Designing and mapping out a website is truly a lot harder than the finished product suggests. In actuality, the real behind-the-scenes process conveys a different story as it often takes an entire team to fully create a website, and the final product may even be a bit (or a lot) different than the initial idea.
That’s because creating something out of nothing usually means you can do anything in the beginning. This kind of freedom can be a great thing when it comes to brainstorming, but can also be a bad thing when trying to get something done.
To help you get started with your website, here are some things you need to carefully plan out.
1. The Customers
You have to remember that the most essential part of your website has nothing to do with you – it’s all about your valued customers. Knowing what they want and need is the important key to bear in mind before making your website.
2. The Brand
The brand is the main story of your website. If a certain font, design theme, or style doesn’t really match your brand’s story, then you have to discard it immediately. Being aware of who you are as a brand and having a specific point of view of its purpose, ensures your websites to stand on its own.
3. The Content
What kind of content do you want to put into your website? Do you want to incorporate a video or even info-graphics? Will you be writing a blog? List down all the possible content types you want to integrate before working on your website. By doing so, the building blocks of your site is already in place even before the actual construction begins.
4. The Images
This time, start thinking about what type of images you want for your website. Will you be using computer-generated imagery or live photos? What particular images do you need in order to complete your website? Think of these things ahead of time so you’ll always be ready.
5. The Pages
Traditional website design has a home page and a bunch of other sub-pages that all circle around that. However, you could also go a bit non-traditional, by having your entire content on one single page that can be scrolled by your viewers. Start thinking about the basic needs of your website. For example, do you need a separate ‘Contact Us’ page, or would you simply like to add that information to your ‘About Us’ page?
6. Your Social
These days, anything that has to do online always revolves around the social media. So the question is, how will you integrate what’s going on with your Twitter account and Facebook Page to what’s going on with your website?
Careful planning doesn’t limit the things you can do, but instead, it helps you focus on what is important and allows you to create the best possible site.
