Congratulations, you have just decided you need a website, but you have zero idea where to start! Read on to get some ideas and to shine a light on some aspects you may not have considered yet.

Building a website involves several phases, each essential for ensuring that the final product is functional, visually appealing, and aligns with your intended goals. Here’s an overview of the key phases in the process.

BUDGET

You’re either rich in time, rich in budget, or most commonly; somewhere in the middle of both and you’d prefer to keep both to a minimum!

First up, If you haven’t already, research your web hosting, and pick and pay for your domain name. Different domain endings cost more, and you might want more than one.

If you’re going to build your site yourself, we do recommend having a web design agency in your area have a look at it. Not suggesting you won’t have done a smashing job, more to check everything is working properly. (Hello, we can do that) 

The more complex the web build, the more likely it is you’d be better off with bringing a web design agency in at the start. (Hello, that’s us)

If it’s a vastly complex web build then you should absolutely get an agency. The same goes if you don’t have to build it on a shoestring budget. (In both cases, stop reading this and give us a call on 020 7112 9117 now. Fresh Pies is a web design agency in London)

Think you could ‘have a go’? Creating a basic website usually takes just a few days, while a more detailed one can take a bit longer. Not doing it as a full time project? Well then, how long is a piece of string??

It all depends on how complex your site needs to be and how ready you are with your content. If you’ve already got a lot of content from your social media output that’s helpful, but you’ll need copywriting as well as visuals.

If you’re a local service provider, you probably don’t need anything too complicated, but it’s still important to focus on both functionality and design to make sure your site works well and looks great. If you’re an online store it’s probably going to get exponentially more complicated the more products (and product variants) you’re planning to have.

GOAL

What do you need your website to do? A web build for e-commerce is different to a web build for lead generation, and both of those are different to a local service provider, or a third party content aggregating website. (That’s one of those sites that collects content of a certain type and puts it all together. Think of this Instagram account, but in website form.)

Fortunately there are a lot of ‘out of the box’ web design platforms if you are working on a shoestring budget. Check out your options from SquareSpace, who have a very simple drag-and-drop, code-free user interface. Wix is another option, but we advise you to choose WordPress.

WordPress has been going for about 20 years, and we’ve been developing on it for 15 of them, so we are a tad biassed… However, WordPress is free, and as it’s open source it has more plug-ins and add-ons you could shake a stick at.

If you’re selling things online, Shopify is a no-brainer of a decision if you have the budget. If not, WordPress to the rescue, with a WooCommerce plugin!

RESEARCH

Will you have competitors? Likely yes, so check out what they’re doing. Look at the type of content they have on their sites, plus the type of navigation functionality, and any interactive elements they have.

Now zoom out a little, and think about sites you’ve used where you’ve really enjoyed, or appreciated, certain elements. Build a list of things you like – because it’s going to be quicker for you to come from this informed approach, and not ‘I’ll know it when I see it’.

Now, what do you need the website to actually do? If it’s e-commerce, do you want to have a member area? Do you need a loyalty program function? For service providers, do you need to show reviews from happy customers? What about showcasing your work? How are customers going to submit queries or get in touch?

Think about what you want, and now think about what you want the user experience (UX) to be.

Now would be a good stage to think about doing any courses available to you on web design. Yes, you can also just go to YouTube.

PLANNING, DESIGNING, EXECUTION

We’ve put these three stages together because they make a neat little loop in the process. 

Plan what you’re going to have on the website. Things like what’s going to go in what product collection, if you’re an e-commerce site. Different pages for different services, if you’re a local service provider, things like that.

Design not just what the website will look like, but how people will use it. Navigation points are most commonly put across the top of the page (top navigation), sometimes with drop down menus (secondary menu navigation) and/or navigation from the side. The side is also often a place for filtering collections (think of literally any time you’re used Amazon- that sort of filtering.)

Planning and designing are the most exciting and dynamic parts of this stage in the build, because you’re flooded with the energy that comes with really personalising your site with what makes your business special and different.

Execution of the build, however, can be the most frustrating part, especially if it’s your first time building.

It’s one thing to know ‘on paper’ what your site will look like and how people will navigate it, it’s another to understand how to build it, or the correct language to describe or to access that feature in your chosen builder.

Things might also get a bit technical sounding here, but stick with us. 

If you’ve chosen to use a website builder, taking Squarespace as an example, you will have access within their software to page builders. These are drag-and-drop editors that require no coding or technical knowledge. They’ll also have live previews for you to check everything looks good on the front of the site, while you work in the back.

For a more complex build you’ve probably opted for a platform like WordPress. WordPress isn’t a website builder, it’s a content management system (CMS), which is like a frame which you bolt elements to. You’ll need to add a page builder to your WordPress site. Where do you start looking for the best ones for you? Try here.

You might get stuck in this design/build/adjust loop for a little while. Have faith, you’ll get out eventually!

TESTING 

Once you’re close to going live, you need to test everything. EVERYTHING.

Every button, every link, every process, form, the lot. On more than one browser. And, on more than one device.  You absolutely need to optimise for mobile, especially if you’re ecommerce. If your design or layout doesn’t look right on a small screen, it’s back to the previous stage for that page.

You’ll also need to do usability testing. This is where getting a web design agency in will be useful. Fresh eyes on the screens you’ve been staring at for what seems like forever will catch all the details and tweaks that need to be made. Failing that, a range of trusted volunteers asked to ‘try and break’ the site will do. Their mission is to find things that don’t work or don’t make sense in the User Interface (UI).

GOING LIVE

Don’t do this the day before a big launch event! We strongly recommend doing it on a Monday or Tuesday, during business hours, in case you need help from outside sources. We also stand by this advice if you’ve hired a web design agency. Give yourself time to digest it and make (or request) edits, before sharing it.

For Wix, Webflow, and Squarespace platforms, the go-live is easy. It simply involves switching your development site to your personal domain. 

With WordPress, it’s somewhat more complicated, but please don’t let that put you off!

ONGOING

No, you don’t just get to turn it on and get on with your life! Congratulations, you have a digital baby that needs monitoring and checking regularly. 

Traffic tracking and user-led function updates, content updates, bug fixes and quality improvements: all these things are now on your ongoing to-do list.

The key element to tackle now, however, is SEO. Search engine optimisation is essentially how you make sure organic traffic (as opposed to paid traffic from ads) can find you with their search terms. It’s a big part of maintaining an online presence.

 

Key points if you’re building a website by yourself

USABILITY

 If your website is hard to navigate or slow, it’s like a store where customers can’t find what they need or have to wait in long lines. They’ll probably just leave.

CONTENT

 A website with outdated or unclear content is like a salesperson who doesn’t know their stuff. If your site doesn’t answer customers’ questions, they won’t stick around.

MOBILES

Many people rely on their phones for everything. If your site doesn’t work well on mobile, it’s like having a store that’s tough to get into. Customers will go elsewhere.

SEARCH

If your website doesn’t show up in search results, it’s like having a billboard in the middle of nowhere. Good SEO is key to getting noticed.

UPDATES

A website that’s not regularly updated is like a shop that never changes its window display. It can quickly become stale and uninteresting.

GOALS

 If your website doesn’t have a clear purpose (like selling products, booking appointments, or providing information), it’s like a business without a plan. Customers won’t know what to do.

FEEDBACK

 Not paying attention to what your visitors say about your site is like ignoring customer complaints. It’s a missed chance to improve.

 

If your budget doesn’t allow for a web design agency in your immediate future, it’s still possible for you to get something up and published. Once sales or leads are coming in, you can then approach an agency trusted for their web design services (hello) for them to assess and if not make any changes, at least give you a task list.

If you still have questions, or you’d like to see what we can do for your web build, then get in touch!