7 important things to do when building a website

From UI, and UX to responsiveness and coding, a considerable measure goes into designing/building a website.

You need to know why you need a website? Are you able to manage a website? What is the purpose of building a website? It can get messy if you are uncertain on how to proceed.

Fortunately, these 7 tips should help ease the pain;

1. Website domain name purchase

After sorting out your company name, you should register your domain name fast. Your domain name needs to mirror your brand accurately and be easy to spell. You need to consider SEO and keyword ranking when choosing a domain name as it can lead to a higher possibility of being located in search engine results.

2. To go free, or not to go free

with many web building platforms out there offering some cheap services and an open platform to build your website, you need to remind yourself that free or cheap isn’t always the best option.

You are setting up your website, your business, your source of livelihood – do you want it for free? What if your host shuts down unexpectedly what next? You lose everything. There are other shortcomings with the free website building platforms. Make sure always to check what you are getting into.

There are affordable paid web building platforms available. You don’t need to break the bank when starting with your first website. Always start small and gradually add features as the need arise.

3. What website platform is right for me?

Plan ahead to envisage what your website aims to accomplish so you don’t have to incur unnecessary charges in the long run. WordPress is a brilliant choice since it is infinitely expandable. Furthermore, you are in control since you have a separate host.  If you desire to sell your product/service online an e-commerce platform would be the way to go. Excellent hosted solutions such as Shopify and Bigcommerce are an excellent choice. The Just Brand are both a Shopify and Bigcommerce partner and can offer expertise and custom design if needed.

4. Correct setup when building a website

Do you know what your website aims to accomplish for your business? Do you need to build a brochure website, e-commerce site or a Customer Relationship Management site? Is it exclusively a source of info, for example, a blog, or do you require an online shop to increase revenue? The setup requirements change hugely depending on your need, so you need to choose and plan accordingly from the start.

5. Responsive design

Google rewards mobile friendly and responsive websites with a higher ranking over non-mobile friendly websites. If you plan to see your website in search engine results, then you certainly need a mobile friendly and responsive website.

Almost everyone nowadays has access to a smartphone and would at some point if not daily access the internet with their smartphones. There is a huge market in mobile friendly websites, and companies are cashing in rapidly.

6. Know your websites homepage

Your homepage is the front of your shop only in this case e-shop. That notwithstanding, you must put a considerable effort in designing your homepage to appeal to visitors and potential customers. It should represent you and what you are about. Make it engaging and friendly yet informative.

7. Built it healthy!

Make sure your site is simple to explore, clear and uncluttered. Nobody wants to spend ages searching on your site for a product, help the consumer make a purchasing decision quickly, by presenting what they are after in few clicks. Try not to put off customers due to a weak and unprofessionally designed site. Use the right language for your audience, remember not everyone is a graduate and don’t forget to use catchphrases that will be researched in search engines.
With these 7 tips, you should be able to have an excellent start in designing and building a website.