The virtual representation of your business says a lot about who you are and how you perform. More importantly it’s an image of your brand on the internet which is publicly viewable to thousands if not millions of viewers around the globe. I think it’s safe to say that appearances matter in this case and if the building process is executed poorly it can backfire on you in the longterm. Now that I’ve laid that out on the table you need to play the right cards and ensure your new website will communicate with your target audience. It takes some thought and creativity that some of us lack of in particular when it comes to web development.
Getting Started with Your New Website
Before you get down and dirty with building your new website you should consider a few things. You need to have a clear plan on how you’re going to present yourself on the web before even building your new website. Here are a few common mistakes that I’ve seen and hopefully you won’t make them either.
“I know how to build with WordPress. Just put a theme on there and it’s good to go.”
“I’ve build a WordPress website once or twice before, I got this.”
“There’s nothing special about Joomla, just another cms that I can learn really quick.”
“Web development isn’t complicated, I can do this in a night or two.”
These are just some of the statements I’ve heard from people in the past. If you’re one of those individuals then I suggest you seek someone with experience in web development & services before you make a bigger mess then the one you started out with. While WordPress and Joomla may be simple enough to install on a web server it’s a whole another ball game when it comes to designing and styling it the way you’d like it to look.
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- Goal & Objectives – have a clear outline of the purpose of your website. Who is your target audience? Are you selling products or services? Is this a short term or long term investment?
- Content – think in advance as to how about the navigational structure of your website. It’s important to identify primary pages of your new website before you begin sculpting it. This will help you in the long run as you will be able to outline your services to your visitors clearly. Make sure that you have content ready for your main pages of your website as well if all possible to support your products or services.
- Web Development – if you think that you can master to create your own website fast enough, go for it. Alternatively seek web development services so that you can build your website the right way. There is at least basic knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS required on most cases. Save yourself the headaches and do it right the first time around. You’ll thank yourself later.
- Look & Feel – browse the web and find a few examples of websites that you may like structurally. It will give you some thoughts and ideas on modeling your own and perhaps incorporating certain elements. You can always find a ready-made template which will work for you but there will be some customizing required to get it just right for your taste.
- Social Media – your social presence matters and you need to make a name for yourself out there. Consider incorporating social site sharing capabilities into your site to give users the ability to share your content onto their channels. Common integrations consist of Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIN depending on your industry and target audience.
- Search Engine Optimization – organic visibility matters and now it’s more important than ever before. Don’t let others fool you that seo presence is just a lost investment with no potential. It’s a long term type of optimization that can create visibility in SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages) and generate targeted leads to your website. As users search for your products and services in search engine like Google, Yahoo, & Bing you need have your own individual organic presence and be ready to deliver.
Building a business website properly can take some time to execute the right way. Compromising on certain services and steps may complicate and jeopardize your online success. These are only a few tips that I would suggest you take into consideration before starting to build your new website.