You need to do your research before starting a new website. Apart from the usual considerations, there are also some things to carefully think about that are specific to websites. A website only lasts as long as it gives practical help to the visitors of your site. If you cannot offer some value or service, then all you can hope for is some traffic. Keep this in mind while building the site.
The following questions will help you in this task. Here are 8 things to consider before building your site, and we’ll explore these in-depth below.
What is the purpose of the site?
The purpose of your site is very important. For example, if you want to help small businesses get online, then your focus should be on how to build a website that can appeal to such customers. If you want to promote an offline business like a retail shop, then your main concern will be optimizing for easy conversion of the prospects into walk-in customers.
Who is your target audience?
Before you even start building, know who will be looking at your site and what they need help with. For example, if you are creating an online blog for entrepreneurs to improve their business skills, then focus on how to cater to them with posts that contain tips and tricks. If you want to create a blog for kids, then try to have a lot of visuals and entertaining content.
How much time and money can you invest?
This is not something you should start building without knowing. Time and money are important factors that will affect the final result. The more time you have, the better the site can be. If you don’t have much money to spend on your website, then focus on simplicity and design rather than functionality. Show how good you are by focusing on making a simple yet effective website, instead of creating something huge but bad-looking. And if you have the resources but not the time, you can look into hiring a web design and development professional.
Know what your competitors are doing
The presence of several competitors for your site is no reason to fret as long as they’re not direct copies of your site. In fact, being aware of their existence is very helpful in crafting your site. You can look at their strengths and weaknesses and build on what you find to make a better website. You can also study their strategies to make unique ones of your own.
Additionally, if you are not the only person offering the service, then take into account that people will be more inclined to use other websites than yours. You should know if your competitors have enough of an audience or not to make it worth their time and money to divert their attention from you.
What data will be collected from visitors?
Filling in a form takes time and effort from your visitor. You should consider if you really need that form on the website or not. Ask yourself why you want to collect specific information from visitors, and whether it’s worth their trouble. If the only reason is so you can send them an email newsletter, then don’t ask for too much information.
What kind of content will you be posting?
The type of content you’re posting will affect the functionality and layout of your website. Your site’s purpose will determine what kind of articles or posts you can put up on it. If your website is for helping people with their personal problems, then focus on offering quality articles that provide solutions to their issues. If your blog is about painting homes, then focus on helping homeowners by offering tips and techniques that improve the results.
How will you drive traffic?
If your website is not linked to other relevant sites, then be ready for low conversion rates. Your site should have a unique value proposition that makes it worthy of sharing with others to ultimately gain more visitors. Work on making quality content that you know people will recommend, as well as SEO keywords to increase organic traffic. You can also use social media to spread the news about your site and build a steady following.
Can you monetize it?
Selling is not the only way to monetize your site. Depending on your website’s purpose and what you offer, there are many ways you can generate income from it. For example, if you’re creating a blog for gamers that features game walkthroughs and news, then consider getting paid promotional posts or featuring ads of related games.
Building a website can be daunting, but if you take the time to consider these important factors, you’ll be on your way to creating a site that is both effective and efficient. Keep in mind that these are just general guidelines and that your specific needs may vary. As long as you know what your goals are for the website and who your target audience is, then you can begin designing it in a way that will appeal to them.