In order to succeed in any business, you need to be found, and the best way to be found by your potential customers is via online marketing. The following are the top 10 online marketing sites you should know about; they cover all the basics needed to get you started, plus they offer a host of paid and free resources to help you grow your business online.
Wix
If you’re looking for a free web hosting platform, then you should definitely check out Wix. Wix is a global company with a base in Germany, so all the content published on their sites is in German, but that’s okay because you can simply set your site’s language to English. One of the leading free web design platforms, Wix allows you to create and run a website without any coding experience. Just drag and drop your chosen templates onto your page, and you’re good to go. You can even use their free tools to build a professional-looking website.
Wix is a bit like HubSpot in that they provide you with all the functionality you need and then some, without any added fluff. For instance, you can use their tool to build a website, or you can use their email marketing tool to send out monthly emails to your customers. Depending on your needs, you can either choose free or paid membership. Having a paid membership gives you the flexibility to unlock additional features.
HubSpot
If you’ve ever shopped at Nordstrom, you might have browsed their website while you were there. If not, then you’ve probably heard of them; they’re one of the largest online retailers of women’s clothing and accessories. As well as having a large online presence, Nordstrom actually owns and operates several high-end retail stores, so they’re extremely well-established. They’re also one of the most trusted companies in the world, according to Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) with an overall score of 8.8 out of 10. So, if you’re looking for a luxury brand that you can trust, then you should check out Nordstrom.
Launched in 2008, HubSpot is the digital marketing platform of choice for businesses of all sizes. It was originally designed for online marketeers who wanted to be able to track and analyze their traffic, but anyone can use it. One of the reasons why HubSpot is so popular is because of their sophisticated dashboards and analytics tools. These tools can crunch all the pertinent data you might need to know about your website’s performance, leading to important metrics such as lift-through-rates and conversion rates. All these metrics are easy to understand and implement.
Speaking of conversions, if you want to do more than just attract visitors to your site; you want to turn them into paying customers, then you should consider exploring HubSpot’s paid plans. While the free version allows you to run up to two websites with one domain, the Plus and Advanced plans increase that limit to three and five sites respectively. Having more than one site within the paid plans is also possible, depending on your selected plan.
Squarespace
One of the more prominent companies within the web design and hosting space is Squarespace. They provide a fully-hosted shopping cart service, as well as a free domain name and free website creation. What’s more, they offer a money-back guarantee if you meet the required criteria, which you can learn about on their homepage. If you want a simple and elegant solution for creating a website, then Squarespace is a great option.
Gumroad
Another company that provides a fully-hosted solution is Gumroad. Similar to Squarespace, Gumroad offers a money-back guarantee to those who meet the required criteria. They also provide a robust free trial so you can test-drive their services without risk. What’s more, they allow you to sell and promote your products through affiliate marketing, which can be a great way to earn a commission on your sales. While the scope of what you can do with Gumroad is fairly extensive, it’s not limitless; you must abide by the terms and conditions of the program.
Bluehost
Another hosting company worth checking out is Bluehost. They provide a reliable and feature-rich platform with a money-back guarantee. What’s more, Bluehost is constantly adding new products and features, so you’re sure to find something that will make your life easier as an entrepreneur. For example, they recently launched a brand-new product that allows you to create unlimited subdomains, which is great news for those looking to separate their social media platforms from their websites.
Shopify
Finally, we have Shopify, a global company that provides a robust ecommerce solution. Similar to WooCommerce and BigCommerce, Shopify is geared towards businesses of all sizes, from individuals making their first online purchase to large companies who want to set up an online store. They also have a tiered pricing structure, so you can become more cost-efficient as your business grows. Similar to many other ecommerce solutions, Shopify includes everything needed to run an online store, including a shopping cart, payment processing, and various analytics tools to track your store’s performance.
With so much competition in the market, it’s essential that you stand out from the crowd and ensure that your visitors choose you over your competitors. Fortunately, the following five companies and platforms can help you do just that. With all that they offer, it’s clear that these are companies you should definitely consider before heading into business for yourself.