You’re thinking about your first website and you feel overwhelmed?

Why a custom website?

Templates are fine if you know enough to fully fill out all the boxes which means you know how to build a website to some extent. There is much behind the scenes, unless you typically view source code you are unaware of and the importance.

Putting your business into a professional’s hand is so important.

There was a time when launching a website was easy enough and you could make mistakes and still do fine through Google. Times are so different. Thus it is no longer a hobby.

So where to begin preparing to create your website?

For the visual design find 3 websites you like – even one element: the color or the layout. This gives your designer an idea of what you envision.

If you have a logo that can dictate the color scheme.

Your website wants to make a large footprint. One client has 237 pages – which would be a huge task to begin your first website. Five pages is so small it is difficult to maximize your content to feed search engines. Ten pages allows for a well rounded entry level.

Begin to think about your pages: Home,  Contact Us, About Us are standard pages, also Testimonials. Your Home page and About Us pages often share content. If you have a mission statement for your business that is valuable.

Think about organizations you belong to (Chamber of Commerce) licensing, BBB.

Photos and more photos. People are visual and truly a picture is worth a thousand words. Digital photos are the best, but old snapshots can be edited, color improved and are quite usable, so don’t shy away if they represent your product or service.

Whether you use a Testimonials page or not – collect these. They can be sprinkled on your other pages if your budget won’t afford a stand alone Testimonials page. Ask your valued customers for a couple lines, or find old cards of thanks for your service.  Read an earlier blog of mine:
https://www.brendasimon.com/blog/?p=119

Now, you’re ready to call your designer!