What Kind of Website Do You Really Want to Build?

Essential tips for designing an optimum online home for your e-business

Web-Building 101

A great-running website is crucial for any successful online business. However, setting up the best possible website for your online brand can feel daunting if you are a first-timer.

It’s quite easy to feel lost when there are important choices to make on aspects like colors, domain names, design and functionality.

Before you get started with building a website, it is necessary to ask yourself or your team the right questions – this will ultimately save you money and time.  

In this article, we’ll explore how you can make web-building easier and faster by first identifying your website’s core needs and goals. 

Website Aims – What is Your Purpose?

Begin with a brainstorm to figure out exactly what you hope to achieve by designing a website. Establishing clear goals for your site will save everyone involved a lot of trouble – especially your potential users or clients. Think about whether you need a website to just showcase your work and/or inform visitors about the location of your brick-and-mortar business, or whether your website will also be an online shop.

If your website will be the e-commerce gateway to your already established business, take client trust and security very seriously, and ensure that customer transactions can take place safely.

Target Market – Who Are Your Customers And What do They Want?

Market research regarding your potential clients and users should be done at the earliest stage of the web-building process. A successful e-business depends entirely on knowing who your desired clients are, their potential needs from your website, and how they might search for things they want to buy online. Attracting and retaining online client revenue will require smart marketing and social media integration. In short, everything else about your website – design style, content, functionality and security infrastructure – will be determined by your target market.

Domain – What is Your Web Address?

Building a website is similar to building a house. You have to choose your web address [domain] wisely – before even considering design and content – as it is not easy to change at a later date. Your website address should reflect the nature of your website or business, as well as be short and easy to remember for visitors. Nobody wants to have to type up a long link just to visit a website. Focus on being unique and memorable; the Internet is too competitive and crowded for any domain name that doesn’t leave users with a long-lasting impression.  

Design and Layout – What is Your Style?

Deciding on the style and aesthetics becomes easier once you have researched and identified all the key aims and requirements of your website. For inspiration, check out similar sites and competitors to see what works, or doesn’t, for their intended purposes. Think about how color schemes, menus and buttons can contribute to a specific mood or experience within your website. To decide on a layout, sketch out your ideas on paper and see if they look logical and functional on a page. Consider enlisting the services of a professional graphic or UI designer if you do not have an eye for design; your design is not something that should be compromised on,  as it will eventually determine whether users will want to return to your website for more, or not.

Content – Why Should People Visit Your Website?

As the saying goes, ‘Content is King’ – it’s what attracts and holds visitors on your website. What exactly would you like to tell your website visitors? What type of content will create enough attraction and usefulness for visitors to keep coming back? How many pages and how much text will you need to achieve your website goals effectively? Depending on your target market, less can be much more when it comes to the quality of website content. Avoid rambling paragraphs, keep your text concise and relevant in order to establish a rewarding user experience which visitors will want to repeat. If you are producing good content, your website will also appear higher in searches, so keep your content relevant to your product and expertise.

At Bocasay, our dedicated teams of developers take pride in cutting-edge web development. From hosting to design, we specialize in delivering websites for our clients that are built for success in the modern, digital economy. Get in touch to find out how we can help with your next project.