A checklist will help you a lot when doing any task. Building a website is no exception to this. With so many ways to build websites today, building a website may seem like a simple task. It can feel like all you need to do is jump into a site builder, choose a template, and you’re done. When you want to create a digital representation of your company, it’s a different story. I hope this post can be very helpful to get your website up and running.
In our previous article, we gave you 5 reasons why you needed a website. This article should help you if you’re thinking of starting a website. It doesn’t matter whether you are using a CMS like WordPress or an online builder like Wix and Squarespace. It would be a good idea to bookmark this link. I plan to update this post so that you can use it even after you launch your website.
Pre-Design & Development.
Content is king
People say content is king. Not having the right content can prevent your website from going live. And that is why I’m talking about content first. If you are starting a new company, or you have been at it for a while, you will need to communicate with others.
This first set of content will be about your company. Having this on paper can help a designer or developer work faster on your project. Hiring a professional copywriter is one of the best things you can do when it comes to website copy. Figuring this out yourself can take way more time than you have. In this article, I will be more focused on the type of copy on your website.
Style guide
A style guide will help put your content together. Find a talented graphic designer who has done the kind of work you want your brand to represent. A designer will help you with the logo, typeface, color, and other shapes that build your brand. Keep in mind that this part of setting up your business is significant.
You want to take the time to get this as right as you can. A skilled web designer can help you do the type of work you want. Web designers may not be the best graphic designers. So find someone whose right for the job. Getting the style guide right gives clarity to everyone that will work with you.
Knowing what you want
This article is mainly written for clients that are just starting out and don’t know what they want. You may have seen some websites out there you like. Find about 5 websites you like or want yours to look like. Have examples that can be used as inspiration to build your own.
Deciding how people find you.
Domain name
The topic of the domain name is very tricky, With so many LTD out there, you may find it hard to choose. E.g. yourcompany.com, .net should you have a slash in your domain name. It helps to have a unique name, but if that’s not the case you can still make it through. But, if you have a business idea, go ahead and reserve your domain name just in case, I’ll wait for you to do that, waiting……. Okay, I hope you got the name you wanted, if not continue reading.
SEO
When the term SEO got popular, it was easy to do SEO. All you had to do was add some keywords in your header, and you were good. Now the game has changed so much that you actually need to create content that users are looking for. Content creation had become a big part of SEO.
The article is not on SEO, but starting a blog, podcast, or video series is the best way to stay found these days. So planning this before you start your website can help make it all successful.
It’s important that you keep in mind that you are not the real owner of your social media page. If there’s ever a power out at their headquarters, your business is also down. A website can easily prevent this problem. With a website, you are mainly responsible for keeping it visible for clients.
