ONCE I'VE DETERMINED THAT I NEED A WEBSITE, WHAT DO I DO?

Decisions to make ...

GATHER INFORMATION:

 

Review the '10 Reasons why I need a website' section and determine what you want your website to do for you.

Make a list of the pages that you want included in your website, so you can begin gathering information.

Surf the Internet, find and log the sites that you like and what you like about them. Take notes.

Choose the colors you want and notice what you like and don't like while you are surfing the Internet.

Think ahead and begin gathering information - Write the text you want included in your website, gather the photo's you want included. If your business is seasonal or you can only get pictures of your product at certain times, make sure you get those when you can, as they may not be available when you need them. For example; a nursery has to get the photo's of their gardens and trees while they are in season and in full bloom even though they don't want to begin work on their website for several months. If you are a manufacturer of a product to be sent away, make sure and take photo's before it leaves your property as you may never get to the destination. It is also nice to have "before and after" photo's, so remember to take the photo before you begin the work if you are in renovations or restoration of some sort.

Creative 4 Site has a Web Design Checklist which will help you to determine what you want in your website and how you want it to look.
Plan ahead, it will save you time and money in the long run.

 

CHOOSE A NAME FOR YOUR SITE:

 

Choose a name for your website and register it as soon as possible, to ensure that you get the name you want. You can have your web developer register it for you, or to save costs, you can register it yourself.

 

 

HOW TO CHOOSE A WEB DESIGNER/DEVELOPER:

 

Building a website involves learning the HTML programming language, then stringing the code together to fabricate the web pages. But this is not at all the same thing as having a website creatively designed specifically and individually for your needs.

A well designed website will be a credit to your organization. Everyone knows that design is important. Without a proper design, the result is likely to be wasted effort, squandered cash, and a poor impression for your visitors.

Choose a web designer and developer that you feel comfortable working with. Remember, you are paying your valuable advertising dollars and you want someone you are comfortable working with to design your company's image.

Is your designer certified from a recognized technical school or college? Many are self-taught and are not aware of some necessary steps to designing and programming an effective website. There are technical standards put in place by the World Wide Web Consortium, ask if they follow these. While the site that they develop may look nice, will it be effective and attract the necessary web crawlers that will list your site with the search engines. Finally, check his/her portfolio, is he/she capable of the quality of work you want your company to portray?

 

CHOOSE AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER OR WEB HOST:

 

If you don't have one in mind your Web Designer may have one that they work with. If you plan to have a maintenance contract with your developer it is more convenient, however not necessary, to work with the same hosting company as they do.