To make your first website the best you need to understand the fundamentals of building a website and how to come up with design ideas. Follow this guide to make your website the best website.
In order to have a website, there are a few things you need to be in place first before you even start designing your website. You need:
- Domain Name
- Web Host
- CMS (Content Management System)
Domain Name
A domain name is a way your businesses website can easily be discovered. By typing your domain name into the address bar it will take you to your website.
You can buy a domain name from places like GoDaddy and 123 Reg. They both offer cheap domain names. It’s best to get a domain name that is easy to remember as people have to try to type it later on and it’s best to have a domain that is your actual business name as well.
Web host
You need to have a web host to store your website otherwise you can’t access your website. Hosting services can typically be bought from the same place you bought the domain name for a relatively low price (budget around £50 a year for when you’re starting off – you can always increase to a larger plan if needed).
CMS (Content Management System)
You need a content management system to manage all the files used to make your website and make changes to your website without needing to change any code. These can also be thought as website builders. Popular systems to use include WordPress, Wix, Squarespace etc. but there are hundreds of varieties you can choose from.
What You Need To Think About When Designing Your Website
A lot of thought goes into making a website and ultimately what goes into a website is down to you. How many web pages you have and what goes on them is your choice too. You can follow a method called the Design Cycle to create your website:
- Research
- Initial Ideas
- Developed Ideas
- Final design
Research
Look at competitors and other interesting/good looking websites this will help you come up with an idea on what your website will look like. Things you should be looking at in your research is:
- Layout
- How many web pages they have
- Image style
- How much web copy is on each web page
Initial Ideas
After looking at your research you should have a good idea on what the layout of your website should be and what pages you should have. At this stage, any idea is a good idea. You should begin to type up web copy for your web pages and how you are going to display your companies information.
Developed Ideas
Once you have completed the essential bits and all of the web pages have content on them, it’s now time to think about UX (User experience) Design. UX needs to be simple as possible so the user can easily find information on your website. But the UX is for the user ultimately but you can tailor your website visitors to travel through your website to achieve objectives, for example, sign up for a newsletter or sign up for your product/service or make a sale. Think about you want your users to USE your website.
Final Design
Once all previous stages are complete your website is now live and you can start to attract visitors. But, final doesn’t mean final. Your website is never complete and can always be improved to attract more customers or achieve more sales.
