Whatever the reason you want a website – whether for business or personal – there’s one thing you should avoid. Many websites come across as cheap and tacky, and that can drive away the visitors you want most. If you’re going to set up a website, you have to commit. Time and money are worthwhile investments when creating something that could come to define your brand.

But you probably don’t know where to start. Setting up a website isn’t difficult, but there is a ton of conflicting information online. Rather than spending hours on something that never meets your expectations, get it right from the get-go.

Here are 3 Steps for Setting Up a Classy Website

Choose the Best Hosting

Photo: Host Advice

Until you’ve decided to set up a website, you probably haven’t given much thought to hosting. You know websites have to be parked somewhere, and that you need to pay for your domain name. But who do you go to?

The best hosting is not free. If you want reliable hosting that is fast, with incredible customer service, you need to look for the best, not the most convenient. You may benefit from the best VPS hosting. But what is VPS hosting, and what does it offer? VPS hosting provides a server that is private, which makes it more powerful, stable, and flexible than if you go with shared hosting.

Hosting is not something you should just choose with a flip of a coin. It can make or break your website. Even the most reliable hosting servers go down sometimes, and the way they react is key. Don’t go for a host that might leave you in the dark, even if they have the cheaper options.

Decide What Your Landing Page Needs

The first thing visitors see when they come to your website is the landing page. And the unhappy truth is that a lot of visitors won’t get past the landing page. Which is why some people try to shove all the possible information or offers onto the page.

However, if you want your website to look classy, you should include as little as possible. Make it clear who you are and what you do, but don’t go into too many details. Minimalist websites are far more attractive, and clutter on the page can drive visitors as far away as possible.

Above all, make sure that it is easy to navigate, and that the visitor isn’t overwhelmed with options.

Hire An SEO Expert

Everyone seems to think they can do their own SEO. They know that keywords make it possible to find their page on a Google search. So they stuff the primary keyword into their copy as much as possible.website

But SEO is more complex than keywords. Google and other search engines have evolved a lot, to the point where some of the old SEO techniques are more likely to be penalized than successful. Google’s algorithm is now too smart to be swayed by keywords alone. What you need is someone who knows SEO intimately, who reads the blogs, and keeps up with every update Google search ever makes.

Hiring an SEO expert is an important investment when building your site. Without one, you’ll end up making a mess, in the copy you end up using, and in your search engine ranking.