5 key things to consider before starting your web design project
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Intention
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Hosting and Domain
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Key pages
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Colors, Copy, Customer Journey
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The ABCs of websites
Intention – What are you hoping to have your website do for you?
So, you’ve decided your business needs a website. Great! But where do you start?? Here are 5 key things to consider before you dive into your web design project.
The first thing you want to decide before you do anything else is to think about why you’re building a website. What are your goals for having a website? Some common website goals that I’ve seen from my clients:
- Create an online presence to connect with leads
- Have a digital asset for marketing that is not subject to the whims of social media platforms
- Create content to become known as a thought leader in my industry
- Establish an online shop to sell digital products or online courses
- Establish an online shop to sell physical products and fulfill orders
- Deliver a freebie or lead magnet to grow an email list
Depending on your unique business, services/products and goals, you may have one or many (or all!) of the items above. The platform you choose in the next step, will be driven by your business goals.
Domain Name and Platform – the foundations of your web design project
Choosing a Domain Name
The first step in planning for your website project is your choosing your domain name. Your domain name is your address on the internet. Think of this as the equivalent of your home address. There are a number of places where you can purchase access to your domain online. I have used Namecheap in the past but there are other options too! When you choose your domain name a few things to keep in mind:
- Is it easy to say – you want your site address to be simple, easy to say, and easy to spell
- Is it available – if your brand is your name, you may or may not be able to get the domain that’s yourname dot com.
- What are your backup choices
After considering what you want your domain or URL to be, you can quickly search through a domain registrar and purchase your domain name. Just a note – your domain name will need to be renewed on a regular basis, so make sure to plan this in your business expenses and budget.
Choosing your platform
Now that you’ve got your domain name purchased, you want to think about what platform you’re going to use. There are a number of platforms that you can choose to build your website. My preferred platform for building websites is WordPress, which powers over 40% of all websites, based on this article. Other popular platforms include Squarespace, Wix, ShowIt and Shopify. The best platform really depends on what your short term and long term goals are for your site, as mentioned above. If you opt for WordPress, you will need to consider where to host your site once it’s built. If you work with a web designer, they may have a hosting and site management plan that you can opt to use, or they can refer you to a trusted partner. If you work with other platforms, your site will be managed within those platforms.
As an example, if your primary objective is to sell physical products, your designer may discuss options with you including WordPress + WooCommerce, Shopify or Squarespace. If your main focus is to publish content and monetize a blog, the recommendation may be WordPress.
Key Pages
Continuing with the house example, your key pages are similar to the rooms in your home. Most websites start with a few core pages that are needed by the majority of businesses. These core pages often include:
- Home – who you are, what you do, who you do it for
- About – more about you, your business/services and who is a good fit
- Services / Shop – brings your potential customer further into the conversation to understand what you can deliver for them
- Contact – how does your potential customer get in touch with you
- The Legal stuff – privacy policies, cookies, terms and conditions ** disclaimer – I am not a lawyer – check with your lawyer to see what’s required for you!
When you work with a web designer on your project, they can help you plan out all the pages that you will need, based on your goals and services.
Colors, Copy, Customer Journey
There is more to a web design project than just a visually pleasing or artistic flair. Colors, fonts and design elements are key components of the project.
As you plan out your website, as well as your logo and other visual components of your website and brand, it’s important to consider the colors you want to use and the psychology behind them. There are reasons rooted in psychology that explain why fast food restaurants use red and large banks and tech companies use blue!
Copy (a fancy way to describe the words you use) will help to set the tone of your brand and your website. How do you describe your products or services? Do you use perfect grammar or do you lean into colorful language? Your ideal clients will connect with you through your words. You want them to say “How do you know what I’m thinking?!?”
Customer Journey is a way to consider how your ideal clients find you, and how you communicate with them through your copy, your marketing strategies, and how easy it is for them to understand your business and how to move forward with you once they land on your website.
The ABCs of websites
As you start to dig into the world of websites, it’s easy to be come overwhelmed with all the acronyms. SEO, SERP, CTA and so on. It’s like marketing alphabet soup. As you get started, 2 of the most important to consider are SEO – Search Engine Optimization, and CTA – Call to Action. You want to make it clear to your website visitors what the next step is. This is your CTA. Do you want them to Book a Call? Sign up for your email list? Add to Cart? All of these are examples of CTAs that can be used on your site.
Want help?
All of this can be overwhelming! If you’re looking to start your website with a strong foundation, let’s talk! All of my web design projects start with a complementary 15 minute consultation to help us both determine if working together is a good fit. Click here to see more about what it’s like to work with me.
