Starting a website project can seem daunting to a business owner who's focused on running day to day operations - and some website projects never get off the ground as a result.
Knowing some of the key concepts and planning ahead can increase your comfort level with the process and improve your experience in developing your website. Below are some of the basic items you'll need to get your website project launched:
getting started
purpose
First thing's first, what is the purpose of your site (is it to sell a product? your services? or to provide information?) and what kind of information do you need to have on your site to fulfill that purpose? Keeping these things front and center will help to keep the content on your site relevant - and your visitors interested.
content
Not knowing what content you want to have on your site can often stall a project for weeks or months. So gather your thoughts: what do you want to share or say? What do your customers need to know? Your company's brochures or other sales materials may be a good source of inspiration.
If you're unsure of your writing skills or simply don't have the time to craft your content, take advantage of copy writing services. Well-crafted content is important because customers don't want to read a lot of text that isn't directly relevant to what they want to know and, on the technical side, text is what search engines can read and index - it's how your website will eventually be found by potential customers.
style
When you're ready to talk to a designer/developer, have a list of websites whose designs you like. Take note of what you like about those sites: is it the color? the fonts? the layouts, navigation or images? Taking a look at other sites may help you communicate to your designer what you want (or don't want) on your own website.
need more info?
Take a look at our articles on website development and marketing.