Your business’s website can be much more effective going in with a plan and roadmap! So you want a website for your business that will get you more customers? Great, but I’m sure now you’re asking yourself where to begin with such a project. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at just the thought of it all, take a deep breath and spend a few minutes reading below.
When you want your website online faster and getting more customers quickly – doing a little preemptive work will make all the difference. Deciding on these five items below before hiring a web designer will save you hours, get your website done faster, and get you more customers sooner!
5 ways to fast track your business’s website design process, so you start getting customers sooner!
What domain will you use for your new website?
Simple question right, but one we spend HOURS helping people with. The domain is the web address someone will type into their browser to go to your website. It is an extremely important decision to make to be clear in your brand and get more customers. “YourCompanyName” .com may or may not be available. Is your company name too long? Can people spell your domain quickly? Is it hard to remember? Does it include any of your keywords? Is it clear what you do? Taking this all into consideration ahead of time is necessary to choosing the best domain name.
Where will you host your website?
Do you want your designer to host your website or a third party like GoDaddy or BlueHost? If you are tech-savvy, maybe a third party will work, but do you know how to fix something if anything goes wrong? Third parties tend to charge you for every single thing (SSL, back-ups, speed increases, etc.) Decide what option has the best offerings for your needs. Managed hosting costs a little more, but everything related to your hosting is managed by a professional, making sure your customers always have the best experience.
Will you need to update your business’s website?
Websites need to be updated often to best serve your customers. On the back end, every week new security updates are released for builders and plugins. Will you be in charge of that, or will your designer? On the front end, if any business information changes, who will update that? A great example is all the COVID updates over the last two years. Will that be you, a designer at an hourly rate, or is that included in your hosting? Deciding this now will help so much when there are any issues or updates that need to be handled.
Do you have all the assets the designer will need?
To save you a world of time, start preparing now for what your web designer will need to make you a great website. This will save so much time by eliminating the need for constant back and forth communication. Here are some of the top things you should have ready to go before starting your new website:
- A high-quality version of your logo
- A headshot of yourself
- Any pictures of team members you would like on your website
- Any login information your website designer will need (WordPress, Social Media, Scheduling tool, email marketing)
- A list of the services you offer
- The call to action you would like to focus on. How you want to be contacted by leads?
- Your USP
- Your Brand Playbook will contain all of this.
How will you market your website after it’s launched?
Your website’s job is to inform your ideal customers about who you are and what you do. Then drive them to take the next step with your business. Your website needs traffic to do this. No matter how great your website is, if no one sees it, it will do nothing. So, how will you get people to see your website? What is your post-launch strategy? This is really important to think about before you build your website, so you have the right expectations on what your website will do for your business.
If you are ready to create an effective dynamic website that gets you more customers, then contact Loveland Web Design today.
Can small business websites be successful online? YES!
To get more customers and grow your business with your website you just need these 5 things. Websites that get results follow a proven plan for success that works year after year. Investing in an effective website will give your business a huge boost and grow your business faster.