Website creation blog

No, a catchy title isn't the one I had in mind, but that was a pretty good one for starters, right? On the other hand, the picture on the right has a lot more in common with today's post than may first meet the eye ...

I've been doing a lot of surfing over the last week, going back to get a fresh perspective on some familiar things. Bossman (the elder) has been doing something similar, though his reflective retro trip has involved listening to such classic 80s musical greats as "Ghostbusters" and "Final Countdown" (not that I'm complaining – it makes me feel way younger than I have been of late).

One of the things I noticed during this week of “revisiting old things in a new way” was just how websites were marketed, and how I responded to that. So rather than talk about how to make a website this week, I thought I'd step back and talk about how to make a successful website, and what SEO has to do with making it a success.

No, this is not a discussion about lexically challenged motor-heads, but rather the follow-up to last week's fireside chat about SEO keyword choices. Now that you've got your key search terms figured out, you really should take some time to figure out how you're going to use them in your writing.

Remember, keyword choice is just as important for those looking to make a website for personal reasons as it is for business websites (unless you want to make a secret website, and hey, each to their own).

You'll often come across the term 'keyword density' when researching writing for the web. As the name (hopefully) suggests, it describes the relative frequency of your keywords as they appear in your content. And like salt, sugar, butter, sex … whatever, too much of a good thing is bad for you. But too little leaves an 'emptiness' (as in, no visitors). 

It's been almost a week since we got zoned together, and it's probably time to return to the business of website creation. By now, you've come up with some terrific ideas for your site content. So, you know why you're going to make a website and who'll be looking at it. Great. As they say, content is king, and you've got to know your audience.

I'm sure you'd agree, right?

You've also had time to think about your website design, and to choose a website color scheme. Even better. But the devil is in the details, and before your dive in and create a website, it's essential to remember what it's for: it needs to be visited, to be read, seen, heard … and for that, it needs to be found. Which just so happens to be the object of today's sermon from the mount: getting found by thinking ahead (or SEO: Search Engine Optimization).

Yeah, I know, by the time you've finished reading you'll have figured out that there are actually 7 steps, but I was hoping the first – subscribing to our e-commerce solution – was a given.

I was secretly hoping to invite Nicolas to write this article (mostly out of sheer laziness, but also because since he's taken to wearing a hat, I have so much more respect for him). But then he called in sick, so it's “6 steps to attaining e-commerce nirvana for your business website” ... by me.

As I said last week, the guys over at the computers with the big screens (a.k.a. the developers) have been busy lately - especially Nicolas - and the second big thing they've been feverishly working on is now online.

Yes, doomby's e-commerce website solution is finally here, so now you can not only make your own website with your favorite website builder, you can also use it to sell stuff too with your very own online store.

Neat, eh?

I was lazy last week. Really lazy. I didn't even get around to posting "Happy New Year" to the blog or our Facebook page during Thursday night's champagne-athon (though I meant to), a terrible faux pas for which I will now most humbly apologize.

"I'm really rather quite sorry. Seriously."

To be honest, last week was a whole week of nothingness for me: I didn't make a website, I didn't post to a blog, I barely skimmed Facebook, and I spent most of the week sitting around watching my cat (she was sick).

Fortunately for you, everyone else here at doomby was actually busy doing very important things last week (unlike me), and that means a whole bunch of stuff has, or is about to, change with your favorite free website builder. Today we'll focus on one of the things they were busy working on: menus (you know, those über-important navigational aids for helping others visit your website).

It could've been the fact that few of us here at doomby actually have any offspring of our own to shower gifts upon (at least, that we know about). Or perhaps it was the … intoxication ... of last weekend's outings. In any case, it doesn't matter because whatever it was, you win. Overwhelmed by the spirit of giving, we've decided to make it cheaper to make a website with all the (Christmas) bells and whistles, and to register a domain name.

Aren't you lucky?

Just a quick post this week, as we have something BIG in store for all of you website builders on Monday (so stay tuned!).

For those lucky enough to be heading off for the holidays (and those even luckier souls who've already left): happy holidays, from all of us here at doomby.

And I'm sure that, on my way to work this morning, I heard Dearie, Starey and Swifty (the squirrel) wish you a happy holiday too.

I know, right? It's practically a miracle that, in spite of your overwhelming urge to create a website, you've been able to hold back this long. Yeah, OK, I first discussed waiting to choose colors before starting to make a website like … 3 weeks ago.

At least.

So if you just couldn't wait, that's understandable – maybe you applied one of our latest ready-made themes (there are now 66 to choose from, which is a lot for a free website builder). If not, then what follows is just for you ...

Noticed anything red, green and/or sparkly around town lately? It's that time of the year again - decorations are out in force, and so are the crowds. Folks are learning how to make a website decorated with animated snowflakes ... even I've succumbed to the spirit of the season and started menu planning for the family do (I'm doing vegetables, because I'm lazy). Ah, the holiday season: that special time of the year when family members try to let bygones be bygones, and retailers try to make their reserves for the year ahead. A little like squirrels (I saw one this morning while Dearie-spotting, and just had to mention it), but taller, and with more clothes and less fur.

In the spirit of giving, this year we're getting ready to bring you a very special gift that we know you're going to love. I mentioned it last week, and thought I might devote a little time to outlining some of the features our e-commerce add-on will soon provide to happy online store owners the world over.

Crafted painstakingly by our talented developer Nicolas, the administration interface is really taking form and will be heading off for select beta-testing in the next couple of weeks. He's not one to brag, so let me do it for him: it's shaping up to be an infinitely adaptable, feature-packed, scalable solution for businesses large and small.