Do I need a website? Really?
In a world where everything that everyone does is regurgitated online is it really necessary as a writer to have a website? Surely trying to put yourself out into a world of constant oversharing is just a shout into the void? Well, yes and no. There are 1.94 billion websites in the world as of the beginning of this year, which I’ll admit, makes the whole idea of creating a website for your writing seem like a completely pointless task. And to be totally honest at first it will definitely feel like you should give up on it as it takes on average about 90–180 days for your website to even rank on google. But, despite the apparent unlikelihood of anyone ever finding your website, you’re still in a better position than someone who doesn’t have a website, right?
Well, that depends on your website. In today's current climate of people with the attention span of a goldfish, you need to make your website stand out. Firstly, it’s got to look good, a study found that 46% of consumers based their decisions on the credibility of websites on their visual appeal and aesthetics. So if your website looks like it was designed to run on windows 98, nobody is going to care what you have to say. It takes 2.6 seconds for a user’s eyes to land on the area of a website that most influences their first impression so make sure that the most eye catching thing on your website is what you want people to see the most. Maybe make it the piece of writing that you’re most proud of.
Secondly you need to be posting things that people actually want to read about, so mind-numbing, pointless crap. Write about anything you can, anything you see on twitter, in the news, if something pisses you off on instagram, write about it. Your website won’t give you any advantages unless you use it. Your website needs to be populated by content that you’ve created, by writing about anything you want, you’re getting your voice out there and the more you do it the louder it becomes.
Lastly and most importantly your website needs to be fast. 47% of users expect a maximum 2 seconds loading time for an average website. So if your websites got to load quickly, you better be writing something that grabs people’s attention, and fast. Make your website as accessible as as possible. Make your headlines engaging and short, Blog titles with 6–13 words get the most consistent amount of traffic and hits. So make it something short, sweet and snappy. People don’t have time to read long headlines.
So to going back to the question, do I need a website? Yes you do. It’s the easiest way for your readers to engage with your content because it’s all in one place. It gives your readers a sense of community as they can read things that like minded people also engage with. It’s one of the easiest ways of getting your voice out there now as there are so many platforms that allow you to make your own website for free. Although it may seem pretty pointless to begin with and it feels like nobody is looking at what you’re doing, just remember we’ve all got to start somewhere it’s not going to happen overnight.
Sources:
100+ INTERNET STATISTICS AND FACTS FOR 2019. 2019. Web. 5th Oct 2019. https://www.websitehostingrating.com/internet-statistics-facts/
How Long Does It Take To Rank on Google?. 2015. Web. 5th Oct 2019. https://www.websitemuscle.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-rank-on-google/
27 Eye-Opening Website Statistics: Is Your Website Costing You Clients? 2019. Web. 5th Oct 2019. https://www.sweor.com/firstimpressions
101 Blogging Statistics for 2019. 2019. Web. 5th Oct 2019. https://getcodeless.com/blogging-statistics/
