Prior to the pandemic, most businesses considered their website to be just an online “business card”. Today, everyone is online more and so the demand for better websites has increased.
What does it take to build a good website - effortlessly?
Here’s our list of important steps to consider and complete before you take your website online.
Planning
This step usually takes the most time for you as the client. It includes strategising, gathering all your images and extensive copywriting. A good agency will guide you along the way and help you really understand what to give them so they can present your brand online in the best way possible.
Technology
Building a website requires an investment in tech, such as eCommerce software for online shops and various plugins. Usually, your website developer will make recommendations and these will all come with their own pros and cons, depending on the requirements you have.
Payment Gateways (optional)
If you are running a website that will be selling products or services online, you’ll have to investigate the various payment options available and how they’ll affect you and your customers.
Delivery Options (optional)
Having a business that sells physical products online will undoubtedly require you to consider how products will be delivered once ordered. Some delivery companies are able to integrate directly with your online platform making the admin part of it all much easier for your business.
Hosting
Hosting is something many businesses either forget about or aren’t even aware of, but along with your domain name, it’s the main thing you need to purchase to have your website live on the internet. Make sure your hosting provider is reliable, speedy, easy to manage and has good support.
User-experience
When building a website, you should always think about who is going to use it and build accordingly. For example, if your target market is senior citizens, you’d want to consider making the phone number prominent on the site, as an older person would most likely rather call and speak to a real person.
Marketing
Make use of social media and SEO to ensure your website grows, and gets the results you want. The marketing of your website should not be left to chance but should already be thought of in the website building phase.
Maintenance
At Endor, we call this our “motorplan”. Similar to the hosting cost, some businesses forget that the tech used to build their website will constantly need to be updated and if you have a website with products which might regularly change, you’ll need to invest in maintenance on your website to keep things flowing effortlessly.
