If you’re reading this, chances are you need a website or you need to update your existing one. Perhaps you are promoting a personal brand or are attempting to run a campaign. Whatever the reason you need a website… what are the next steps you need to think about?

Define your audience

First things first – you need to decide who you are targeting with your site.

Who is your target audience? They will decide the overall feel and design of the website.

Compare the difference in design, language and content on BBC News and CBBC, the BBC’s site for children.

It’s important to think about the socioeconomic and demographic status of your audience. The two sites are from the same company, but design is fundamentally different to appeal to the targeted demographic.

Be inspired by others

When you know a bit more about your audience, we like to look at what’s already out there.

Who are your competitors? What do you like about their sites? What would you do differently? Which websites do you visit regularly that you love using, and why are you impressed with them?

Knowing what you like and don’t like will make it much easier for your web developers to create a website you’ll love.

Research the Competition

While you’re looking at you competitors for design inspiration, you should also to evaluate them.

You may already know what your USP is, but to succeed your business needs a unique selling point (USP) that differentiates your product or service from the competition.

If you examine the competition closely, you should be able to identify a gap in the market where your product fits or solves a unique problem.

What does your website need to do?

Before approaching a digital agency, it’s worth thinking about what functionality your website needs.

Does your site require e-commerce functionality? How are people going to get in touch with you? Are you going to be driving sign-ups to mailing lists?

This information is crucial for us to decide on the best design and development solution for your needs and budget.

Invest in quality content

After all of this, it’s time to create content for your site.

Content is incredibly important for your website. After all, it’s what customers will interact with. Your written and visual content should be of high quality and follow a clear user journey.

Depending on what service or product you are offering, you may want to invest in professional photography or animation might be a better option.

Investing in good copy is essential. A thorough content strategy will include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), making sure you reach new audiences.

If you’re redesigning your site, we recommend performing an audit of your existing content to see what works and what doesn’t.

Your website and its content should reflect your personal or company brand. If you’re a new company, perhaps you don’t have a brand identity yet?

We can help you with that! We have vast experience helping companies create or redesign their brand.

We worked alongside Aspire Aikido London’s founder Nick Regnier to first develop a brand for his school and the a website, which you can visit here.

The brand takes inspiration from the movements within Aikido martial arts.
After we had designed the brand, we implemented it into the SquareSpace website.
The main purpose of the site is to encourage students to sign up to the school, and therefore the content selected is aimed at a younger audience. There are also calls to action for the customer in the shape of sign up forms.

What else do you need to think about?

Finally, there are some technical decisions that need thought.

If your website needs to link to existing software or e-commerce, a bespoke website that’s designed and developed from scratch might be your best option.

On the other hand, if you’re in need of a website that explains your services and gives people a way to get in touch with you, a template website would suit your needs.

A template design is more cost effective, so we often recommend this option for start-ups and SMEs with lower budgets. Larger enterprises will often benefit from choosing a bespoke solution.

For example, take a look at the template website we designed with Fry & Co here.

Fry & Co’s main priority for their website was to explain their services to clients and provide them with a way to get in touch.
A template website suited these needs. The SquareSpace site also allows them to regularly update their written and visual content to keep up with their ever adapting business landscape.

After this has been decided, there is the matter of hosting. If you decide to work with Appt, we can host your website for you. Template websites often include hosting.

As well as this, you need to decide on a domain name for your site. Our team can help assist you in through domain process as well.

I Need a Website… Now What?