How do you know if you are ready for a website? Before you start asking for quotes or trying 100 different builders: read this. Several factors go into developing a website whether you hire a company or do it yourself. While web builders like Wix make it look like a website is created in a few clicks, even with their platform it takes considerable time to execute a nice-looking website.
If you have a business, you should have a website. How much of a website you need will vary from business to business. Some business owners just like having a place they can refer customers to for more information. Other businesses understand how much more business they can generate with digital marketing and an innovative website.
No matter what your goals are, these are the areas you have to figure out before you can truly get started on your website development project.
Develop a Budget.
Professional website development is a specialized skill. Even small websites take time to construct, review, and test. A five-page website will run someone $1,000-$5,000 on average before hosting (we will talk about this more in a second). If you do not have at least a $1,600 budget, it’s best to look at a do-it-yourself website builder like GoDaddy’s.
The initial costs of a website are typically the most expensive, but it only happens once. Whereas your domains and hosting are ongoing. We’ll talk about domains and hosting in just a bit.
Outline your Content.
What pages do you want on your website? Before you can receive a quote on a website or start designing your own, you need an idea of what content will be on your website. If you want your website to rank higher on search engines like Google, you will need a lot of content. The quality of your content is the most important element of search engine optimization.
A best practice is to select your pages and provide a few topic points to address on each page.
Select a Domain.
A domain is what a user types into their browser to find your website. If you’re working with a professional company, they will help you navigate the domain purchasing process. If you do not work with a professional, you will want to find a domain registrar.
When picking a domain name, you want something that easy to remember. Your company name is always a great choice. Some companies choose to buy more than one domain to help with search engine results. When they do this, they purchase domains with keywords within them.
Select a Website Platform.
Whether you are using a web builder or content management system (CMS) like WordPress, you want to pick a website platform that will work for you and your team in the long term.
Select a Host.
Website hosting and maintenance is vital to the functioning, speed, and security of your website. To determine the appropriate host, it is best to have your platform selected. If you are working with a professional company, you do not need to worry about selecting a platform or host as they are equipped to take care of that for you.
For example, if you work with Zen, we offer affordable hosting that includes monthly scheduled maintenance. Scheduled maintenance keeps your website up-to-date and secure for you and your visitors.
Are You Ready for a Website?
Once you figure those steps out, you are definitely ready for a website. So get building! If you would like a custom quote for your next website project, contact us today. Zen specializes in providing professional websites at a reasonable rate. Whenever you work with a professional website company, not only will you have a better website, you will have more time to focus on running your business.
At Zen we have professional writers, graphic designers, and web developers. When you provide us general information, we can run with it to create a website that is modern and filled with great content.