Define your needs
First, take the time to ponder. You wouldn’t go to sea without first learning about navigation, isn’t this true? Making a website is not so different! You must first think about your media, needs, goals and how to achieve them.
The first step is very important, it will guide you along every step towards the creation of your website. At this point, normally, you should already have chosen the topic of your site: your company, paintings, and your hairdresser, or passion for teckels ... whatever! Next, follows a very important strategic question: What needs will your website meet? Is your aim to sell, market, create a contact list, or simply to present your project? This question may seem elementary, but the framework of your site depends on the answer. If you want to sell, you must think as a salesperson when you enter your text or structure your content, etc.
On the other hand, if you want to provide information, your website will be organized in a different way! Take time to analyze the role that your site will have in your agency or business. Will you use it as a business card or to offer additional information?
Research your competition
Now that your needs have been defined, it’s important to check if you have direct competition in your line of business. If this is the case, take a few minutes to appraise their sites. We are not talking about plagiarism, but only about taking a look at what’s happening elsewhere. Note down everything: good and bad ideas. There are certainly things your competitors did well and others that you can improve! Note every option, and analyze market and trends in your line of business.
Understand your audience
We briefly described your needs and the competition, now let's tackle your audience! After all, a website is nothing without them. Keep in mind you’re not making a site for yourself but for your visitors! You must have foreknowledge of the information you will add to your content... visitors are interested by what information they can get or learn from your site. Always have in mind your visitors. Is your target audience young, old, female, male, self-employed, single mother, educated, worker, etc. It’s very important to target customers (or visitors). You can’t aim for too vast a public. It’s possible, but one can easily get lost. Thus, define the portrait of an individual from your target audience and aim at this imaginary character. If your target audience is aged 17 to 25, you wouldn’t use the same vocabulary as if your audience was 55 to 70! You must not only change vocabulary, visual type, but also your site’s ergonomics! The better you target customers, the better results will be! A website selling teenagers clothes will never have background wallpaper with flowers and margins with frills, it's simply not the right way to interest your target customers! On the contrary, an accounting firm website will never use popular vocabulary and fluorescent colors to promote its services since it aims a more serious public! You need to find a way to relate to your target customers, but also how to raise interest and retain attention. Take care when choosing colors, fonts and to the general tone of your texts. They must be chosen regardless of personal tastes and meet those of your visitors.
Define your goals
Several things have now been set up for your website. You just have to define your goals! This step is directly related to your needs. If you needed a website as a contact card, naturally, your goal is to ensure visitors can contact you easily. So when building your site, you need to think your content with that in mind. Would you rather be contacted in writing or by telephone? Are your office hours convenient? Are your contact information well placed? Do you want to put a map to show your exact location? Have you thought about showing your website address on business cards, cars, directory, etc..? Your goals being set, the organization and axis of advertisement of your website will be all the easier to implement.
Creating one’s first website is always a bit tricky. We don’t always know which way to go, what content is relevant or how to position oneself. We hope that the tips mentioned in this article will help you achieve success! Because a well-conceived site, is also a well visited site!