Essential Steps for Crafting a New Website for Beginners

The initial phase in creating a website is collecting information as much as possible to understand what you want (and don't want) for your website. This can be done by reviewing the websites you currently use, along with competitors, and also gathering feedback from friends and business colleagues.

Like many companies, you may choose to use the services of an experienced web designer to establish your website. Be prepared to answer related questions, as you'll need answers to create a 'creative brief'. This creative brief will be used as a guide or reference to build the website. Whether you use a design company or not, you should know the answers to the following questions:

• What is the purpose of my website? Am I providing products, services, information, data?
• What action do I want my visitors to take when they visit the website?
• Who am I trying to reach? What are the demographic characteristics of my target audience?
• What type of information will my target audience be seeking?
• Are they looking for specific information, a particular product, or making online purchases?

If you've handled the details in stages 1 and 2, then designing the homepage and all subsequent pages will become straightforward. For instance, knowing that the demographic characteristics of your target audience are single, female, middle class, aged 18 to 24, and university-educated compared to married men, upper class aged 65 to 80, retired will certainly influence the design factors and applications required.

Viewing page layouts with content presentation, along with logos and colors, will truly help you envision your final website. Utilize a website prototype during this time to make necessary adjustments; if you're working with experienced designers, they'll provide templates or prototypes at various stages of development for feedback.

The information gathered in stage 1 will greatly assist you in planning your website. The current objectives and problem-solving actions call for website planning:

• Create a site map: List all the main topic areas of the website, as well as subtopics, to identify a consistent, understandable navigation system.
• Determine the technologies you need: Identify what you need to use such as interactive forms, flash applications, and content management systems (CMS).
• Identify solutions that fit: With the increasing mobile device adaptability, you may want to consider implementing responsive design. This method will allow the website to automatically adjust on any screen, such as desktops, tablets, or smartphones.
• Create templates: Spend time laying out pages through wireframing. This will allow you to visualize the design and provide a framework for your website.
• Plan content: Know what information you want to convey and how much content you'll provide to guide the design process.

Your developers will test the website, ensuring full functionality and compatibility issues. Additionally, they will check to ensure that all code written for your website is valid - meeting current web standards. Once formally approved, the website files are uploaded to your server and then the website is pushed directly to the public.

At this point, your task is to review your website one last time. Proceed with handing over the website to the developers and officially launching it, putting the website into operation to serve the needs of the business.

Once the design work is completed and approved, the website can be created; your designer/developer will take all the individual graphic elements from the prototype and use them to create a functional website. Interactive elements such as contact forms, flash animations, and shopping carts will also be implemented at this stage. At this point, you'll be able to make minor changes and edits.

This is a fairly important step as you will be in control of the website's content. You'll need to collaborate with the designer to review images, content, layout, effects, etc., to promptly identify any discrepancies for adjustment. Concurrently, during the website development process, you can also suggest additional ideas to further enhance the website.

Now that it's created, maintaining your website is equally important. In the planning stage of this process, you've determined whether to continue maintenance through in-house staff or outsourced (like your web design). If you decide you need full control, the designer will create a CMS-directed website to provide you with the ability to edit website content and add new pages.

Maintaining and developing your website doesn't stop on launch day. Like any building, you'll need to take steps to ensure your website is secure and operates optimally. During website maintenance, you'll need to monitor the next steps to see if further website development is needed or if any issues arise to ensure the website serves your business best.