5 Steps to Consider While Building a New Website

As the world is shifting towards digital way of functioning, every business is now recognizing the need of a strong online presence. It can mainly be done through a website or a mobile app. Website is always considered as the primary aspect of your online presence. It can be used for various objectives like lead generation, customer support, online marketing etc. It is like your company brochure or collection of files that contains all the necessary details of your business.

The four major attributes of a professionally built website are:
• Aesthetics
• Navigation
• Responsive
• Discoverable

Because of very simple and free content management platforms like WordPress & Wix, it is easier than ever to create a website. If you are also planning for building a new website, then it would be very fruitful for you to follow the points mentioned below:

Identify your Website Goals

The very first step you should take before building a new website is to identify your target audience as well as the purpose of your website. There is a huge difference between creating a website to sell products than to create a website for your personal blog. You may not need so many customization for your personal blog but there are lots of twists required for a commercial website.

Whether you want to support a cause or looking to gain publicity for your business, you can’t simply slap together a website and expect success. Set measurable, specific goals for your website that are aligned with your marketing strategies. Thinking through what you’ll need to accomplish is very essential for building a successful website.

Figure Out a Domain Name

A domain name is the bit of URL that represents your site’s unique address. Exploring the right domain name can be very tricky sometimes. Your whole marketing and promotion strategy is going to revolve around domain name. Perhaps it may become a difference between the success and failure of your business in the online world.

Depending upon your industry or the context of your branding, you can pick a name that resonates with your business. You can either decide a name that reflect your vision or include your primary keywords in it. Use a short, relevant and memorable domain name which will be easy to pronounce and promote. You can even use some free tools used for generating the domain name like NameMesh, BustAName and Shopify. If you are planning for long term branding, then it can play a key role in your marketing and advertising efforts.

Domain Registration & Hosting

The next step after selecting a domain name is to ensure its availability. Then you must register it on a priority basis and find a reliable web hosting provider for your website. You can register your domain with ICANN or an internet domain registrar like GoDaddy, Hostinger and Hosting Raja etc.

If you are planning to promote your business in the global market, then you should go for ‘.com’ extension. If it’s not available, then you can also consider the extension like ‘.net’ or ‘.org’ as per your mode of business. In case you want to target a specific country, then it’s better to also register a domain with country(TLD) extension such as ‘.in’ for India and ‘.au’ for Australia.

Prepare Content for Core Web-pages

Content is a primary aspect of our website. So, it is really necessary to prepare a relevant and engaging content prior to build a website. At least you need to have an exact idea of what type of content you’re going to create. If you are planning for business website, then try to prepare the content of your homepage and about page. And if you are going to create a personal blog, then figure out some categories, topics and subtopics of some of your blog posts.

If work on building a new website and creating content can happen at the same time, it will save your time while publishing and thus you will come out with great piece of content. In case you find a competitor in your niche that already has a well-established site, it might be worth considering.

Prepare your Design Elements

The second aspect that comes across while building a new website is the design of your web-pages. Perhaps the content and design are two major aspects around which your marketing efforts will integrate. Design element of your site mainly includes logo, theme color, icons, images and brand colors. A well designed website in place will adorn all the content that you’re going to create and publish in future.

You can also pick a suitable CMS like WordPress and install a theme with lots of features, template and customization. Always remember that a good website design includes both usability and aesthetics. It should leave a great first impression on your visitors and provide them a big reason to stick around.

Apart from these steps, one should also consider the back-end features such as SEO, page speed and SSL certificate. There are numerous resources available online on Google & YouTube that will help you out in this process. Knowledge of all these points will save your time and efforts before you dive into building a new website.

Getting online is easier than ever. There are now over 200 million active websites, and a lot of them were built by folks without coding skills. Because your website is the online identity of your business, it’s very necessary to take care of all the steps mentioned throughout this article. Keep learning, implementing and you will surely come out with a well-designed website.

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