What You Need To Know Before Building Your Website
If you’re yet to get your website up and running, here are a few things you need to know and do before getting started:
The Purpose
What’s the purpose of your website? If you’re a photographer wanting to showcase your work, you’ll have a very different website to an artist selling canvas prints, or a writer whose main focus is lifestyle and business content.
Decide Who Will Design & Build Your Site
Are you going to create your own website, or hire a designer and web developer to do the job? Depending on your skillset, experience and how much time you have on hand, both options are there for you.
If you’re a newbie at websites and want something simple to start with, try Wix or Square Space. However if you’re more experienced and want some flexibility in the way your website is built, try using WordPress.
If you’re hiring someone else to create your website, ask them as many questions as you can so you’re confident they understand what you’re trying to achieve, and that they are the right person to help you get there. Remember also that some designers might not necessarily develop websites, and some web developers may not have great design skills, so depending on who you’re working with, you may need a few people on your team.
Pick Your Web Address
If you haven’t yet thought about a web address, do that now! Pick a domain name which will be easy to remember, without any complicated spelling words. Make sure it’s available, and get the .com if possible. Depending on what platform you’re on, you may need to purchase hosting as well as registering your domain name.
Create Your Site Map
Have you thought about all the pages you’d like to showcase on your website? What pages would you like across your main navigation? Will there be subpages as well? Will you be creating any offers for people to purchase, or giving away any free resources? Make a list of all the pages to give you a framework for your website. From there, you’ll know exactly how many pages you need to write content for, and you’ll be able to see clearly which pages you need images or videos for etc etc.
Make It Mobile Friendly
Once your website is up and running, make sure you ask your web developer to make it mobile friendly. Many people nowadays view websites on their mobiles, so it’s essential to provide a great browsing experience on the mobile too.
If you’d like a hand getting your website for your business set up, send me a message and I’d love to connect with you.
