Things to keep in mind before making your website

Category:
SEO
Oct. 5, 2020
5 min. read

What are the most important things to consider when designing a web page? Although many websites look simple, a lot of thought and work goes into building a website. Hundreds of people start a website every week, and if you want to create one, there are some important things to know when building a website.

Step 1

Purpose

Are you creating a website to monetize blog content? Maybe you want a site that will serve as your company's face on the web. Perhaps you want to sell your products online. Before you build your website, make sure you have a clear focus and purpose in mind for the site.

Step 2

Research

Before you start to build your website, do some research on websites with a purpose similar to yours. Be sure to note what they're doing well and the search terms you used that pulled them up in Google.

Step 3

Domain Name

What are the most important things to consider when designing a web page? Your domain name is one of the most important decisions you will ever make when building your website. Most experts advise people who are planning a website to choose a top-level domain extension (TLD). Common top-level domain extensions are .com, .net, .org, and other similar well-known domain extensions. According to GoDaddy, there are more than 1,500 available domain extensions.

For best results, choose a domain name that's short and easy to remember. It should reflect the nature of your website.

Step 4

Content Management System (CMS)

One of the first decisions you will make is which content management system to use to build your website. If you want to build and host your site yourself, you might choose WordPress or Webflow. If you're not tech-savvy, explore an option that makes it easy for you. There is no shortage of options out there. Pait Digital is here to help you make the best decision about your CMS.

TIP: While waiting on your Google My Business postcard, remind anyone that handles the mail to be on the lookout for the postcard. Often times these postcards are mistaken for junk mail and thrown away.

Step 5

Branding, Colors, and Typography

Before you even start building your website, create your logo and other branding. You should do this first so that you can use the same colors on your site. Use a tool to find the precise hex codes of your colors so that your website looks sleek and professional.

In terms of typography, do some research and use recommended fonts and font sizes.

Step 6

SEO

Unless you have an existing strong social media presence, your website's traffic will come from search engine searches. Brush up on some SEO basics before you build your site. It's easier to build in SEO as you go than to retroactively SEO-optimize your website.

Step 7

Hosting

One of the most crucial decisions you will make about your website is your hosting. A hosting package can make or break your website, and when a website is down, you're not meeting the original objectives of your site. Ask yourself these questions.

  • Will your site have lots of videos, photos, and presentations?
  • How much traffic will your site receive? Websites like news sites get a lot more traffic than a business website.
  • Will you have a solid 24-hour tech support team/person?
  • Does the company you're considering offer solutions that are scalable?
  • What security, backup, and additional features does the company offer?
Step 8

Responsiveness

In 2021, your website must be mobile responsive. This means that a site needs to look as good on mobile devices as it does on computer browsers. Search engines penalize websites that aren't mobile responsive.

Step 9

Loading Speed

When people start using WordPress, one of the first things they notice is all of the cool plugins out there that do amazing things for your site. However, too many plugins can slow your website down. Less is more. We suggest starting with the bare minimum and only adding plugins that add actual value to your website.

As of last year, Google will further penalize websites that are too slow to load.

Step 10

Images, Original Content, and Copyright Laws

Google frowns on duplicate content, and this can result in less traffic to your site. On the other hand, Google and other search engines favor websites that frequently have new original content. Have a content plan in place, whether you write it yourself or pay a service to write it for you.

Equally important, some companies will sue you if you use their images. Be sure you're finding images from websites that offer free images. Some examples are Pixabay, Pexels, and Unsplash.

When you download images, rename them so that they're SEO optimized for your website.

Step 11

Launch

What are the most important things to consider when designing a web page? It's easy to get into the weeds when you are building a website. Decisions like color choice, fonts, and themes can bog you down. Set a launch date for your site and specific, achievable deadlines for each project step.

Now that you know everything you should keep in mind for building a website, are you ready to launch? Schedule a strategy call with Paitdigital, and we will get you off to the best possible start.

About the Author

Payton Smith

I am a Webflow user and SEO enthusiast. I founded Pait Digital because I like to build cool things for awesome clients.

My joy in life is my family, cooking delicious meat and enjoying Idaho summers.
Follow me