Beginner’s Guide to Building a Marketing-Ready Website

Choose the Right CMS for Flexibility and Growth

Your content management system (CMS) is the foundation of your website. For businesses that care about flexibility, performance, and future-proofing, Craft CMS is a strong contender.

Unlike many out-of-the-box platforms, Craft CMS gives you:

• Total control over content structure
• Custom front-end development
• Powerful SEO tools via plugins like SEOmatic
• Scalability for custom features as your needs grow

✅ Pro tip: If you need a tailored, editable website without bloat, Craft CMS beats WordPress in terms of clean architecture and developer control.

Structure for Conversions, Not Just Looks

A beautiful website that doesn’t convert is a missed opportunity. Start with structure:

• Clear navigation — Make it easy to explore key areas (Services, About, Contact).
• Page hierarchy — Home > Services > Specific Service > Contact
• Call-to-actions (CTAs) — Use buttons and banners to guide users to the next step (Get a Quote, Book a Demo, etc.)
• Minimal distractions — Avoid clutter and too many choices on one page

✅ Use Craft CMS to create modular content blocks like testimonials, feature highlights, or trust badges that you can reuse across pages.

Design for Engagement: Landing Pages and CTAs

Landing pages are your marketing workhorses. They’re where visitors turn into leads.

A good landing page includes:

• A single, focused offer (e.g., free consultation, newsletter sign-up)
• Compelling headline + supporting copy
• A clear, visible CTA button
• Social proof (logos, reviews, testimonials)
• A contact form or lead capture mechanism

✅ Use Craft CMS entries or Matrix fields to build flexible landing page templates without developer help each time.

SEO Basics: Be Seen Where It Matters

Search engine optimization (SEO) ensures people can find your website when they search for your services.

At a minimum:

• Use proper title tags, meta descriptions, and headings (<h1>, <h2>, etc.)
• Add alt text to images
• Link internally between related content
• Create content that solves problems (blog posts, FAQs, guides)

✅ With Craft CMS and SEOmatic, you can manage all technical and on-page SEO in one place.

Set Up Analytics to Track Performance

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Set up:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to track visitor behavior
• Google Search Console to monitor search visibility
• Conversion tracking for forms, buttons, and downloads

✅ Craft CMS integrates smoothly with GA4 scripts and most form plugins, allowing event tracking without complex setup.

Quick Wins with Marketing Automation

Even small businesses can benefit from automation. Start with:

• Email capture connected to a tool like MailerLite or ConvertKit
• Follow-up email sequences after form submissions
• Live chat or chatbot pop-ups to engage visitors in real time

✅ Embed these tools directly into your Craft CMS templates or use script blocks via the control panel.

Final Thoughts

A marketing-ready website isn’t just about design — it’s about results. With the right CMS (like Craft), a clear structure, focused content, and SEO foundations, your website becomes an engine for lead generation and growth.

Even if you’re just starting out, building with best practices from the beginning will save time and money later.