Business tips
7
min read
Running a business without a website is like opening a store without a sign. Sure, some stores can work without a sign, but no doubt they would have more clients if they had it. Same with websites.
Many people don’t trust businesses that don’t have websites. In 2013, 56% of people surveyed by Weebly said they don’t trust businesses without websites. We can be sure that this number could have only increased since then.
You might have seen lots of ads for blizzard-fast website builders that make you feel like everyone can create a website in no time. Well, it’s not that easy in reality. Building a website is a lengthy process but it’s not that hard when you know the main steps. In this article, we will tell you how to create a compelling website that stands tall in the vast expanse of the internet – a virtual space that is as vibrant and unique as your brand. And the first step is…
Every business needs a website, but not every business needs a website identical to the competitors’. You have to think about why you need it. To generate leads? Sell goods? Raise brand awareness? It doesn’t have to be just one goal, but focus on finding the relevant ones. Remember, many of your further decisions will depend on the goal(s).
And this is the first of those decisions. Common types that businesses need at the start are:
Why do you need to know the type beforehand? The team you will be hiring and the scope of work will depend on the type of website you choose.
Choosing a domain name is a fun element of the whole website creation, but now, when the internet has been there for a while, picking one has become tricky and sometimes frustrating. When choosing a name, you have to make it
And don’t forget to check for trademark conflicts to avoid potential legal issues in the future.
This step can be done with professionals in web design (we’ll talk about it later) or on your own. Some UX design techniques can be used without any specific knowledge.
Card sorting. This is a method from UX research, and it can be somehow adapted to website building. Start with writing each page or piece of information you want on the website on a separate piece of paper and place them on the table. From there, you can group these pieces to create a coherent website structure. That’s how navigation logic is created.
Continue by sketching a wireframe—a bare-bones representation of your website's layout. Wireframe sounds like a fancy term but it can be done on a piece of paper in a few minutes. This visual guide lets you map out essential elements such as navigation menus, content sections, and calls to action. It will likely be changed later, but at this initial stage, it’s a very useful tool.
Another thing that will be helpful when you get started with design is collecting references or even a mood board. Even if you are open to any visual solutions, there always are some examples that you like and they can be a good starting point in your conversations with web designers.
It’s important to involve potential users, stakeholders, or your team members at this stage. Striking the right balance between simplicity and functionality is key. Your website should be easy to navigate while delivering a compelling and informative experience.
If you work on a website blueprint thoroughly, you’ll get a roadmap that not only aligns with your vision but also anticipates the needs and preferences of your target audience. Such thoughtful planning lays the groundwork for a website that not only looks impressive but also functions seamlessly, helping you reach the goals you’ve set at the start.
Building a website is like building a house at the start. First, you need to understand why you need a house and what kind of house it has to be. Then, you have to find a location, buy or rent it, and then find the architect and the constructors to do the actual job. And at this point similarity with the house building ends. And we move on to the next step.
One of the main reasons why people postpone the creation of a website is the lack of a good team. They don’t know if they need developers, content manager, SEO professional, web designer… It sounds like a big and costly project already. Let’s break it down and see who does what and whether you need each specialist on board. We placed these positions in the order of involvement. So, first comes design.
The first impression of a website depends fully on design. The landing page is the face of your company, and you want it to look as if it was made by a modern designer in 2024 and not like it was made by someone in 2002.
Not every company needs a trendy and flashy page, but web design is not just about that. For instance, if the navigation is not clear, the users are likely to get annoyed and leave the website without solving their task or placing an order. Good design has a bigger impact on the business than it might initially seem.
When using website building platforms like Wix, the templates allow you to go without a designer as well as skip the developer. These are good news for those working on tight budgets, but templates make websites look very generic. Check out our offer and you will see that hiring a designer short-term can be cheaper and easier than you thought.
If this article was written several years ago, I would assure you that no website can be built without developers. However, things have changed a lot. No-code and low-code platforms have made it possible to cover the needs of most businesses by skipping hiring coders. Most company websites, e-commerce, and other popular types of websites can be created using a platform like Wix or SquareSpace.
These platforms often market themselves as even-your-grandma-can-do-this tools, but in reality, things turn out to be a bit more complex. It might take an inexperienced user quite some time to get to that grandma level. If you are ready to dedicate time to master the system, you will be able to manage your website on your own in the future, without having to find people to make changes whenever needed. If you don’t have time for that, hiring a web designer who has experience working with no-code website-building tools will help you save money.
However, even with the advance of all these platforms, developers aren’t left without a job. If your website doesn’t fit into standard templates, you will need one (or more, in case you need front-end and back-end instead of a full-stack professional). Ultimately, having a developer will make the website more advanced. But in all honesty, devs are needed when platforms like Shopify are not enough.
Copywriters create content for the website. Even relatively small websites contain loads of text, even when it’s not visible at first and seems just a bunch of images.
Is it essential to hire a copywriter? Of course, website owners can write these texts on their own if they want to save money. However, saving on copywriters might be a bad decision in case you’re looking to persuade users to buy your product or service. And good content is even more important for website success than good design.
The mysterious work of SEO professionals consists of following unknown rules of search engines to make the website appear on top of search results. If you want to gain clients from Google, you’ll need someone working on it full-time.
However, that’s not the only way of leveraging SEO for your business. When you just launch the website, investing a bit into consultations with a professional will help you get the most out of your page. It’s not strictly necessary but will pay off in the long term. SEO professionals would give you advice on how to appear best to the search engines with easy solutions.
This position is placed at last because naturally, there is a person in a company who takes over this role. However, if you are tight on resources, hiring a website owner who can coordinate the team is also a good idea. This person needs to have an analyst or project manager background to manage the process, as well as good knowledge of your business.
These are the essential roles you need to build a website. However, there may be more people involved if the website is more complex. For example, for e-commerce, you would need a content manager, for a lead-generating corporate blog — a team of writers and link builders.
Building a website can be as easy as filling in the templates or it can be as long as trying to build a LEGO model of Babylon from scratch. Whether you have a simple landing page or a huge company website, don’t delay the start any further and remain among those businesses who are trying to survive in this crazy competitive world without such a basic thing as a website.
So, what is stopping you from starting? If it’s the lack of a designer, we can help you! Drop us a line and we’ll get a designer for you in several days.
