives an automated email from you – through your email marketing software company. 

You segment the “Lead” into whichever category they fit (i.e. T-Shirt Buyer, Book Buyer, Newsletter Subscriber, etc…). 

You market to the “Lead” appropriately until the lead becomes a Customer, Member or whatever goal you’re trying to reach.

In conclusion, when it comes to your Christian Website Design, what I’m suggesting is to simply begin with a Successful end in mind.  And in your case, these are the 6 crucial elements to keep in mind when it comes to having a beautiful site that converts: 

• Well Thought Out Website Domain Name
• Dependable Website Hosting Company
• Easy to Use & Affordable Website Theme
• Designing Your Site for Conversion & Profit
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to Generate Quality Site Traffic
• Converting Site Traffic and Marketing to them Through Email Marketing Software. 

And now you can go far more in-depth with these crucial 6 elements in the Website & SEO Building Articles below.  They are a “Must Read.”