Imagine, for a moment, that you’re staring at your brand-new website. Everything works perfectly. You’re seeing huge visitor numbers, and your traffic is increasing every month. You’re happy, but how did you get here? Achieving this goal starts with understanding the proper steps to design a website.
Although designing a website may seem like a huge project, it’s not difficult if you break it down into smaller steps. Plus, there are design companies out there that can help you bring your website to life.
In the article below, you’ll find a list of the steps you’ll need to take when designing your website. This step-by-step guide will help you create a website that visitors enjoy using and keep coming back to. Keep on reading to learn more about designing a professional-looking website.
Figure Out the Goal of Your Website
With so many different types of websites out there, it’s important to figure out how you want people to use your site. Do you want it to be a website where you can display information in the hopes that people share it, or do you want people to take a specific action on your site?
Some people might need a website that drives conversion actions, such as getting the visitor to fill out a form. Other people might use competition web design to create a site that allows people to enter a contest. No matter what kind of website you’re trying to make, deciding on a goal ahead of time will help you create an effective site. The site will be designed differently depending on your goal.
Create a Rough Sketch with Placeholder Text
Once you’ve decided on a goal for your website, it’s time to start the process of designing the website. You’re going to want to start with a website layout. One of the benefits of a website layout rough sketch is it allows you to map out how users will experience your page. Start with the top part of the page. This area is known as the header or hero.
It’s where you’ll have a headline and a call to action. You may also want to leave space for an image, illustration, or form-fill. Once you finish your header area, consider whether you’ll have a navigation bar. This is a list of pages on the top of the website that allows users to navigate the site.
Next, move down to the rest of the site. You may decide that you want to have a one-page website. It can still contain plenty of information; it will just all appear on one page that users can scroll through. You don’t have to write out all the headlines and body copy during this stage. Just use placeholder text and focus on the layout of the site.
Write Out Your Content and Plan Out Images
Now that you’ve thought about your goal and sketched out the layout of your site, you’re ready to move forward with copy and imagery. Some people choose to have a copy-heavy site with lots of headlines, calls-to-action, and body text that explains the purpose of the site. Other people choose to have a clean website that lets images convey the desired message instead of text.
When you’re writing the text for your website, don’t be afraid to try multiple approaches. Try writing down 10 different headline options and then whittling your options down. It’s very unlikely you get it perfect the first time you write a headline.
Think About the Functionality of the Website
Websites are more than just words and images. When you’re weighing your website options, think about the different functions you’ve seen on other websites. Maybe you liked the way a certain site uses animation to capture people’s attention. Perhaps you like how the website has a tab-style approach that lets you click through different sections quickly. When you’re creating your layout, think about whether or not you’d like to include any unique functionality on your site.
Decide on a URL
Your website URL should be clear and concise. It should fit on any advertisements you want to make to direct people to your website. However, it’s difficult to find a URL that hasn’t been used before by one of the millions of other websites on the internet. You may have to use acronyms or abbreviations to get the name of your site in a short URL.
You’ll have to check web hosting websites to ensure your URL isn’t already taken. You will likely also have to pay an annual fee to secure the URL for your website.
Decide How You’re Going to Build the Website
Once you’ve gone through all the steps above, the next step is to figure out how you’re going to bring your website to life. Some people choose to use simple website design services that let users build their sites.
Other people hire an experienced web design company to build a professional-looking site. You’ll have to look at your budget to figure out which option will work best for your needs.
Reviewing the Key Steps to Design a Website
Now that you’re familiar with some of the important steps to design a website, you’re ready to build a website that attracts visitors. Designing a website does require some level of familiarity with user-experience theories and design principles, so be sure to brush up on those topics before you begin.
If you’re interested in learning more about website design and other design topics, be sure to continue reading all the other blogs going live on this site each week.
