The importance of having a successful website is a given in today's market. An online presence is equivalent to your company’s face, meaning it can turn a potential client into a devotee. Mistakes in web design can render the experience bad for your customers and this would, in turn, cost your company in more ways than one. As the design requires careful research and planning, we have provided here 10 considerations for you to make in order to get you started. If you are asking yourself ‘What do I need to design a website’, you’re at the right place. Here is a list of things to do when building a website:
First and foremost, even before designing your website, little research is required as to who your target audience is. Understanding and meeting their needs is step one.
It may be the case that your company has more than one target group. For instance, a retail company may sell women’s as well as men’s clothing. Pinning down who your prospective customers are and communicating this to your web developers is essential in building the right kind of website.
Your logo, color palette, and guidelines features need to be taken into account when building a website. Are they outdated? Do they need reinventing? Are they clear and modern enough to be appealing to your visitors?
Note that the website development company you hire to build your web presence is not there to promote or build your brand image. This is something your company should have developed before contacting a web design team. If you don't know where to start with that you can always research other companies with similar identities as yours or even contact our team.
Data shows that over 50% of web traffic worldwide comes from mobile devices. Therefore, mobile optimization is a priority. Making sure you have a mobile responsive website first, is the best bet you can make. Ensuring that your website’s images, texts, logos, links, and all other features will look as intended on the screens of your visitors, will enhance their experience making it more likely that they will become your customers.
Talk with your web agency or developer and make sure they are considering this when building your website. Remember that a responsive web design also means easy navigation. What better way to make sure you have a lasting impression on your visitors?
A call to action or CTA should be present on every page of your website. A question, some words to consider, etc., will encourage your visitors in taking further steps. If for instance, you state that they should follow you on Instagram to access special discounts, this will motivate your visitors to actually look you up and follow you on Instagram, further expanding your audience and the chances of them becoming your client. Of course, providing them with the right link or information to take that action with minimum effort and time consumption is essential. You don't want to frustrate prospective customers with unresponsive or false claims. Complex CTA, malfunctioning links, or difficult-to-decipher downloads will more likely result in your visitors abandoning your website for another. Don't forget to include CTAs in your web design cost budget.
One of the best tips we can give you regarding designing or redesigning your website is to keep the future in mind at all stages. Spending your money and time in building your web presence should not be shortsighted. Recognizing that new functions will be required at some point and that data should be accessible and backed up frequently will ensure your website will not be compromised. Having a backup plan is a must even if you are requesting web design services for a small business.
Your customers are who the website is built for. Keeping this in mind, you should ask questions such as what is the way you want your visitors to be able to contact you, when can you be available to communicate with them, who in the company will be able to access those communications, what kind of security measures should be taken?
Considering these before you engage in building a website and communicating them to your web design and content agency will be the easiest way for you to make the right decisions and make the process easy.
The most used content management system is of course WordPress. It’s easy to use and customizable to the fullest extent. This does not mean, however, that it is the right one for your business. Talk to your web development team, research the available CMSs and make the decision that best suits your needs.
Another thing you need to have pinned down before going on to building your website is what your budget will be. The cost will vary according to your needs; a fully custom website, complex features, number of pages you require. Each one with its own pros and cons.
Don't forget to include expenses regarding SEO and copywriting if you do not already have a team of your own working on them.
On top of managing the how of your website and working with a web agency, you need to remember to inform your own staff about what their duties will be regarding this. This should include assigning to your employees the duties of researching info for the content, compiling photos, graphics, and logos, keeping on top of branding guidelines and content writing. Others should research what your privacy policy should be as well as the legal matters of even having a website. The list goes on, but finding time to do the heavy lifting of allocating roles to your employees will result in a smoother process of actually running a website for everyone in your company.
We know that social media plays a very important role in online marketing. Including social proof in your website will increase the loyalty-building of your customers and further support your business in other ways. Posting photos that prove how qualified you are, links to your social media pages, links to other pages or individuals that support your work, content that mentions your business, and sharing options from your website will provide you with credibility as well as expand your audience.
We consider these ten points to be the foundation or the groundwork that needs to be done for a successful website to be built. If you want to get even more information you can always reach out to someone from our team.
