Website Design - The basics

Internet Marketing Small Business designs, helps build and SEO’s websites for small businesses, but I thought as I am currently re-designing my own website (http://www.internetmarketingsmallbusiness.co.uk/), I could pass on advice that small business can use.


Thinking about starting a small business online?

If this is your first website or indeed small business? Prior to briefing any website designers you should take time to write a preliminary plan. Although you have probably got many ideas buzzing around in your head, fixing the idea on paper is the best way to start the journey that is planning a successful website or online business.

When you are planning your website you need to write down exactly what you want it to do. This plan will include; what you want to sell, who will buy your products and how are you going to display your products or services to your customers. This plan is a starting point for any website design and will adapt and change as you progress through the various build stages.

Now you have decided on the three key elements who where and how, you’ll need to work out everything that you’ll need to include within the site to make it work. Will you need a large site with 10’s or even 100’s of product pages, do you need to capture data, will you need password protected security for certain pages or even will you need E-commerce… If you aren’t sure what or how your website should do check out what your potential competitors are doing or even model it on your favourite website (as long as it could work for your business – and be realistic!). When you are planning your website you should always keep your visitors in mind, think how they would.

Thinking like your customers do is the key to a successful website design.

Now time to start thinking like a web designer. You know what you want to sell, who is going to buy it and how you think the website should look. These three principles are just the beginning, you need to expand on each.

What you want to sell on your website – Whether it is a product or a service you are bound to have more than one single item. Start listing all of the products or services that you want to include in the website. Think of everything as this is going to be your product page.

Who will buy your from your website – Young or old, male or female, business to business or end consumer. Try to narrow your target market to its largest potential audience. When you have this you should have they style of website that you need to design and a better idea of your target market.

How are you going to sell your products or services – Are you selling huge amounts of different products or are you selling a single service. Are you selling directly off of your website or are you trying to get customers to phone up and enquire. Now you should know how big the website is going to need to be and more importantly how you are going to make money from it.

Narrowing the what, who and how will give you a better idea of how your website design needs to be and what it requires to function how you want it to. Why not make some enquiries into costs based on these initial ideas, then go on to write a business plan to accompany your idea. Most people starting a small business on the internet for the first time choose to ignore these steps and jump straight in and brief web designers before they even know if they’re idea is viable. Once you have taken a little more time to think about your idea you can start to think about putting together a more detailed website design plan. The second plan will be the foundations that will contain the detail that a web designer needs to truly put together a well designed website that most importantly works!

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