Website Design Can Be Stress-Free
A beautiful website that drives traffic, makes sales and grows your business is high on the bucket list of many entrepreneurs. Despite this, the project often can feel so huge that it gets put off. Instead, businesses opt for piece-meal, do-it-yourself solutions that can actually cost more time and money in the long run. Yes, designing your website can feel like a big project, but it doesn’t need to be an overwhelming one.
You can start to make things simpler by asking yourself these five questions:
1) What is your message?
Before a web designer will build your website, they’ll often ask you for your copy. This is because a strong design is built around the overall message of the site, which is conveyed through the content. If you don’t come prepared with your core message in hand, it’s going to be difficult to create a design that complements it.
Before tackling web design, go back to your messaging. Make sure you know your USP (unique selling proposition) and make sure you have at least the basic content written. You can always change it later, but this provides a solid starting point.
2) What is your budget?
Web design is one of those services that can have vast variance in price. It’s not hard to drop thousands upon thousands of dollars on a web designer, and small feature requests can add up fast. Before you decide to go all out on web design, make sure you have an idea of what your budget is. This is also a good time to evaluate the “nice to have” features versus the “need to have” features. What is a non-negotiable for you, and what are you willing to let slide to stay on budget?
3) What is your brand?
In addition to content, a web designer can’t do much without your brand. Often, web designers also specialize in branding, but this isn’t always the case. You should go into the process with a clear idea of your color scheme, logo, fonts, and other brand assets. If you don’t have a brand guide yet, this is the perfect time to create one. Not only will it help with the creation of your website, but it will also serve as a framework for any other content you create in your business.
4) How will you optimize?
A website won’t do you much good if it isn’t driving the right people to the right places. Your website should be optimized for various devices and actions. It should be ready to be viewed on mobile devices and large desktop screens. If you plan to drive traffic to a specific place, like a blog, a sign-up, or a video, the feature should be built in and easy to use.
Take time to consider how to make your site as user-friendly as possible, and pass these desires on to your web designer. This will allow them to optimize the site appropriately.
5) What are your goals?
Potentially the most important question to ask yourself revolves around your objective. What is the intention behind your site? What goals will your webpage achieve? Are you driving organic traffic, selling products, promoting a service? How do you want a visitor to engage with your page? What are your calls-to-action? When you have a clear objective in mind, it’s easier for a web designer to create an experience that will help you reach your goals.
Remember to remain flexible as you design your website. These five questions are a great starting point, but your website is a living, breathing creation. It will continue to grow and evolve with your business, and as you design your site, things may change. Keep an open mind, remain flexible, and rest assured that you’ve entered the process with the firmest foundation possible.