STUDIO FIVE

Having a Website Built is Essential for Your Business

In today’s digital landscape, having a website built is no longer just an option; it’s necessary for business success. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or a professional venturing into the online marketplace, understanding the essential considerations before diving into web development can set the foundation for your future growth.

Having a website built for your business is a huge jump. It puts your business in a whole new league. But before you take that leap, there are some things that you need to consider and prepare for.

This blog post delves into the pivotal factors influencing your online presence, ensuring that your website attracts visitors and converts them into loyal customers. By exploring these crucial elements, you can make informed decisions that align with your business goals and enhance your digital strategy.

One of the biggest things that can hold up your new web project is you. Having the content ready to go or a plan for getting it ready is essential. But what else do you need to know? Let’s find out.

3 Reasons to Plan Ahead When Having a Website Built

Reason 1: Scope Creep

Properly preparing for a website design or redesign will help you define the project and avoid scope creep or adding more tasks to an existing project as it progresses. First, you can ensure that your project stays on course by having a specific plan for your website.

Of course, sometimes features come along through the process that you may not have realized were important before the project started, but the more you can determine upfront, the better.

A good creative agency will help you define these features and requirements so that they can craft an accurate proposal for the job—as opposed to having someone throw out a high number just because they don’t fully understand the entirety of the scope.

Reason 2: Efficiency

These questions will also speed up the entire process, as your team will know what you want regarding clear and efficient communication between your brand and the web design agency.

Besides, given the gravity of a project of this scope, you will likely have some tough decisions to make with your team, so having a unified front can eliminate friction throughout the process.

Reason 3: Finding the Perfect Fit

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, these questions will help your brand find the right web design agency for the job. Ideally, you can get a one-stop-shop approach where you get all the services associated with building a website taken care of by a team dedicated to the project. Then, you can get exactly the website you dreamed of—no less.

Here are the 21 most essential questions you must ask yourself before launching into a full-fledged website design—or redesign. Many factors go into designing a website, and if you’re building a new website for your brand, chances are you want to nail it the first time.

21 Things You Need To Consider Before Having A Website Built

There’s a lot to think about and plan for before starting a website. 

From the color palette to your keywords, understanding your audience and the purpose of your site is essential before diving into the look and feel. Our 21 helpful tips will get you started on what you need to know to create the most successful website for your business.

What type of website do you need?

Are you selling products online? That would require building on an e-commerce platform; however, a website with a member portal is an entirely different beast.

Are people subscribing to an online publication, or does your brand need a basic website that only gets as technical as a contact form?

These differences entail different features and platforms that need to be identified.

What is the purpose of your website?

This is the most important of all the must-ask questions, and they should be answered promptly because the top-of-mind responses are likely to reveal a partial picture.

Instead, develop a list of possible purposes for your website and determine which are most important, least significant, and irrelevant. For example, is the purpose of your website:

• To sell products and/or services?
• To build or rally a community?
• To provide information?
• To save money by managing tasks formerly handled offline (e.g., customer service)?
• To reach new customers?
• To better serve current customers?

The purpose of your website will inform the answer to almost every other must-ask question on this list and throughout the redesign process – which is why bringing clarity to purpose upfront is essential to building a website that meets your organization’s needs.

Additionally, you’ll likely discover that your website has multiple goals, and prioritizing these upfront will significantly assist you in answering the following questions.

Who is your target audience?

It may seem standard, but it is easy to forget. You get busy helping give the site direction and fail to remember who the site is targeted towards. The site is something you like but does not speak to your clients.

One of the most important steps is identifying your ideal audience and anticipated visitors based on demographic data, tech-savvyness, intent, personal goals and pain points, the stage of their purchase decision-making, and more.

This would be the best place to start if you still need to research and identify buyer personas.

Why are you building a website?

The first thing to know is the website’s actual purpose. What is it being designed to do? What would you like to get out of it? What is its very reason for existing? You must understand this to create a website, or it will be aimless from the outset.

Tip: Create tangible, measurable goals. You’ll only know if you’ve achieved your goal if you can measure it!

When you work with your designer, put yourself in your client’s shoes. What do they like? Do they have a specific style? Remember, it’s your business, but your clients make it work. It would help if you also thought about the end goal of what you want them to do and how to guide them there.

In the end, you want your clients to be happy.

What is your domain name?

Another vital thing to know is what you’ll be called online. It is an afterthought 8 out of 10 times, but it should be one of the first. Your website’s domain name is critical to your branding strategy, extending its reach across all social media platforms. This strategic use of your domain name makes it easier for people to locate and engage with your business online.

Finding a personal domain name that you can be proud of takes work. Many people use their regular or business names, but sometimes, these domains are taken. If you’re looking to create a website for your business, it only makes sense to use the same name.

However, if you are still searching for the perfect name, brainstorm a few ideas. You can check quickly if a domain name is open here. A domain name is an opportunity for your website to gain brand recognition.

You should brainstorm a memorable domain name if your first choice is taken. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your newly desired name will always be available. Instead, check it out and see whether it ends in .com, .co, or anything else. This then allows you to start designing a website around the domain name so it can be associated with your business.

You can change your domain name later, but it is more challenging once it starts showing in Google; you must start from the bottom again.

Tip: be sure to be clear and consistent with your online brand. Simple is better.

How will your website reflect your branding?

Your website represents your company, so it is crucial to consider its branding thoroughly. It’ll help attract visitors and contribute to your overall return on investment.

Thinking about branding throughout the entire development process is a surefire way to build a brilliant site.

The branding of a website includes the following:

• Logo
• Tone/Core Message
• Color Schemes
• Design
• Fonts

A logo plays a huge role in your business’s identity. Your company logo gives your work an identity that visitors can recognize. You can hire a graphic designer to create one for you.

Your website should convey your business’s core message. Visitors should be able to quickly understand what you’re all about when they land on your page. It should also have a consistent tone that connects to that core message.

Your website’s color schemes, design, and fonts should complement your brand’s message and tone. Your brand may already have an established color palette, or you may want to test new colors for this website.

Color plays a significant role in how a user feels and how your brand stands out from the digital noise. The colors should also reflect your brand, returning to the consistency mentioned earlier.

Tip: Increase engagement by making your contact or purchase buttons stand out through color.

I see this one all the time. The website’s look and feel are a 360-degree transformation from the logo or store design. You want to have a unified look and feel for your entire brand. You don’t want people to feel confused.

When you are having a website built, it is the perfect time to update any other parts of your brand. You could have a new logo designed and start using it on the site and your other materials. Every so often, it is good to do a brand refresh. It helps you keep a fresh and current brand.

How will visitors use your website?

The concept of usability is easy to understand. It involves making your website easy to use, including contacting you, buying products if this is an option, signing up for an email list, or simply moving around. People hate to have to jump through hoops and effectively solve puzzles on a website, so avoid doing just that, or you will turn people off.

Tip: As the website’s creator, you’re the worst person to answer this question. Share the website with people you trust, have them submit their feedback, and implement it.

Customers are more likely to get drawn to your website if it’s easy to use. You can increase your website usability by including the following:

• Navigation Menu
• Headings and Labels
• Search Bar
• A Mobile-Friendly Website

A navigation menu gives your visitors an idea of what content is included in your website. Providing seamless navigation also allows visitors to find the information they want more quickly.

If your website is easy to use, visitors will spend more time browsing it. Including headings and labels lets visitors better understand your website’s content.

Depending on the context of your site, including a search bar can improve its usability. Visitors can search and find what they’re looking for instead of digging through your site, wondering if they’ll find it.

You must also ensure that your website is mobile-friendly. Many people use their phones to browse the Internet, and having a mobile-friendly design will increase your credibility.

What features and functionality are essential?

A website can do many things, but not every website should do everything.

Here are some ideas to choose from to determine what’s necessary for your website versus what’s not:

• About us, with team members
• Newsletter signup
• Social integration
• Site search
• Third-party app integrations (CRM, marketing automation software, etc.)
• Multilingual 
• Accept payments
• Blog (Yes, your business needs a blog!)
• Contact forms

A website can do many things, but not every website should do everything.

Where will you host your website?

Another essential aspect often overlooked is your website’s hosting. The world demands speed, and Google favors sites that load quickly for their users. A poor or budget host can make it much harder to reach the top of search results pages. And if the site takes too long to load, you could lose potential clients left and right. Extra time and money spent here could make a huge difference.

Who will maintain and update your website?

Something else to consider is who will handle regular site updates. These updates include text, photos, and the overall site code. Many plugins and cores, such as WordPress, release regular updates, which can be critical to keeping your site functioning well.

Will you handle the site’s content updates or hire someone? If you will handle them, are you prepared for the time it will take to keep up with the changes? A stale website will not help you gain new business. If people come looking for information that is always outdated, they will leave, often unhappy.

And while looking at updates, who will keep your site secure? Constant attacks are happening all over the world on websites. And if your site becomes a victim, you may end up on the hook for damages caused to others by your site. Not a good place to be. You could also lose traffic due to search engines blacklisting you.

How should your website be organized?

Your website’s organization (information architecture) should be directly informed by its purpose and the actions you want your visitors to take. This approach will help you avoid one of the biggest landmines: sacrificing clear for clever.

Trying to stand out from the rest by using a “unique” structure and navigation can be tempting. However, only by making your website highly intuitive can you deliver a truly excellent user experience. This is especially important in today’s “on-the-go” digital world.

Those who don’t have time to guess what might be behind each clever area of navigation will move on – and likely to the website of your closest competitor.

Remember that visitors may not enter your website from the home page, and you need to strategically guide them along the decision-making path from any entry point.

For example, if organizing your website by products makes the most sense given its purpose, providing a prominent “compare products” option on every page will help visitors get to the final desired action (product purchase) much faster than would a “contact us” link. While you welcome visitor interaction, wouldn’t you rather give them the tools to make a buying decision right now and then?

Tip: Don’t put obstacles in the way of desired actions. Always opt for clarity and make sure your website’s organization reflects your unique visitors’ needs.

What information is essential for visitors?

If a visitor checks out your website only by seeing the home page, what’s the desired takeaway he should get?

Try to boil down your website’s purpose into a single page of important information, then use the rest of the site to supplement that.

Create a list of content, features, or copy that must be featured up front.

How many pages do you need?

A website is only helpful if people know how to move between the various pages or how to get from A to B. You need to understand that the navigation needs to be clear, or people will click off and go elsewhere. Questions that can be helpful to ask include:

• Which pages are most important?
• Which pages can be emphasized less?
• What does my audience want to see?
• Is there a way to simplify?

Tip: Too many choices can create visitor paralysis, so if you have many pages, it’s essential to find a way to place them underneath the main navigation items.

What keywords are you going to target?

Keywords are phrases or words that people will use to find your website. Understanding the keywords you will target provides you with a more focused audience. You should get professional help with this, as getting it correct can boost the number of visitors you receive.

What content will you need?

You should also understand the various content that will appear on your website. This makes it easier to create the overall structure, leading to a site that flows far more quickly than it otherwise would have. Consider your goals and the information you want to provide visitors and formulate how that relates to individual pages.

Tip: When in doubt, look at your competitors or those that inspire you. There is no one right answer!

Who will create your content?

So, you know what your website is about, and the next step is to understand your content. This includes text, images, and any products that need to be on there. Knowing your content in advance and prioritizing various aspects helps you with the design, as it directly correlates to the layout and even how big a page needs to be.

Tip: Does this sound scary? Don’t worry. Copywriters and designers can help you create custom copy or imagery that aligns with your vision.

I touched on this point before, but let’s dig deeper. Who will be responsible for writing the content of your website? Are you prepared to commit the time necessary to create it? Writing the content for a website can take a great deal of time. You must ensure your content is well-written and considers your clients’ feelings.

If you’re like most website owners, you know the value of a well-written piece of content, be it an interview, product review, or news article. If users find problems with grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, it will give them the impression that you need to pay attention to your content or, worse, that you don’t care about it.

An AI Detector like Grammarly can be a valuable tool for catching errors before you publish, ensuring your content is error-free and polished.

Misspelled words have the potential to dampen your message, so be as thorough as you can with your spell-checking. You must avoid creating a negative impression, so proofread carefully before publishing to your site. There are plenty of online spelling and grammar tools that you can use for free.

If you want to elevate your blog or news site, consider hiring an editor or proofreader. This will give your writing a professional touch and help you engage meaningfully with your readers. The language you use on your website should complement the message and tone of your brand.

What type of images will you use?

Every website needs photos. And there are many types of photos that you can use. Stock photos can be free or paid photos that you can use on your website. These photos sometimes come with use limitations and other restrictions that you need to pay attention to.

Another necessary type of photo is your own. These are always preferable to stock photos and are required for product photos. But not all pictures are created equally. You will want to ensure you have high-quality images in the proper formats. These can cost a chunk of money.

What is your project timeline?

This helps you determine a launch date, monitor your web design agency’s progress, keep everyone on task and accountable for their promises, and prepare a marketing campaign for the grand unveiling.

If there’s a specific date by which the website needs to be ready, plan how long you’ll need to get there with a completed website.

Remember that attempting to meet aggressive deadlines usually fails to deliver on time and at a lower level of quality for most agencies.

Tip: Before starting your website design or redesign project, ensure you and your team have enough resources to manage and complete it. Allow for extra time.

What is your budget?

Once you have considered all the factors above, it’s time to assess the cost of creating your website. You must ask yourself whether you will hire people to help you build your website or if you’re willing to work independently. Creating a website could require hiring a web designer and a content writer for your blog.

Know your budget before starting a website, which influences its size and functionality. If you are building it yourself, limit the hours you spend creating it because your time is valuable, too. You may need to shop around, as the costs can vary, or you might have to tone down your ideas for launch.

Tip: Think of your website as the hub of your marketing. It will grow and evolve alongside your business. It is never truly “finished”.

Who will build your website?

When building a website, you have two choices: try to make one on your own or partner with an expert. Building your website with many builders seems like a cost-saver, but anyone who has done this will verify that it isn’t as easy as it sounds. Websites are complex, and factoring in all the different web browsers and potential devices means they can break, too.

Tip: If you’re looking to generate revenue, building your own website isn’t a good idea. Focus on what you love and find a partner to bring your ideas to life.

Last but not least:

How will you market your website?

All the points listed earlier are only helpful if you understand how to market your website. Just building it and hoping for the best isn’t a great move. There is so much competition that the chances of people finding you without you doing anything are slim. It would help if you had a workable marketing plan ready to implement even before the site is designed, allowing you to take action immediately.

Tip: Do one thing every day to help promote your website. Write a blog post, share a link on social media, or submit your site to a local directory. Over a year, you’ll have 365 successes!

Building a Website for Your Business is a Significant Step

In conclusion, embarking on the journey of building a website for your business is a significant step that requires careful consideration and planning. From selecting the right color palette to identifying effective keywords, it’s vital to understand your audience and define the purpose of your site before focusing on aesthetics.

If you think about these few things, you are ready to start your web project. Each developer has a different time frame and might require different things, such as content, at various points in the process. But if you are prepared ahead of time, you can help reduce the time that your project will take.

Our 21 helpful tips offer a comprehensive foundation to ensure your website stands out and drives success. Remember to consider the impact of a well-thought-out website on your business growth. Contact us today for more information on how to create the most effective online presence.