Website Creation - From Start To Finish
So you want to create a website? It’s easy to get tangled up in the World Wide Web as there are so many website designers and so much jargon, but this guide will help you plan your website and find the right web designer to build it for you.
The Concept
The first thing you need is a clear concept for your website and what its function will be. Will it be advertising your business, with information that will rarely change? Will you add and update information regularly? Do you want your website to support your existing business (for example an online shopping system)? You consider who will be using your site and how, as this will have an impact on the website design.
Being clear about what you want will help website designers to make your website’s design fit its purpose. A professional web designer or web design company will spend time working out your requirements, but if you have a good idea of what you need, this will save you and your web designer time (and therefore money) as well as avoiding any misunderstandings.
Understanding what it’s all about
The internet and World Wide Web are now mature technologies, and while most people understand the main concepts, there are all sorts of buzzwords and jargon that web designers use every day. In order to get the best web design, you should make sure you understand the basics. If a phrase like ‘css web design’ means nothing to you, check out our article on Website Design Terms Explained.
You should also familiarise yourself with the different kinds of website that exist and understand which category yours falls into.
Static websites simply present information that does not change. An example of this is a site advertising your company, with pages on the company’s history, mission and contact details. A good way to think about this is like a brochure for your company, with the pages of the brochure as pages of your website. A website designer can construct a static website relatively easily and quickly, as it is essentially converting existing information into a website design.
Dynamic websites feature some kind of interactivity or information that may change frequently. This could be anything from your product catalogue (which could be updated with new products, prices or stock levels) to news, reviews, or an online community where users register with your site and take advantage of features like messaging or posting their comments. You can even have a website which allows you to add and edit information yourself, as you would using a word processor. To provide this interactivity, your website must do more than just display information, so some computer programming by a web developer will be required. Many web designers are also web developers, and web design agencies will probably include web developers or have preferred developers to work with.
It will be useful to look around on the web and find other websites that demonstrate the features you are looking for. This will give you a good idea of what is possible, and you can use websites that you like as examples to help show web designers what you want.
You should also be aware that web design is very different from graphic design for printed brochures or advertisements. Websites can be viewed on many different computers, mobile phones and other devices, which may have different screen sizes and support different features, so it is difficult to make a website design look exactly the same on every system. The job of a website designer is strike a balance between appearance and functionality, so that visitors to your website can make use of it however they are viewing it.
The plan
Whilst the initial creation of your website is probably your main concern, you also need to think about the future of the site. If you want a static website design, but in the future some of the information changes, the website will need to be updated. If your website features dynamic content, who will be making updates? If users can register with your site and add their own messages, photos or other content, who will make sure that the content is appropriate and legal? Unless you have specified a website design that allows you to update and maintain it, you may find that you have to pay your web designer or web design agency to do this.
Getting it built
You should now have a clear sense of what your website design requires and be in a good position to communicate this to web designers and web design agencies. We have articles on Choosing a Web Design Company and Questions to ask a Web Design Agency which will help you to find the right individual or company for the job. Approved Index allows you to request quotes for your website by entering some details. These ‘Web Design leads’ are sent to web designers and web design agencies, which will then contact you.
The details
There are a few final things you should consider and talk to your web designer or web design company about. Hosting refers to where your website is physically stored, and is important as you want your website to load quickly. If your website is likely to have lots of visitors (for example if it is advertised on television) the host must have enough capacity, or visitors may not be able to access your website. If you or your colleagues will be updating and maintaining your website, you will need some kind of training. Finally, you may wish to promote your website through online advertising. Your web designer or web design agency should be able to advise you on all of these things.
