1. What kind of website do you need
What kind of business are you running? Even before constructing a plan for your website, you need to be sure about what kind of website you actually need. Will it be a community-based website? Is it going to be updated dynamically with new content or is it going to be a static informational website? Based on the field you are in, you’ll easily know what features you’ll want to have, and based on those features you should figure out the functionality of your website.
2. Drawing a basic sketch for your website
Jot it down on a piece of paper, open up some drawing software or use whatever gets your creative juices flowing. Start “designing” your website. Where do you want your logo to be? What items of your website will have the most visibility? Will you have a menu? By doing the sketch you will actually find out what features you need and it will be a lot easier to design it later.
3. Choosing a good hosting
You’ll probably be getting a lot of visitors and of course, you want the best user experience for your customers. Having a good hosting provider means that you will have your website online 24/7/365 and the time it takes for your website to load will be faster than other competitor websites. The better the hosting is – the better your website is. We recommend getting a hosting plan from RoseHosting, since they offer Linux VPS hosting and 24/7 fully managed hand-holding support.
4. Know your (target) audience
You probably already know your target audience, but sometimes your target audience can differ from your actual audience. Always have your audience in mind when developing your website. They can be mostly teenagers or mostly women. You’ll have a lot less problems designing and maintaining your website if you research your audience first.
5. Properly design your website
This is one of the key steps. The first thing your visitors will see on your website is the actual design of the website. There are a lot of pre-made templates that you can use, or you can hire a web designer to professionally design a custom solution for your website.
6. Get your social profiles ready
Profiles, not profile. Sure, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be powerful tools when used properly, but don’t use only one. Based on your target audience and the products you are offering, you’ll know what social websites to pick that best suit you. The more profiles you have – the better. But don’t overdo it, you need to give a lot of attention to each profile. If you can’t do so, don’t even start it. After you’ve decided what social websites to use, create a profile, properly modify it and list it on your website.
7. You’ll need to maintain and update your website
Even if it’s a static website, you’ll still need to update your social profiles, you’ll need to update the website based on the new and improved standards. If you have a blog you’ll have to write posts frequently, if you have a community you’ll have to moderate it quite often. The more dynamic your website is, the more you’ll need to update it. But don’t let this discourage you. If you take your business seriously, you’ll need to take your website seriously too.
8. Get your website ready
Don’t launch your website until it’s 100% finished. Don’t leave out stuff to do in the future. After you’ve completely finished your website with all external profiles, design, content, plans, then and only then your website is going to be ready for launch. Do a bit of testing – see if you can receive emails, check if your website has any errors by using some testing tools, test all your functions if they are working properly, see how your website looks from different browsers and devices. Make a checklist of all the points written about in this article and go through it as you work on your website. Every step and every part is important. Always do your research and don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are a lot of nice people out there who are willing to help. Whatever you consider, whatever business you are in, one thing’s for sure – you need a website.
