Setting up a website is an exciting step, but to be successful, it is important to prepare thoroughly, to design a website. If you've made up your mind that you want to have a website, it's important to prepare carefully. If you are conscious about the process and make a concrete plan, you will not only be able to development will be faster and more efficient, but also the end result will be better suited to your needs. Below, I've put together the most important steps you should take before you start the website building phase.
Defining the objectives of the website
The first step is to think about what the main purpose of your website will be, as this will help you decide on the type, features and structure of your website. Do you need a simple introduction page? Do you want to run a webshop? Maybe you want to start a blog? The more precise your requirements are, the more customisable your website will be. You should also think about your long-term goals for your online presence. For example, do you plan to run advertising campaigns? Is SEO or social media integration important? What level of analytics do you need to track the performance of your website?
If you want a business website, you should consider branding and customer acquisition opportunities. Think about it: what impression do you want to make on visitors? Setting clear goals will help ensure that your website really creates value for your visitors.
Designing functions
The next step in website design is to determine what features you will need, as the more clearly you outline your needs, the smoother the development will go. Examples of such features include:
- Contact form
- Blog section
- Webshop with payment options
- Reservation system
- Multimedia content (images, videos, gallery)
- Newsletter subscription
- User accounts and registration system
- Automatic e-mail notifications
- Downloadable documents
The more precise the list, the more effective the website can be designed. You should also consider automation options such as automatic confirmation emails or timed posts.
Defining the target audience
It is important to be clear about who your website is aimed at and who you want to reach. Think about their demographics or interests. This will help you to personalise the content, design and message that the site conveys. If you know your target audience, you can tailor the design, content and functionality to their needs and expectations. Consider the following questions:
- What age group are you targeting?
- What will your website be for?
- What style and form of communication suits your target audience?
The more detailed this is, the more effective and user-friendly your site will be.
Preparation of website content
The success of a website depends to a large extent on quality content. Think about what text, images and videos you put on the site. Even an old website is worth reviewing and updating. Some tips for preparing your content:
- Text from, for example bintroductory text, product descriptions, service descriptions, blog posts: be concise, informative and well structured. It is important that you have enough textual content to provide your visitors with complete content by the time you launch your website at the latest.
- Pictures, videos: Collect high-quality photos and videos that match your brand and your intended look. High quality visual content increases credibility and user experience. However, it is important to consider the right optimisation so that the size of the image, and therefore the page load speed, does not compromise quality!
- Design elements: You can greatly speed up the process of creating a website by planning the colour scheme in advance and choosing the fonts you will use on the website. If you have a logo, you should create it in several sizes, and if you don't, it is recommended to design one to reflect your business identity.
- Call-to-action (CTA): Decide in advance what action you want your website visitors to take. E.g. contact, purchase or subscribe to a newsletter.
- SEO-friendly content: Even if you outsource your search engine optimisation, it's important to prepare your text content to include the keywords (both in headlines and body copy) that you want to reach your audience with organically. Read more about search engine optimisation here you can read!
Choosing a domain name and hosting
Your domain name is the foundation of your online presence, so it's important that it's simple, memorable and relevant to your brand. Avoid names that are too long and complicated, as these are harder to remember. Read more about choosing a domain name from this in the post.
You also need to choose a reliable hosting provider that will ensure your website is fast and stable.
It is recommended to choose hosting rented from a hosting provider in Hungary. Read more about this in "How websites are made".
Get inspired
See how other people doing similar activities build their websites. The aim is not to copy them, but to be inspired and see what you can do to stand out, to make your online presence unique.
Website maintenance and operation plan
One of my principles is that a website is never completely finished. There is always room for improvement, so you also need to make sure that you regularly update the content (which involves, for example, reviewing SEO), optimise the functionality. Set a target for how often you plan to update your website.
It's also important to keep it up to date and keep an eye out for security updates. Read more about this from this in the knowledge base entry.
Know what your expectations are
It is not only the developer's responsibility to create a website that meets the defined needs. So always be specific about what you want to see on the finished site. This could be a document or a list of requirements, or visual diagrams of the site's structure and appearance that you can share with the developer.
Calculate the costs
It's important to be clear from the start what you want a professional to do and what you can do yourself. Have a realistic idea of the budget you need, which includes:
- Development and design costs such as website design, logo and other design elements, additional services (e.g. SEO, analytics)
- Fees for domain and domain registration and anniversary renewal
- Costs of extensions and custom features needed to implement the website you envision
- Subsequent content update, maintenance and operation fees
Get ready for marketing
Once the website is up and running, you also need to promote it. Plan how you will drive visitors to the site (e.g. social media, email marketing, advertising).
- Social media: Create a Facebook or Instagram profile and share a link to your website.
- Newsletters: Build an email list of visitors.
Conclusion
Preparing a successful website takes time and planning. If you think through these steps carefully, the development process will be much easier and more efficient. Thorough preparation not only speeds up the process of building your website, but also ensures that the end result best serves your needs.
I hope this article will help you get started in taking the first steps to evolve in the digital space. And if you have already taken this step and are ready to have your own website, come to me with confidence, the Evolve to Web help you achieve your goals!
