Creating a Website – Where to Start?

A professional website should not only serve as an attractive business card for the company but also function as an effective tool that converts visitors into customers, ultimately generating profits. Creating a modern website involves many hours of work and discussions, as well as, most importantly, expenses.

Where to start the process of creating a website? We have prepared some tips to help you get closer to your desired website.

Define the goals of your website and your target audience

When considering creating a website, treat it as one of your daily work tools. Aesthetics – clear fonts, elegant layout, interesting graphics – are very important, but they should not be the first decision you make. First, think about the purpose of your website and how to make it fulfill that purpose as effectively as possible. Your site should generate traffic from search engines and customer inquiries, be helpful to potential buyers, and provide answers to all their questions – from available shipping options to technical details of the product you are selling. Also, your website should facilitate transactions – sell products, handle payments, process data, provide information on availability, shortages, and all kinds of facts that translate into your final profit. Your new website should be designed to become the center of your marketing.

Before investing your time and funds into creating a website, consider which customers you want to reach. Define the key characteristics of your users – age, gender, profession, potential interests, and problems that your product or service will help solve, the hours when your potential customer will visit your website, and the type of communication that will reach them most effectively. Once you have a clear idea of your target audience, think about what your customer is searching for and what phrases they enter in the search bar. Analyze your competition as well – examine how their websites look, which social media they use, and where they direct their advertisements. Then do it better.

Plan the structure and appearance of the website

When planning the homepage and individual subpages, aim to make the path your customer has to take as short as possible. Plan the content and placement of elements that the user should see. Once you know what you want to include on the site, it’s time to work on the appearance. Your website should be primarily neat and simple – even the most beautiful site won’t convince customers to buy if it lacks important product information. Additionally, keep in mind that Google currently emphasizes a "mobile first" approach, which means your website should be optimized for mobile devices. The more graphics you choose, the longer the loading time will be.

Choose a content management system

The system you choose to manage your website will stay with you for a long time, so pay close attention before making a decision. A CMS, or Content Management System, makes it easier to manage the site and publish content. Simple websites that do not require frequent updates can operate without a CMS – in such cases, you ask a specialist to make minor changes every few months. However, complex websites that will be expanded in the future with new elements need a content management system to function properly. One of the most popular CMS platforms today is WordPress. The first part of a CMS – the HTML/CSS/JS code – is invisible to users and Google algorithms, while the second part – templates, themes, overlays – is responsible for the visual layer and functions available to site visitors.

Choose hosting and a domain

Although many companies offer free hosting services for the first few months, take the time to carefully analyze the offers. Free hosting often operates slowly and displays many ads, which can discourage your customers. Also, remember that with free services, you cannot expect technical support in case of failures or the creation of backups. Pay attention to whether the hosting provider guarantees uninterrupted operation, giving you confidence that your website will run smoothly. Also, choose high data transfer capacity – the more traffic on your site, the more transfer you need. If your website’s loading time exceeds 3 seconds, almost half of users will give up on visiting it.

A well-designed website will help you gain new customers, grow your business, and build a positive image, which is why it is so important that it is user-friendly. Publishing the site is only the first step – once you do that, it’s time to start working on new content, photos, and following marketing trends.