5 Useful Resources for Creating A Great Website

Having access to the right tools and resources can play a big role in creating a great website. The right resources enable you to create a professional website that is not only attractive to look at, but also has the right features to make it into a success.

There is no shortage online resources that can help you to build a good website and manage different aspects of the web design and website management process. Here we take a look at five such useful resources. 

Flickr

Every website needs good images. This is where Flickr can help. Flickr is one of the most popular and widely used online photo management and sharing applications in the world. It offers a new way of organizing photos and video. Flickr is not only useful for sharing your photos but also an excellent source for obtaining free images that you can use on your website or blog.

Although there are many places to obtain royalty free images for use on websites, most of the stock photo websites do not offer free images. In fact, buying a full collection of images for your website can turn out to be very expensive. Flick is different as the images are free to use, just as long as you follow the guidelines and credit the original source and include a link. Most web designers use Flickr regularly to source website graphics. It is an essential resource for building good websites.

Live Chat Feature By Zopim

Zopim is a free live chat and instant messaging system for websites. The chances are you have already come across websites that use live chat feature to address our concerns and enquiries while you are visiting the website. Have ever wondered what it takes to have a similar facility on your own website? It is much easier than you might think.  There are many third-party applications that allow you to add this facility on your website. Zopim is one of the best. It offers a free version that can meet the requirements of most small businesses.

Ready-Made Website by Small Business Ecommerce

An attracting design that is able to capture the attention of customers and create a lasting impression is important for all business websites, whether you are a start-up or established corporation. There are many ways to build a professional website. You can go for the more expensive bespoke solution and get website designed to your exact specifications or you can choose the more affordable option of using a website template to build your site.  

Smallbusinessecommerce.co.uk is one such affordable service by London based designers that offers professional pre-made websites for only $67. It is different to regular templates as you get a fully working website with all core pages, professionally prepared industry standard text, images, and many built-in features including live chat, email marketing, newsletter registration and social media integration.

You get full ownership of your website code. Best of all, you also benefit from Free logo for your business and free web hosting account.

Google Custom Search Engine

A user-friendly search facility is an essential component of any good website. Every good website needs it. This is where Google’s Custom Search Feature, or CSE as it is commonly known as, can help. It allows website owners to add a powerful yet easy to use search facility on their website. Millions of website all over the world use it.

Best of all, it is free to use and you do not need programming or design knowledge to integrate on your website. All you need to do is create a free account on Google and insert a few lines of code on your website, and you are ready to go. It offers many configuration options that you can use to tailor how search should work on your website, giving you full control over the facility.

Google Analytics

Creating a great website is a continuous process that involves time and resources.  It is not something that will happen in a day. Having the right tools in place to track and monitor your website’s performance on daily basis is an important process in building a great website. This is where Google Analytics can help.

Google Analytics is a powerful, easy-to-use website statistics and reporting platform delivered on Google's world-class platform. It not only lets you measure sales and conversions, but also gives you fresh insights into what customers do on your website and how they behave on your site. It also provides an insight into how they arrived on your site and what you do to keep them coming back. One of the biggest advantages of Google Analytics is that it is completely free to use.