How to Create an Affordable Professional Showcase Website

Introduction

Did you know that 75% of consumers judge a company's credibility based on the quality of its website? Just imagine, then, the impact of a professional showcase website built on a modest budget.

In this article, we'll explore why a professional showcase website matters and show you how to create one affordably using Ghost CMS.

We'll cover the benefits of Ghost CMS, walk through the creation process step by step, and share some advanced optimisation tips.

By the end, you'll know how to plan, design, optimise and maintain your showcase website to guarantee a professional and effective online presence.

What is a showcase website?

1. Definition

A showcase website is a website that presents a company's products or services without offering online sales features. It's essentially a digital business card that helps put your brand's presence on the map online.

2. Purpose

The main purpose of a showcase website is to strengthen your company's credibility and visibility online. It acts as a point of contact for your potential clients, allowing them to find essential information about your offers, your contact details, your values, your client case studies, and more.

Brand presence: A well-designed showcase website helps establish and reinforce your brand's presence online.
Credibility: It builds client trust by presenting a professional image.
Client engagement: A showcase website gives people ways to get in touch, learn about your products and services, and stay engaged through newsletters or blogs.

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Key statistics
According to a study by Accenture, 76% of companies with 20 or more employees had an online presence in 2020. What's more, 40% of those companies used digital analytics tools. Companies with a strong online presence tend to grow.

Why choose Ghost CMS for your showcase website?

1. An introduction to Ghost CMS

Ghost CMS, launched in 2013, is an open-source content management platform. Originally designed for blogs, Ghost quickly evolved into an ideal solution for showcase websites thanks to its simplicity and powerful features.

2. Features

Ghost CMS offers several features that make it a favoured choice for showcase websites:

User-friendly interface: Content management is made simple through an intuitive user interface. You don't need advanced technical skills to create and manage your site.
SEO capabilities: Ghost CMS comes with robust built-in SEO features, such as the ability to customise meta tags, descriptions and URLs, which helps your site rank better in search results.
Customisation: Ghost offers a wide range of themes and apps, allowing you to easily tailor your site so it matches your brand perfectly.
Speed: Optimised for fast load times, Ghost guarantees excellent performance for your site, which is crucial for a good user experience and better search rankings.

3. How it compares with other CMS platforms

Let's compare Ghost CMS with other popular options:

WordPress: Although very popular, WordPress can be complex and often requires additional plugins for features that Ghost offers natively. On top of that, security can be a concern with the many third-party plugins involved.
Wix: Wix is easy to use but offers less flexibility and control than Ghost. Its SEO features are also less robust.
Squarespace: Squarespace offers beautiful designs but can be expensive and less flexible in terms of customisation and SEO compared with Ghost.

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Key statistics
Ghost CMS powers more than 100 million websites, a testament to its growing popularity. Its active community and continuous development make it a reliable, modern platform for your showcase website.

Create your professional showcase website

A step-by-step guide to creating a professional showcase website with Ghost CMS

1. Planning your website

Before you start building your showcase website, it's essential to plan your project properly. This preparation phase ensures your site will meet the needs of your business and your audience.

Identify your goals: Clearly define what you want to achieve with your site. Do you want to attract more clients? Showcase your products and services? Improve your company's credibility?
Target audience: Understand who your audience is. What are their needs, preferences and expectations? This will help you create relevant, engaging content.
Content strategy: Plan the type of content you'll present. Think about essential pages such as "Home", "About", "Services" and "Contact". Consider adding a blog as well, to share news and tips.
SEO considerations: Do some keyword research to understand which terms your potential clients use to find services like yours. Build those keywords into your content strategy to improve your visibility on search engines.

2. Setting up Ghost CMS

Once the planning is done, you can move on to installing and configuring Ghost CMS.

Installation: Ghost CMS can be installed in several ways. You can self-host it by downloading the software from the official Ghost website (ghost.org), or use managed hosting solutions such as Ghost(Pro).
Hosting options:
- Ghost(Pro): Ghost Pro offers all-in-one plans starting at €9 per month, including hosting and maintenance. However, this solution doesn't give you much control over your site, which can limit your customisation and management options.
- Abstract27: For those who prefer a more flexible solution, Abstract27 offers hosting optimised for Ghost CMS with complete management of your site. This includes not only hosting and maintenance, but also customisation options and ongoing optimisation to make sure your site runs at its best.
Configuration: Once installed, set Ghost up to suit your needs. Choose a domain name, configure your site settings, and start customising your interface.

Let's build your website

3. Designing your website

Now that Ghost is installed and configured, it's time to design your website.

Choosing a theme: Ghost offers a variety of free and paid themes. Choose a theme that reflects your brand's identity and is mobile-friendly.
Customisation tips: If you have basic HTML and CSS skills, you can easily customise your theme so it matches your vision perfectly. Otherwise, Ghost's themes are already well designed and need very few changes.
Responsive design: Make sure your site is responsive and works well on all devices. A mobile-friendly design is crucial for delivering a good user experience and improving your SEO ranking.

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4. Adding content

With your site designed, you can now add content. Here are the detailed steps for creating essential pages such as a services page or a landing page:

Creating essential pages

Home page
Eye-catching headline: Use a headline that grabs attention and reflects your value proposition.
Brief introduction: Briefly present your company and what you offer.
Clear sections: Include sections for your services, client testimonials and calls to action (CTAs).
About page
Company story: Share the story of your company, your values and your mission.
Team: Introduce your team with photos and short biographies.
CTA: Include a CTA to encourage visitors to learn more or get in touch.
Services page
List of services: Detail each of your services with clear, concise descriptions.
Benefits: Highlight the benefits of your services and why clients should choose you.
CTA: Add CTAs to prompt visitors to request a quote or contact you for more information.
Access Ghost Admin: Log in to your Ghost dashboard.
Create a new page: Click "Pages", then "New page".
Title and content: Enter a title for your services page. In the content editor, add sections for each service.
Formatting: Use subheadings (h2, h3) to structure the content. Add images or icons to illustrate each service.
SEO: Add meta tags and a description to optimise the page for search engines.
Publishing: Once the page is finished, click "Publish".
Landing pages
Clear objective: Define the goal of your landing page (for example, collecting leads or promoting a product).
Eye-catching headline: Use a headline that grabs attention.
Concise content: Present the key information in a concise and visually appealing way.
Form: Embed a simple form to capture visitors' information.
CTA: Include clear, visible CTAs to encourage conversions.

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Related article
How to create a landing page with Ghost CMS

5. Optimising for SEO

To maximise your site's visibility, it's crucial to optimise your content for search engines.

Meta tags and descriptions: Add relevant meta tags and descriptions to every page. This helps search engines understand the content of your site and improves your ranking.
URL structures: Use clear, descriptive URLs that include your main keywords.
Content optimisation: Weave your keywords naturally into your content. Use headings (h2, h3) and subheadings to structure your articles and improve readability.

6. Launching your website

Before you launch your site, make sure everything is in order.

Final checks: Review every page to check for errors, broken links and typos. Test your contact forms and any other interactive features.
Testing: Make sure your site works perfectly across all browsers and devices. Test the load speed and make any necessary adjustments.
Promotion strategies: To promote your new site, use social media, newsletters and other platforms to attract visitors. Share links to your site and encourage interactions.

7. Maintaining and updating your showcase website

To guarantee the longevity and optimal performance of your showcase website, it's essential to maintain and update it regularly. Here are the key steps for maintaining your site effectively.

Content updates
Refreshing your content: Keep your content fresh and relevant by regularly updating your blog posts, services pages and other information.
News and promotions: Add new sections for special offers, upcoming events or new products and services.
Software updates
Ghost CMS: Make sure your Ghost CMS installation is up to date. Updates often include security patches and performance improvements.
Integrations and themes: Update your integrations and themes too, to benefit from the latest features and fixes.

Abstract27: your trusted Ghost CMS expert

For those who'd rather not worry about managing, maintaining, optimising and securing their site, building your site with Abstract27 guarantees you optimal, hassle-free management. With Abstract27, you benefit from:

Reliable hosting: We offer robust, affordable hosting solutions optimised for Ghost CMS, ensuring high performance and maximum uptime.
Website creation: Our team of experts designs and develops bespoke professional showcase websites tailored to your specific needs.
Regular maintenance: Abstract27 takes care of all software and content updates to make sure your site stays up to date and high-performing.
Maximum security: Your site is protected against online threats thanks to advanced security practices and regular backup solutions.

By choosing Abstract27, you can focus on growing your online business while we take care of every technical and maintenance aspect of your site. To learn more, take a look at our page on creating websites or blogs with Ghost CMS.

Conclusion

We've covered the essential steps for creating, launching and maintaining a professional showcase website with Ghost CMS. By following this advice, you can ensure a strong, effective online presence for your business.

Having a professional online presence has never been more crucial. A well-designed showcase website can make all the difference when it comes to attracting and retaining your clients. Take control of your online image and stand out from the competition.

For those who'd rather not worry about maintaining, optimising and securing their site, building your site with Abstract27 guarantees you optimal, hassle-free management.