Tags – Considerations before Developing a New Website
Are you in the process of developing a new website?
If so, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
Developing a website can be a complex process, and it’s important to make sure you have everything covered.
After all, your website is the face of your brand online; the place where your potential customers go to learn more about who you are and what you do.
When done well, a new website will function as a lead-generating machine, converting web traffic into verifiable conversions.
However, if you fail to hit the mark, it might turn into a can of worms — a seemingly never-ending cycle of adjustments and repairs that consume your time and money.
In this blog post, we will discuss 10 things you should consider before starting your project.
By planning ahead and making informed decisions, you can avoid common pitfalls and create a website that meets your needs!
1. Strategy
The first step is one that many people struggle with the most.
However, once you have got past this, you will have a solid strategy in place that will act as the foundation for everything else that needs to be done.
People frequently run into trouble because they don’t know what they want when they begin.
They understand that they need a website, but have no idea what purpose it should serve. They haven’t taken the time to determine what they want to show the world about themselves and their company yet.
To begin with, you’ll need to think about who you are as a business, what your core values are and the fundamental principles of your firm.
How can you know what you need to create if you don’t know who you are?
When your website’s visitors aren’t clear on what they’re looking for, this lack of clarity reflects badly.
Always keep in mind that when you post your website, you are sending a message to your clients, consumers, and visitors.
It’s up to you whether that communication is clear and professional or if it’s jumbled and confusing.
Hence why it’s so important that you begin by implementing a successful website strategy.
2. The Customer Journey
Once you’ve decided on the fundamental principles that your company and website should be built around, and what message you want to communicate to visitors, you can begin to imagine how it will appear.
It’s time to think about the sort of journey your visitors are on as they arrive at your site.
First, you’ll want to think about what your visitors’ first impression will be when they visit your homepage or landing page – you don’t get a second chance at making a first impression.
Again, this should be based upon the message that you want to communicate with people through your website.
Another key element is having a clear view of who the ideal consumer on your site is. Who are you trying to reach and who is most likely to use your product or service?
The answer to this question will determine a large proportion of what you have on your site.
Simply, consider what your most valued visitors like and what will keep them on your site longer.
That will help you figure out the sort of material you’ll want to include as you develop your site.
3. Sitemaps
When you’re designing your website, think about the user experience as you make decisions about which pages to include and start mapping these out.
You probably already have an idea in your mind of the best pages to include on your website, but drawing it out will help you gain a broad perspective of the pages you should develop.
Whether you do this by putting pen to paper or using software, start off by defining what the main categories in your top-level menu will be.
Once done, carefully map out what pages should be included in each section.
Remember, you must take time to consider what the user experience will be at each stage, and whether they will be able to easily find what they need.
4. Wireframes
Now you need to start to build your site using wireframes, and don’t worry, the key here is to keep it simple.
To put it simply, each page should have one objective.
The reason being, this will keep your visitors from feeling confused as they navigate through your website.
Therefore, each page must be structured in such a manner that the user may easily discover what they are looking for, and move one step further in their buying journey.
5. Content
Quality content will not only bring more individuals to your site, but they will also stay longer and engage with your brand more.
This is especially significant when it comes to encouraging customers to buy more and improve your site’s search engine rankings, such as Google.
Furthermore, the material that you supply may help your business stand out and position itself as an expert in its sector.
Again, you want to pay close attention to who your user is and what type of material they’d enjoy.
6. Design
Design is a vital component of your website’s success, but people frequently devote too much attention to it and not enough to other key elements.
But web design is quite simple, actually.
People are naturally attracted to things that are visually appealing, and there’s your objective.
Aside from that, you want your design to be consistent with your branding and the overall message you are sending through your site, (these are the things that you worked out in step 1).
Create your own aesthetic to represent yourself; create a brand that consists of a logo, colour palette, typeface, and basic visual ideas that people may recognise with you.
7. Systems
Remember that how your website functions will have a major impact on how customers perceive your company.
People may have a negative impression of your company if it is not well organised or difficult to navigate.
To your customers, you’ll want to project a professional and trustworthy image, therefore the systems you establish on your site should be an important aspect of your website design.
For instance, take some time to think about the shopping cart you’ll use, the email auto-responder you’ll employ, and other marketing systems before diving in.
8. Test for Bugs
Test your website and make sure it works properly.
Before you send the first flood of visitors to it, you’ll want to know firsthand what issues people may run into when navigating your site so that you can fix them.
The last thing you’ll want is to have spent time and money developing highly targeted traffic for your website only to discover that many of them bounced off because they had difficulties navigating it or using the features inside it.
9. Structure for Scalability
Make sure you have a long-term strategy in place before creating a website.
Don’t develop a site that will meet just your current requirements.
Business owners frequently spend a large sum of money building a website only to find out several months later that there are new features they need but lack the technical knowledge to create.
Simple things like removing single points of failure (SPOF) are critical if you want your website to function properly for years.
Consider the following questions: Where will we keep our website data, how will we get to it, and how often will we back it up?
Always strive to minimise the risk of your website being hacked if something goes wrong.
Having a backup plan (and a backup, backup plan) is always preferable to discovering you’re stranded in your current circumstance because you didn’t prepare ahead.
10. Analytics
Your website will be up and running by the time you finish this stage, and it should be doing well.
If you follow the same principles on how your firm is represented and how your content is valued by your consumers, you’ll be well on your way to having a successful website that meets the demands of both you and your clients.
Your work isn’t done yet; in fact, it’s just beginning – your task has only just begun in a significant way.
If you’ve made all of the appropriate preparations thus far, you shouldn’t have to worry about much more than making some minor tweaks to the site as needed.
Analytics is an extremely beneficial tool for companies in terms of growth.
Many individuals are unaware that they can use services like Google Analytics to see things such as which buttons visitors press the most, where the most traffic originates, and how long people stay on the site.
This information will assist you in determining what changes you might make to your site to not only attract more targeted visitors, but also to improve the user experience and, as a result, get more individuals to take advantage of your fantastic goods or services.
Final Words
By keeping these ten considerations in mind, you can increase your chances of a successful website project, ensuring your needs are met and the overall design supports your business goals.
Please contact us today to find out more.
In the meantime, take a look at our web design services here.
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