So many people contact a web designer as soon as they have decided to get themselves a website (or upgrade their existing site) – without having thought through what they want. These are a few tips to getting your website right.
- Think about why you want a website – if you don’t know it’s going to be tough to get any website to work. You’ll always have that ‘not quite what I wanted’ feeling.
- Work out what your typical customer wants to know or get. Make sure you keep that in mind at all times.
- Decide what pages will present your message best – and, if you have several pages, how these might be arranged i.e. what’s on the menu and which pages are subpages from a main menu page.
- Choose titles for the menu tabs – remember to keep in mind your reader and don’t fall into the trap of using your industry language.
- Decide what you want people to do when they’ve scanned each page. Ensure you include a request to do that at the end of the page in the copy.
- Consider the images you want to have on your site and find good quality visuals. If you use stock photos be sure that you get an image that actually helps you to make your point for the page on which it appears. Don’t use images for the sake of having a picture – it can do more harm than good!
Now you’re ready to brief your designer with something that they can really get their teeth into. Don’t forget to advise them if you have any colour preferences or elements you want to include. If you do your homework you’ll get a website that you are proud of and that works hard for your business.
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