A website might be the central hub for your digital product business. Imagine it as the heart of your digital presence, where all other channels link to. Your goal is to direct all traffic there. It’s a professional and controlled space where customers can learn about your products, and engage with your content. Here are key reasons why it’s good to have a website:
- Credibility and Trust: A well-designed website enhances your credibility and establishes trust with your audience. It showcases your brand’s professionalism and legitimacy. And it adds value to your business.
- Control Over Branding: Websites are different from social media. They give you control over your branding, design, and user experience.
- SEO Benefits: Optimizing your website for search engines improves visibility. It attracts organic traffic from searches related to your products.
- Detailed Analytics: Websites provide detailed analytics that helps you understand visitor behavior, track conversions, and refine your marketing strategies.
- Customer Support: A website can have FAQs, chatbots, and support articles. These improve customer service and satisfaction.
- Paid Ads Setup: Integrate tools like Facebook Pixel or Google Tag Manager with your landing pages. This setup ensures accurate tracking and analytics. It boosts the performance of your paid ads and drives targeted traffic to your new website.
- Master Your Niche: A website allows you to communicate your brand and products without third-party restrictions. You’ve got full control to create the best presentation for your offerings. It’s free from the competition saturation of marketplaces.
Building a Website for Your Digital Product Business
If you decide to build a website for your digital product business, here is a guide with important information to help you. It will be especially useful for making some big decisions.
You don’t have to follow the order of the steps below while building a digital product business website. It depends on your specific situation.
Get a Domain
This doesn’t have to be necessarily the first step of your website-building journey. But, in my opinion, you should check domain availability before you start. You can’t even pick a brand name if you aren’t sure a domain is available.
Domain Name:
- Choose a domain name that reflects your brand and is easy to remember.
- Use web-building platforms to buy a domain or registration services like GoDaddy or Namecheap.
Hosting:
- Most website builders do not need hosting; it is included in the subscription.
Domain Tips:
1️⃣ Always try to get a .com domain FIRST. If it’s not available, go for a .co domain.
2️⃣ If your domain isn’t available, use Domainr to search for alternatives.
3️⃣ Be creative to get a great domain. Use prefixes (for example, if your brand name is Snappy but Snappy.com is taken, use GetSnappy.com).
4️⃣ Buy the domain and hosting from the website-building platform you use (if possible).
If similar domains are available, you can buy and use them later. You might not realize this at first. But, once you get big, many fraud websites may try to copy you and confuse your customers.
I would recommend these tools for better domain research:
Domainr · fast, free, domain name search, short URLs, new gTLDs, whois
DomainsGPT – SEO optimised, AI domain search
Domain Names, Websites, Hosting & Online Marketing Tools – GoDaddy
Research and Planning
You’ve probably come across some websites that you liked. They could belong to potential competitors or be just random sites.
I highly recommend creating a database. In it, you can save all the websites you like, including specific parts. This will provide you with a source of inspiration when building your website.
Competitor Analysis:
- Look at the websites of businesses like yours.
- Identify what they do well and where there are opportunities for improvement (WRITE IT DOWN!).
Inspiration:
- Browse websites like Dribbble, Behance, and Awwwards for design inspiration.
- Save examples of designs and features you like.
- Use Google or any search engine to find your competitors or similar websites.
- Conduct keyword research using platforms like Ubersuggest or AnswerThePublic.
Relume — Websites designed & built faster with AI | AI website builder
Relume is a website planning tool that simplifies the design process. It offers pre-built components for quick wireframe creation and integrates with platforms like Figma. Relume helps you focus on your website’s layout and structure, saving time and ensuring a professional design. Ideal for planning your digital product business website.
Recommended Websites and Tools:
Dribbble – Discover the World’s Top Designers & Creative Professionals
Search Projects :: Photos, videos, logos, illustrations and branding :: Behance
Behance is the world’s largest creative network for showcasing and discovering creative work
Ubersuggest: Free Keyword Research Tool – Neil Patel
Search listening tool for market, customer & content research – AnswerThePublic
Choose the Right Platform
When choosing a platform for a website, the decision is very individual. Everyone has different preferences and skills.
Always make sure that the platform offers all the features and integrations you need. These may include integrations with email marketing and payment systems. They may also include analytics, API access, and more.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s up to you and your skills to choose the right platform for you. Here is an overview of some of them: Framer – Webflow – Wix – Squarespsace – WordPress – Notion
| Platform | Ease of Use (1-5) | Scalability | Features | Flexibility |
| Framer | 3 | High | High customization, modern design tools, no coding needed | High, allows for custom design and functionality |
| Webflow | 3 | High | Robust design capabilities, visual coding, CMS | High, highly customizable with complex interactions |
| Wix | 5 | Moderate to High | User-friendly, drag-and-drop features, many templates | Moderate, limited to available templates and apps |
| Squarespace | 5 | Moderate to High | Elegant templates, integrated e-commerce, blogging | Moderate, customization limited to templates |
| WordPress | 3 | Very High | Extensive plugin library, flexible themes, open-source | Very High, highly customizable with plugins and code |
| Super.so + Notion | 5 | Moderate | Easy integration with Notion for content management | Moderate, good for content-driven websites |
We built our first website using Wix a couple of years ago. It was a bad beginning because it got the job done. It included email automation, analytics, and marketing features.
However, it wasn’t the best option. If you have experience with Wix and want to create a website with it, go for it.
Ask yourself what you want to achieve with your website. What’s the goal? Do proper research before you pick one platform.
The goal of these websites is to make attractive, high-converting landing pages. They will have an external checkout and payment system. It’ll cost you less, but takes you more time to create it (if you do it yourself).
This part was about creating a website for presentation and marketing purposes. Now we’ll discuss e-commerce platforms. Just to clarify, we have a website for marketing and presentation purposes. We built our website on WordPress and then integrated it with Stripe and PayPal as payment systems.
E-commerce platforms provide a convenient way to sell digital products. You do not need to build a full website from scratch. These platforms have built-in features. They make selling easier by streamlining product listings, payments, and delivery. Here are some popular e-commerce platforms that allow you to build your own e-shop:
In this part, we will go deeper into e-commerce website platforms. You can use all the information about building your website, whether it’s for presentation or e-shop purposes, from the last chapter. Here, we will discuss specific platforms and their possibilities. Shopify ‣ WooCommerce ‣BigCommerce ‣Wix ‣ Squarespace ‣ Weebly ‣ Sellfy ‣ Payhip
| Platform | Ease of Use (1-5) | Customization (1-5) | Scalability (1-5) | Pricing (Starting at) | Key Features | Best For |
| Shopify | 5 | 4 | 5 | $29/month | Integrated payment gateways, extensive app store, built-in SEO, email marketing | Businesses of all sizes |
| WooCommerce | 3 | 5 | 5 | Free (plus hosting) | Seamlessly integrates with WordPress, robust inventory management | WordPress users, deep customization needs |
| BigCommerce | 4 | 5 | 5 | $29.95/month | Advanced SEO tools, multiple payment gateways, flexible API | Growing businesses needing advanced features |
| Wix | 5 | 4 | 4 | $27/month | Drag-and-drop builder, email marketing, SEO tools | Small to medium-sized businesses |
| Squarespace | 5 | 4 | 4 | $18/month | Beautiful templates, integrated e-commerce, detailed analytics | Design-focused businesses |
| Weebly | 5 | 3 | 3 | $12/month | Simple interface, integrated with Square, mobile app | Small businesses and startups |
| Sellfy | 5 | 3 | 3 | $19/month | Built-in email marketing, discount codes, subscriptions | Creators and small businesses |
| Payhip | 5 | 3 | 3 | Free (5% transaction fee) | Secure delivery, VAT handling, affiliate system | Digital product creators valuing security |
Choosing the right e-commerce platform depends on your needs. It also depends on the type of digital products you sell. Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce offer strong solutions. They let you create complete online stores. Wix, Squarespace, and Weebly provide easy-to-use options for small to medium-sized businesses. Sellfy and Payhip offer additional features tailored to digital product creators. Assess your needs, compare the features, and choose the platform that best fits your goals.
Most of these platforms are ideal for creating an e-shop with a variety of products. Consider using these platforms if you plan to run a business with many products. They make customers feel like they’re shopping for physical products online.
Otherwise, we prefer a presentation website with an integrated payment system and other marketing tools (email automation, analytics, product storage, etc.).
If you are starting, it’s good to take a look at Payhip. They’re designed for digital products and also offer the delivery of your product to the customer.
But if you have big plans, consider the scalability of the platform. Some platforms are suitable only for small businesses, not for larger ventures.
These platforms can help beginners. They offer features for marketing, like email marketing, SEO, and analytics. However, your future needs might outgrow these features, which may not be advanced enough. You may eventually need more sophisticated tools. While it’s easy to integrate external tools into these platforms, you could end up paying for many features you don’t use.
If you’re planning to create an e-shop full of digital products, an e-commerce solution can be right for you. Review all templates and features of each platform. Choose the one that fits your strategy and needs.
If you’re unsure which platform is the best, don’t hesitate to discuss it with the AI Assistants in YAFI.ai.
Select a Template and Customize
There is nothing wrong with using and adjusting an existing template. In this era, we can browse through hundreds of ready-to-use templates. Every website-building platform has its own templates, including Webflow, Framer, and WordPress.
It’s a great source of inspiration to browse through these templates and pick what you like. Eventually, you can buy one and adjust it to your needs. You can even take elements from many templates and create something unique.
Template Selection:
- Choose a template that aligns with your brand’s aesthetics and functionality needs.
- Templates are available directly on platforms like Wix and WordPress or through marketplaces such as ThemeForest.
Customization:
- Customize your template to match your brand identity.
- Focus on creating a consistent and engaging user experience.
Choose from 1000+ Framer HTML website templates
2,000+ Webflow HTML website templates | Webflow
All Responsive Templates | Wix Studio
WordPress Themes & Website Templates from ThemeForest
WordPress Themes
WordPress Themes and Templates – TemplateMonster
Creative Market: High-quality Stock Photo, Graphics, Fonts, & Design Templates
E-commerce Website Templates – Free and Premium Themes for Your Online Store.
Website Templates | Free HTML5 Website Templates | Wix.com
Ecommerce Website Themes & Templates | BigCommerce
WooCommerce Themes Archives
Find the perfect design for your store in the WooCommerce themes marketplace.woocommerce.com
Website Templates – Website Design Templates – Squarespace
Weebly Themes – Beautiful Themes for Your Site, Blog or Store
Free Themes For Your Online Store – Payhip
Just type the website-builder platform into Google and add “templates” to the search. You will find marketplaces and official landing pages offering templates.
Create Essential Pages
Once you’re ready with your prototype, continue to the development phase. Create all necessary pages, which usually include:
Homepage:
- Develop an engaging and informative homepage that introduces your brand and key products.
- Include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to guide visitors.
Product Pages:
- Create detailed product pages with high-quality images, descriptions, reviews, and purchase options.
- Optimize product pages for search engines with relevant keywords.
About Page:
- Share your brand’s story, mission, and values to connect with visitors.
- Highlight your expertise and what sets you apart from competitors.
Blog:
- Regularly publish articles related to your niche to attract and engage visitors.
- Write SEO-friendly content to drive organic traffic to your site.
Here you can see the main menu on our website. It consist of “Homepage”, one product page “Master Library” and others under “Free Resources” (blog, lead magnets etc..).
You can also make landing pages for ads. You can link them in your ads. Not all landing pages need to be on your website. You can create them just for ads.
Do this, for example, when you have different target audiences. You want to make a custom landing page for each of them. Or if you just want to A/B test two different communications to the same audience. You can create two separate landing pages and link them in your ads. After a couple of days, you will see which performs better. So, you know what communication works better with your target audience.
Sometimes you only need a one-pager, a website with one page. You can use it to explain everything you do and offer. It has a CTA button at the end for purchase. Later, you can add more pages if needed.
SEO and Optimization
SEO and keyword research are crucial components of building a digital presence. You need thorough keyword research. It guides your website building, copywriting, and social media.
We recommend conducting keyword research before building your website. Knowing the most-used keywords will guide you in crafting the right copy. They will help you rank higher in Google searches. You’ll know which headlines to use and which pages to create. You might even create pages you think are needless. But, there’s high demand for them in search.
Keyword Research:
- Tools: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to find relevant keywords.
- Implementation: Incorporate these keywords naturally into your content.
On-Page SEO:
- Optimization: Optimize title tags, meta descriptions, headers, and images for search engines.
- Internal Linking: Use internal linking to guide visitors through your site and improve SEO.
Technical SEO:
- Site Speed: Ensure your site loads quickly by optimizing images and using caching.
- Mobile-Friendly: Make sure your site is mobile-friendly.
- Security: Use an SSL certificate to secure your site and boost SEO.
Content Marketing:
- Develop Content: Create content that addresses your audience’s needs and promotes your products.
- Share: Share your content on social media to drive traffic back to your website.
Backlinks:
- Importance: Backlinks from reputable sites improve your website’s authority and search engine ranking.
- Strategy: Develop a backlink strategy by reaching out to related websites, writing guest posts, and getting listed in industry directories.
SEO tools can be expensive. We use Ubersuggest. It has friendly pricing and offers many free courses. They help you understand SEO. If you want to know more about it, we recommend exploring their resources.
Backlinks are very important for your SEO, especially for improving your Domain Rating. You need to get external links from other websites that link directly to yours.
We recommend starting with foundational social media links: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google My Business, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Then, you can search for directories, app stores, blogs, communities, job boards, and other relevant websites that can provide you with backlinks.
Useful SEO tools and websites:
Ahrefs – SEO Tools & Resources To Grow Your Search Traffic
Semrush – Online Marketing Can Be Easy
Ubersuggest: Free Keyword Research Tool – Neil Patel
Google Search Console
analytics.google.com
Search listening tool for market, customer & content research – AnswerThePublic
Launch and Test
Testing: Before launching your website, you must test it well. You must ensure all parts work. This step helps you catch and fix any issues before your audience sees them.
- Functionality Check: Ensure all links, forms, and interactive elements work properly.
- User Experience: Test the website’s navigation, loading times, and mobile responsiveness.
- Feedback: Get feedback from beta testers. Use it to find any usability issues or areas to improve.
Before publishing your website online, send it to your network for testing. Don’t tell them exactly what you do or what you want to communicate. Let them figure it out themselves and then listen to their feedback. Honest feedback from potential customers is invaluable before launching. This way, you can make necessary changes before publishing it online.
Launch: Once your website has passed all tests, it’s time to launch and let the world know about it.
- Announcement: Announce your website launch on social media to reach your audience.
- Email Newsletters: Send newsletters to your email list to inform them about your new website.
Monitor and Update: Launching your website is just the beginning. To maintain and improve its performance, continuously monitor and update it.
- Analytics: Use tools such as Google Analytics. They track website performance, user behavior, and traffic sources. Analyzing this data helps you make informed decisions and optimize your site.
- Evaluation: Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of your website’s content, design, and functionality.
- Feedback: Continuously ask for feedback from users to understand their needs and preferences.
- Improvements: Make ongoing improvements based on analytics and feedback. Update your website with new content. Also, add new products and features to keep it engaging.
Building and maintaining a successful website is a long-term commitment. By testing often and improving, you keep your website effective and valuable for your audience.
Whatever you sell or offer, always ask your customers for feedback. Ask them what they think about the product or service and what they would like to improve or change. Carefully read what they ask on a daily basis and make changes to reduce repetitive questions or uncertainties.
I want you to take this guide as a comprehensive resource for choosing the right platform to create a website. Extract the key information from each part.
We all have different needs, which is why this guide is broad. Take what you find useful.
Example of Creating a Custom Website
Introduction
Meet Mike, who has digital products like ebooks and ready-to-use templates. He doesn’t have a large following but consistently creates content on Instagram and Twitter. Mike plans to expand his portfolio and build a personal brand. With basic website creation skills and a willingness to learn, he’s ready to set up his digital presence.
Mike’s Specializations: Mike specializes in investments, teaching people where and how to invest. He covers various topics such as stocks, real estate, commodities, ETFs, and crypto. Mike also offers one-on-one consultations to help customers set up their investments and address other needs.
Current Products:
- Two Ebooks
- One Ready-To-Use Notion Template
- One-on-One Consultations
- One Ebook from YAFI.ai Master Library (used as a lead magnet)
Mike’s Use Case
In this example, Mike wanted to create a solution with complete control over his branding and user experience, flexibility for future growth, and better SEO integration to attract more organic traffic. He also wanted to differentiate from the competitors, increase value, and build his personal brand. That’s why he decided to create a custom website.
First thing Mike did was to go directly to DomainsGPT.ai and start writing his brand ideas.
Since Mike read the whole guide, he knows that if a .com domain is not available, the second option should be .co, which was automatically suggested.
(Click directly on the price of any provider, for example, GoDaddy, and you are ready to buy it.)
Mike decided to create a website on Framer because of its user-friendly interface, modern design capabilities, and seamless integration with various digital tools.
He paid for the “Basic” package and, before that, went through the Framer templates and picked one that he liked:
Icarus — eBook Template — Framer Template
After that, he created all the necessary pages, which are:
- Homepage
- Product Pages
- Contact Page
He is planning to write a blog too, but he wanted to launch without it and add it later.
After creating and optimizing all the pages for all devices and making them SEO-friendly (thanks to his keyword research), he was ready to set up a payment system with a high-converting checkout.
He went directly to Stripe and created his account. After that created all payment links. Then, he also created a free account at Brevo to handle product delivery through email automation.
Once he set up all accounts, he integrated Brevo with Stripe and set up an after-purchase automation so that once someone purchases a product, Mike will send them an email with a downloadable link to the purchased product.
Here is how you can integrate Brevo with Stripe:
Stripe: integrate your new contacts
So, now Mike’s uses Stripe as a payment system (which is also integrated with PayPal) and Brevo for email automation. Here is an example of one of his customer journeys:
Mike also uses an all-in-one link-in-bio tool, Zaap.bio, where he created a simple landing page with all his products, a lead magnet, and consultations, with direct links to his website pages. Now, followers from social media can easily find all the important final links to his websites.
Besides organic traffic through content on social media (which Mike is doing regularly because he knows that consistency is key), Mike also runs paid ads through Meta Ads.
Customer Journey Example
- Discovery: A potential customer sees Mike’s ad on Facebook with a direct link to a product page.
- Engagement: They click the CTA button on the product page and are redirected to the checkout.
- Purchase: After completing the checkout, they receive an automated email with the purchased product link.
- Follow-Up: Mike continues to engage with customers via email automations set up through Brevo.
To sum it up
- Created a custom website through Framer.
- Created a business account on Stripe to handle all payments.
- Created an account on Brevo for email automation.
- Integrated Stripe with Brevo accounts.
- Created an automated after–purchase email sequence with products uploaded inside.
- Set it up so that after a purchase, an email with the product is automatically sent to the customers based on the email address they provided at checkout.
- Also created a Zaap.bio account to improve effectiveness on social media and created a landing page with all products, including direct links to his website.
Turn emails into revenue | Mailchimp
ConvertKit: The creator marketing platform
Create Email Marketing Your Audience Will Love – MailerLite
GetResponse | Professional Email Marketing for Everyone
