Jumpstart Your Business Website:
A 5-Step Plan to a new site
When it comes to creating a new website for your business, where do you start? What does it take? How much will it cost?
And, most importantly, what do you need to prepare to ensure a successful working relationship with your web designer?
There's an old adage in business that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. For your business website, that means you should have a solid plan.
Whether you’re launching a new website for your business or redesigning an existing site, it’s important to ensure that you are well-prepared for the project and that you understand what you need to do to ensure success. A successful website can go a long way in helping to build trust with customers, increase your visibility, attract new customers, and build credibility, so it’s important to get it right.
This post will help demystify the process by outlining the key steps to take when you’re getting ready to start your website project.
1. Establish a clear vision for your new website
Before doing anything else, it is essential to come up with a clear vision for your website.
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What is the main purpose of your website?
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Who is your target audience and what do you want them to do on your website?
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What content, features, and design elements do you need to make that happen?
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How will you measure success?
These are some of the key questions you need to answer before launching your new website.
For a detailed questionnaire, contact us for a link to our Website Design Questionnaire.
Having a clear vision will guide your decisions and help you focus on the right aspects of your website project.
2. Gather all materials to provide to your web designer
Gathering all the necessary materials to provide to your web designer is an important step in ensuring that your new website is designed to your exact specifications.
This includes your logo, brand colours, images, copy and any other content you’d like to include. If you’re unsure of what materials you need, consult with your web designer to get a better idea of the elements that need to be created and gathered and at which point of the process you need to deliver them.
Additionally, gather any website ideas, references, and descriptions of your desired website and its functionality. This will help your web designer understand your vision, and will also give them a better idea of how to best approach the design and development of your website.
3. Determine the budget for your website
One of the first step in ensuring the development of a successful website is determining the budget. Depending on the complexity of the website, the overall cost can range from a few hundred pounds to many thousands. A good web designer will be able to provide a realistic estimate of the cost based on the desired features of the website.
It’s important to be transparent with your budget, so your web designer can create a website that meets all of your essential needs without going over budget.
We offer a range of web design packages, so check them out before making a decision.
4. Research the best web design practices.
When I first started designing websites, I really just wanted to make the internet beautiful.
With experience came knowledge and business understanding.
A successful website must be not only visually appealing, but it also needs to function properly and achieve your business goals. To make sure your website looks and behaves as it should, you need to understand some basic web design concepts. Be sure to look into topics such as responsive design, usability, search engine optimisation (SEO), and accessibility.
Taking the time to understand the foundations of web design will help you communicate your vision to your web designer and ensure the end product meets your expectations.
5. Set measurable goals for your website
Perhaps one of the most overlooked steps in launching a new website is defining what you mean by your objectives. Ideally, your objectives will be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).
By defining your objectives, you can measure the success of your website. Whether it’s increasing conversions, boosting sales, or growing your email list, set goals for what you want your website to achieve. Make sure to track the progress of your goals, and adjust accordingly.
If you don’t have any specific goals in mind, sit down with your web designer and come up with the list of essential goals your website needs to meet. This will help ensure that your website design and development process is focused on achieving your desired outcome.
When you begin a new website project for your business, it can feel overwhelming at first, but following the steps in this post will help you get off on the right foot. With just a few key pieces of information, such as your objectives, target audience, and budget, you can provide the bulk of the necessary information to your web designer.
Artwork Credit: Malika Sqalli.
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