Designing a new website can be a daunting task. We at Computerlog wish to take out the anxiety of this amazing process of creation – something we love and do it day in and out by guiding our potential clients or even a do-it-yourself-wiz to apply these essential steps in the design process which can help lead to creating the website of your dreams- or at least one that demonstrates your business’s goals, values, and offerings effectively.
Step 1: Create a plan!
Your project plan may include setting a timeline for completion and a project budget. Prior to starting your web design project, it is important to consider the guidelines of your plan, as running into unexpected speedbumps during the process of your project could set you behind. In addition, a plan of attack makes it easier for you or your web designer to approach your project.
Step 2: Outline your goals and content.
What do you want to achieve with your new website? Conceptualizing your business’s brand, defining your unique qualities, honing in on your services, and refining your target audience can help you decide what content to include on your website. In essence, the core of your site demonstrates your business goals. This leads to the development of a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy, which will ultimately draw in a targeted audience to your site. You should be able to plan SEO content, keywords, and your site content prior to designing the physical layout of your site.
Tip: Writing your site’s content before creating your physical site allows you to make sure you will be able to effectively display it (your content will be the perfect fit for your site).
Step 3: Design and develop.
Now that you’ve created your project plan, refined your target audience, and outlined your site’s content, it’s time to design and develop your site. Here, you consider the variables of your site. What elements will be included on your site? Do you want the layout to be responsive, scaled, liquid, static, or another type? How much information do you want to deliver on your site? Are you displaying images on your site, or is your main focus text? What typeface will you use on your website? What color scheme? Do you want to include dynamic effects or content on your site? Once you have answered these questions (and more) you or your web designer will be able to create the code for your design, bringing your idea to life.
Tip: Web design specialists recommend you choose a fairly simple site layout. A general rule is to utilize no more than two different typefaces, incorporate a limited set of colors and tones, and divide the site layout to highlight the most important content related to the whole of your business’s message.
Step 4: Launch your website.
Prior to launching your website, make sure your web designer double checks the following: any Lorem Ipsum text used as a placeholder is replaced with unique content, placeholder images have been replaced with unique images, all text is grammatically correct, your links lead to the correct place, your site is optimized for all computer browsers and mobile devices, and that your site is secure. If you hire a web designer to create your site, they may go through additional technical processes to check the functioning of your site. Once this has been done, you will be able to internally test the site. If everything checks out, your site will migrate to a live server, ready to be viewed worldwide.
Step 5: Manage your site’s growth and relevance.
A successful website will convey timeliness and growth. Different types of websites, for instance an online retail site, will involve monthly or quarterly updates to optimize e-commerce applications. Website maintenance will ensure the long-term success of a website, which ultimately is a source of recurring revenue.
Tip: Incorporating key category maintenance strategies like theme and plugin updates, backups, security, and analytics tracking and reporting are essential to prolonging your site’s success.
With this guide, you will be able to approach website building with confidence. An effective website will not only build your business’s brand, but also attract new customers, keep your current customers engaged, and always highlight your business’s values and goals.
