So you’ve got a killer business idea and are ready to build an online presence. Before stepping into the battleground, spend considerable time on the design of your website.
It forms the foundation of your business, connecting you with both customers and clients worldwide. You need a responsive design with intuitive navigation, fast loading times, quality content, and strong call-to-actions. Not sure where to begin? We’ve got you covered.
Here’s a short guide you can follow to start your business’s website design journey to achieve success:
Know Your Audience
Start by understanding who your audience is and what they are looking for. The most successful business websites are built around user goals.
For instance, the purpose of a commerce website is to sell products. You will have a specific audience with clear demographics, pain points, and preferences. But if you’re offering financial services, your audience would require more informational content and design.
Make sure your chosen financial services hosting provider can incorporate your design needs.
Research Competitors
Every business identifies its competitors before launching operations. This should also be done before starting the design journey.
Take a closer look at the websites of your competitors. How have they structured content? How many pages have they made? How easy is the website’s navigation? Does the website offer an engaging and intuitive experience?
Think like a consumer, not a business owner. A bit of scrutiny will help you identify gaps.
Lay the Technical Foundation
After brainstorming, it’s time to lay the technical foundation of your website.
Select a website building platform like a website builder, such as Shopify and Wix. Then, choose a content management system, such as WordPress, depending on your technical expertise. You can also work with a professional website designer.
Choose a domain name and check its availability. Your business’s website domain should be short, easy to spell, and memorable.
After securing the domain name, work with a reliable hosting provider like Liquid Web to ensure a seamless experience. Look for the following features:
- API integration
- Compliance
- Security certification
- 24/7 customer support
Think of a web hosting plan as your website’s virtual home. It rents out digital space on a physical server to store all your website’s files, making them accessible to anyone on the internet. Make sure the hosting provider can ensure scalability to accommodate rising business needs.
Select and Customize a Template
This is the time to unleash your inner creative spirit. You can use a pre-built template to give your website a structure. It comes with preset layouts and designs for key pages.
Customize the template to match your business’s unique identity, adjusting fonts, colors, and imagery. Add high-quality text, images, videos, and other relevant information to your site.
Design a logical structure where each page is hierarchically linked. This will ensure easy navigation for both users and search crawlers.
Optimize the Design for Mobile
Lastly, optimize your business website’s design for mobile users. Make sure the website is responsive and looks great on all devices.
This is also important for search engine optimization (SEO).
