What is your website about?

What is your website really about? Take that question and expand on that premise. A website is never just about one thing. It is about several things that lead you to one thing. Like a catchy promotion or a simple statement which lead you to make purchase on impulse.

• Great websites need to describe in detail both visually as well as textually.
• Great website need to ask questions, but at the same time have the answers.
• Great websites share links and build online relationships with other popular websites.
• Great website feature useable information while maintaining regularly scheduled updates.

Simply the more content your website has the better, but the content must make sense. Unusable content becomes nothing more than a mess and detracts from the overall purpose of your site.

Creating a website that features a “news or updates” section, regarding changes to the site or business is vital. Websites need to breathe, grow and change in order to gain respect by search engines on a very technical level.

Do you have an idea about a domain name (web address)?

Picking a domain name can be one of the hardest things to do. So many of the names have either been taken or squatted on. Deciding on the best name is very important and should be taken seriously. It is important to find a name that people can remember and spell. You can visit Network Solution's website to find out the availability of your domain choice. Remember, you don’t have to be stuck with just one name. You can buy several domain names and have the point or link to the same website. It's called domain forwarding and pointing. It allows you the opportunity to find out which one best suits you.  

How many years do you think you'll need your website for?

This is a very important question, especially if your goal is to save money. Most individuals that partake in creating their own websites typically own their websites for over 2 years. So, we recommend never buying a domain for just a year at a time. Purchasing a domain for multiple years can save you money. We recommend purchasing your domain for at least 5 years if not 10years. Many companies offer low cost solutions. Although, we have found that low cost solutions still come with a price. We tend to promote the leader in domains, and that is Network Solutions.

Do you know about hosting your website?

Website hosting is a necessary and ongoing expense. Finding the right host can sometimes be difficult. Finding the best deal can be as well. Saving money is not the most important thing when finding a good host. Connectivity and up time supersedes everything. We recommend Host Rocket's 2 year shared hosting plan. Stay away from simple hosting plans from GoDaddy and like companies.

Have you looked at other websites for ideas?

Sometimes, coming up with a unique idea for a website can be difficult. We recommend that you visit as many website as possible. Look at the tiny details, like the page layout and where buttons are located to navigate the site. Look for specific features and advertisements as well as promotions for internal content. We recommend visiting company website that can afford website luxury items that might seem outside the box. We also recommend visiting popular websites. Try and discover what it is that makes a popular website so successful.

Choosing a color scheme is all about marketing. Who is your target audience? And, what is it you are trying to sell (products, services, ideas, etc.)? Finding the right colors is pretty much the same process as finding the right colors to paint your house. You select a base color, and then choose softer tones to balance everything out. The most powerful and commonly used colors are black, white, gray and red.

How many pages do you think you will need?

Determining how many pages your website will need is extremely important and must be understood before development can begin. We suggest that you create on paper an organization chart, much like a table of contents in a book, which outlines your page structure. Start off with chapters, which for a smaller website can be 5-10 chapters or pages. The 5-10 main chapters or pages can then have sub-chapters or pages that refer to content specifically related to that main chapter. An example of a working organization chart or website index would look like following:

• Home Page
  • Promotions and links to internal information.
    
    
• About Us
  • Our Mission
  • Members
    
    
• Services
  • Description of ___________
  • Pricing
    
    
• Links
  • Shared
  • Affiliates
  • Promotions
    
    
• Contact Us
  • How to get in touch with us

Who is your target market?

Who do you think you target market is online? If you know, then that is great. If you do not know, then we suggest you really think about that. There are 2 specific groups of online users, those who read and those who click pictures only. If you are creating a website for users that have short attention spans, you need to provide them with a step by step approach. If you are designing a website for users who enjoy more descriptive and detailed information, then the approach is less graphic oriented and more text.

Will you be updating your website occasionally or daily?

It is important to understand how often you will be updating your website, as well as how much page real estate will be needed to support these changes. This needs to be figure into the design of the site.

Are you interested in managing the content on yourself?

If you are creating a website which needs a lot of attention, maintenance and updates, having a dynamic solution is the key. A dynamic solution can be more expensive and is entirely dependant on its functionality.

Is the purpose of your website to sell something?

Successful websites all pretty much look the same way. News websites have home pages which feature frequently added by-lines which link to stories pertaining to that day’s news. The page format for many of these “news websites” is the same. The majority of them look similar to one another, with rows and columns subdividing their information. There is a reason for that. Over time it has proven to be the most efficient for the user and that is the key. Designing a website which sole purpose is to sell something or something’s is no different. You must think of promotions, catchy phrases to describe whatever it is you are selling.

Do you want a shopping cart on your website?

There are many website solutions on the Internet for regarding having a shopping cart on your website. The question is…what do you expect from your ecommerce solution? There are low cost solutions like PayPal which can assist in some simple solutions, and there are customizable solutions which can be expensive.

How will you promote your website?

Have you thought about how you will be promoting your website? We recommend that you create a “links page” as well as a banner exchange or affiliate program to help build relationships through online link reciprocation.

Discovering the keywords that define your website will help in the overall indexing of your website with the major search engines. Create a list of keywords that best describes your website. The more words the better.