It may be daunting to be creating or even managing a website as a business owner or a marketing executive. What should you be thinking about when you are presented with an opportunity to create a one? Websites can be built by multimillion dollar firms with teams of 20+ coding ninjas, or even a team of just 2 experienced graphic designers. However with all websites large or small, there are a couple of points you can follow to be sure you’re on the right track in getting a website up and running.
Once you have your domain name and hosting service set up, you are ready to build a new website for a business or for yourself. It is important to note that in every website there are 3 major layers: Code -> back end (Content Management System CMS) -> front end (what the users experience). The coding of a website is where the programming exists to make sure your website is functioning properly in the digital space. The backend or content management system (CMS) allows users that do not have ninja coding and programming skills to edit or upload certain pieces of content (e.g. photos, blogs, texts) onto the website. The front end of the website is the interface that appears to your audience. Here are some things to consider when planning for a website:
It is quite important to define what the purpose is for a website. Without a clear purpose, there will be no goals defined and thus we won’t be able to measure its success. Is the purpose of your website to sell products and services? To generate leads? Or to establish credentials? To manage a crisis? Defining the purpose of your website will clearly establish goals and strategic direction for your web design team. This will also lead to creation of focused KPIs to aid in overall business objectives.
Consult/research
Prior to building a website, we must define our target audience and who will be the ones that will be engaging with the website. It is important to consult your internal management team to get a sense of what the internal team wants as well as people outside and beyond your organisation that have a different view of your brand and organisation.
It is crucial to work with programmers and designers who are experts at what they do. We all love to see a pretty website with superb functionality. However, this should not be at the expense of a messy, difficult to use backend. A clean, clear and organised set of programming in the back end will translate to a website that’s up-to-date, well maintained and dynamic. It will also ensure that the design work you’ve put into the aesthetics is maintained, and doesn’t become cluttered. Keep in mind one of the most important elements of a website is usability. A poorly designed CMS will give you headaches well after the website is completed.
To expand on usability, the design of the website itself is crucial to the success of the website. Some things to consider:
- Clean design – Is your website becoming too cluttered? Do you have too much information on the page? Is there proper spacing? These are some of the questions you need to ask when designing or managing a website. It is important to note that in many situations ‘less is more’.
- Functionality – It is important to have a website that functions smoothly. There shouldn’t be any broken links or loading issues. It would be wise for a developer to recruit many testers to fine comb the website for errors, glitches, and compatibility with different browsers and mediums.
- Navigation/Usability – The easier to navigate and use, the more people will be inclined to visit your website and stay. One of the reasons why the Apple iPhone is so successful is that the technology was made simple so the average user can pick up and use the system at ease.
- Search Ready – There are a number of things to do to get your website ready for the internet. Be sure to follow expert advice on the latest search engine optimisation (SEO) trends to keep your website visible and relevant in search engine queries.
Quality Assurance
Hopefully, with proper developing from the steps mentioned above, you won’t need to spend much time on quality assurance. However a website must go through extensive testing to make sure that it is free of errors and bugs. Although developers should be testing the website as they work, once it is finished, testers with varying technological skills should test the website vigorously to make sure it is 100% ready.
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