Thinking about building a new website?

Create a budget

Before you get started, make sure you establish a budget. Have an idea of how much you want to spend on a website. Keep in mind a site can cost anywhere from $200.00 to $20,000. It really depends on how complex the site is and how many man hours it will take to build the site.

Hire a professional

I understand you want to save money and you’ve seen all the great commercials telling you how easy it is to build it yourself. But what they’re not telling you is a professional web designer built that spectacular site you’re seeing on TV. Your better off hiring an experienced web designer to design your site. Why? Because hiring a designer is not that expensive and it will save you a lot of time and aggravation.

Ask the right questions

A few things you may want to ask the web designer:

• Are your websites mobile friendly and responsive?
• Does the site come with free web hosting or a free domain name?
• Will I need to pay for an SSL certificate (E-commerce sites)
• Are there any ongoing charges to maintain the site?
• Can you help me develop a strategy to attract more customers to my site?

Layout over looks

When was the last time you visited a site and made a purchase because you liked the way it looked. Sites like  amazon.com and walmart.com are not popular because they look great. They’re popular because they offer the products their customers want at a price they can afford.  This is why you should focus more on the end user experience and less on how great the site looks. Now I’m not suggesting that you build an unattractive site just make sure the end user experience is your number one priority.

Updating and maintaining the site

Once the website has been designed, the next step is to maintain and update the site. It’s important that you “swap out” old images, get rid of outdated material and constantly provide new content for the end user. In some cases you may be able to do it yourself but in most cases you will probably need to hire someone to maintain the site.

To learn more bout web design, digital marketing and brand building visit my website brianscottdigital.com and sign up for my blog. If you have any questions please call me at 404-917-3790.