Setting up a new website may involve more pieces than you think. From deciding on the goal to marketing it to potential customers, building a website takes some planning.

To make things easier, we’ve created a checklist of elements to consider when investing in a new website to ensure you get the best results for your business.

Deciding on the main goals for the website

Websites can have many purposes. For many it’s a storefront, for some it’s a depository of valuable information, and for others it’s a way to capture leads. Defining from the start what you want out of your website will help you create the perfect one.

Working out the content needs

Once you know why you need a website, you can answer the other questions. Who is it for? What do they need? And how can you best deliver it? Although you may have to start small, you can create the main pages and then expand your site as time goes by. As well as written content, have a think about what else you might need to make your website truly useful for the target audience such as an online checkout, ‘how to’ videos and social media links or like/share buttons.

Organising a domain name and hosting service

Every website needs a domain and hosting package. Generally, your domain should closely resemble your business name and as an Australian business, it’s best to have a .com.au TLD – although you may want to register others for brand protection purposes, especially if there is an extension particularly relevant to your business like .cafe or .photography.

You won’t need an overly expensive hosting package to begin with, but having your site hosted in Australia – with a provider that offers great customer support, close to 100% uptime and the options to scale as your business grows – is highly recommended.

Setting it up

Depending on your own skills, you may be able to set up the site yourself. Using a service such as WordPress can provide you with a professional-looking site at a reasonable price (or free), and one that’s easy to update. However, others may prefer to hire a professional to design a custom website for them, and manage it on an ongoing basis.

Marketing

Once you have your website, you need to ensure people know about it and you are actively driving traffic to it. You can do this through advertising (either on Google and Facebook, or out in the real world), social media channels, search engine optimisation (SEO), regular updates and word of mouth. Each channel has its pros and cons, and how you market your site will depend on your goals and your target audience.

Setting up a website takes a lot of consideration and effort, but once you create a plan it’s much easier to fill in the gaps and build something that your customers will love.

Contact Webcentral for help building the perfect website for your business needs.