How to start a website: A 5 Step Guide

At some stage, as a financial firm owner, you are going to need to address the elephant in the room, the designing and building of a website. One of the common questions I am asked as a digital marketer, is should I have a website? Do I need one?

After 16 years of experience in digital marketing, I can wholeheartedly say that you should have a website, in fact it should be the number one channel you start your digital journey with.

In this step by step process I’ll go through what you need to create your own website.

Starting your website

At this point I am already going to assume you have decided on a niche area. You are going to find that your website will work a lot better if you focus on one audience, rather than trying to be all things to all people.

To create your website we’re going to need to follow these steps.

  1. Domain Name Purchase
  2. Setting up with a website hosting provider or agency
  3. Creating content
  4. Promoting and marketing your website
  5. Generating return on investment from your website
  6. FaQS

On this page we’re going to take a bit of a deep dive into each of these areas. One word of warning, once you have designed and built your website, you’re kind of half way there. A website will require constant work, new blog posts added and new content created. Don’t expect to start generating income on the first day of launch.

1. Domain Name

Before you can even put a website live, you are going to need a domain name. A domain name is simply a digital address. marketinginfinance.com is a domain name, it is the digital address for this website. Domain names come in a variety of flavours called extensions, most common examples include .com, .co.uk, .org, .net and .uk.

Your domain name will need to be short, compliant, niche specific, if possible and catchy.

Tip: It is also a good idea to consider if the social media handles for your domain name are available. These most commonly include a Facebook Page, LinkedIn Company Name and X username, to name few.

2. Website Hosting

Once you have a domain name you’re going to need a place to house all of your website files.

Depending on how you have constructed your website will determine how that website is hosted. If you have used a content management system liked WordPress.org, then you will need a website hosting provider that can also give you access to databases.

Not all website hosting providers are created equal, there are some out there who will literally see your site as just another number. This will result in all kinds of issues including, downtime, security vulnerabilities and issues relating to the speed and performance of your website.

There are also a variety of website self builder tools out there including Wix & Square Space to name a few which already provide the website hosting as part of your package.

This website is hosted through Boost Digital Media, and to date the website design agency is trusted by 40 different organisations across the UK including government organisations, charities and SME’s.

Tip: Wix & Square Space do not give you access to the website files, therefore if you look to move your website in the future, be prepared to start the design & build process again.

Tip 2: Mention MARKETINGINFINANCE when ordering your website hosting for 10% discount on your first years website hosting.

3. Creating content

Before you even begin putting your website live, you are going to need to have some idea of the kinds of content your website is going to house.

In some instances, when you are just starting out this might include a simple website sitemap, that will give you a Birds Eye view of what web pages will form part of your website.

A typical website structure could be something like this:

Home
About Us
Services
– Mortgages
– Protection
– PMI
– General Insurance
Blog
Contact us

Of course we are generalising here and you need to think about your niche, what will they be searching for or looking for on your website.

Creating website content isn’t, necessarily, difficult. Today you have a plethora of tools that can aid you with this including AI.

However, no one knows your business better than you, so grab yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and start to put together the following assets:

  • Website copy or text: This is going to be one of your biggest areas. Try to keep your web pages focused on your niche and deliver your message in 300 – 1,200 words. Ensure your copy contains the message that will resonate with your target audience and keep your keywords down to a normal amount.
  • Images: There are a lot of stock libraries out there, but use these sparingly, ideally you want to have you, your team and your financial firm photographed by a professional photographer. Always remember to include alt tags in your images
  • Video: If you are using video, make sure it is produced professionally, and in the correct context. It should also be hosted on a video streaming service like YouTube.
  • Animation: If you are thinking of using animation, my advice would be to use it sparingly.

You may also want to spend sometime thinking about the features of your website, for instance is their a calculator you want to include, a contact form, a search form and so on.

Spend a bit of time giving some thought to the features and interactive elements that will make your website unique.

4. Promoting and marketing your website

You can have the best website in the world, but if no one sees it then, it’s useless. Once you’ve launched your website your next goal is going to be promoting and getting traffic to your website.

Here are some methods you can use to start generating traffic:

  • Social Media: Register your brand name on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and X, to name a few. The goal here is to get the name of your website out there, and people are using these social networks to stay connected with their friends and family.
  • Ads: A question I get asked a fair bit is, are Facebook Ads worth it. In a word yes, in a world where social media is rapidly become a pay-to-play kind of industry, adding a small budget behind ads is a great way to begin building an initial following on the social media platforms.
  • Email Marketing: One of your first goals, once you have your website live is building an organic email marketing list. This is going to allow you to reach out to your audience at will and more importantly, this is traffic that you control.
  • Community Engagement: Research your niche and make a list of all the top industry bloggers and websites. Leave thoughtful comments on their posts, with a link back to your own website. Equally use websites like Redddit and Quora to answer questions from people at different stages of their own journey
  • Be their guest: Get yourself onto podcasts, blogs, magazines and at every possible corner talk about your website and provide the website address.
  • PPC (Pay Per Click) Marketing: This is when you run an advertisement on a platform like Google, and you essentially set a budget to get traffic to your website. A word of caution, PPC marketing is very expensive and it can also be quite troublesome when you first start, but overtime the traffic you get should become more laser focused.
  • SEO or Search Engine Optimisation: Simply referred to as “get on Google” is the process of having your website listed on the Google search engine.

Of course the list I have mentioned above is not exhaustive and there are more ways that you can build traffic, promote and market your website.

5. Generating a return on investment from your website

As a financial firm owner, your main source of income will be from the visitors that you convert into customers. Whether the customer is looking for a mortgage, a protection product or a private medical insurance policy.

However, there are also other options open to you that could help open up a second line of income.

There are a whole host of methods that you can use to generate income from your website including:

  • Sponsored Content (Blog posts/pages)
  • Sell products
  • Generate leads via a strong Call to Action
  • Affiliates – I use Partner Stack

Sponsored Content

If we follow the structure in the creating content section, you will notice that your website comes with a blog.

A blog allows you to post out regular updates to your visitors, as well as offering you the potential to allow for sponsored posts. These could be from potential introducers, referral partners or businesses that compliment your authorisations.

Selling Products

As an adviser you are in the business of selling your advice, which can’t, necessarily be packaged up into a product. However, you could create your own eBook, electronic budget planner or similar and charge a small premium for these products to be used.

Generate Leads

Of course the number one way in which your website will generate a return on investment is through the provisioning of new leads for your firm.

A lead is someone who has shown an interest in working with you, this could be in the form of a direct email, or simply filling out an online form.

Once a lead is generated then you should follow your internal sales process.

Affiliate Marketing

The final stop on our tour of generating income is through the use of affiliate partnerships.

Affiliate marketing is where you get paid a small commissions for promoting a product or service from another company. I use Partner Stack for any of the affiliate links on the website, however there are literally hundreds of these schemes to choose from.

Some of the most common affiliate programs include:

  • Partner Stack (a whole range of partners)
  • Amazon Associates
  • Brands within the financial services sector
  • Referral Programs

6. FAQs

What are the costs of running a website?

Costing wise, you will need to pay a yearly domain name renewal fee, this is the fee set by the domain registrar you use. You will also need to pay a monthly or yearly website hosting fee. Estimate between £60 – £245 for your website hosting and £19.99 for a domain name registration.

Do I need to be good at coding to build a website?

No! There are website applications that enable you to design and build a website visually. Websites like Wix and Square Space both allow for this. However, keep in mind that you won’t own the website or its files.

How do I write more content for my website?

Writing content can feel a bit of a huge task, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. My advice would be to sit down and research a) what your audience is searching for and b) provide them with a solution based off that search data. Prepare your articles in advance and schedule them throughout the week.

Do you offer website services?

Yes, I can provide you with a 45 minutes website consultation for you to book. The goal of these sessions is to provide you with a solution to a single problem within digital marketing that you are facing.

How do I write more content for my website?

Writing content can feel a bit of a huge task, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. My advice would be to sit down and research a) what your audience is searching for and b) provide them with a solution based off that search data. Prepare your articles in advance and schedule them throughout the week.

Is it ok to simply cut and paste content from AI?

No! For one you are going to find out that your website will begin to be marked down on the SERPs, which means you won’t get as much traffic. Google and other search engine love original content.