Do you need a website but not sure how to go about it?
Or have you been looking for a web designer to create a website for you but not sure how to start?
If yes, don’t worry. You are not alone.
Most of the startups and new entrepreneurs don’t know how to go about their website development.
In this blog post, I have shared 9 questions that you must ask yourself when you need a website.
Let’s dive in.
#1 Who is my targeted audience?
The primary objective of starting any business or a website is to generate revenue. And, in order to generate desired revenue from your website, you must know about your potential buyers or targeted audience.
Therefore, before developing a website, you must ask yourself:
- Who is my targeted audience?
- What are the demographic details (age, gender, religion, education, income etc.) of my targeted audience?
- What are the geographic details of my targeted audience?
Based on the above information about your audience, you can draft a concept for your website design.
If you are not sure, you can also seek your website designer’s assistance to find out these details for you.
#2 Which domain name should I choose?
A domain name is the unique identity of your website which will eventually become the identity of your business. Therefore, you must put a considerable amount of time in choosing your domain name.
Although, a domain name doesn’t cost you more than $20 (if its .com) and $60 (if its .com.sg or .sg) per annum, but it’s not a good idea to change them. So choose a nice domain name & stick to it.
Recommended Post: 5 Tips To Choose A Domain Name For Creating Your Website
#3 Which web hosting company should I go for?
The selection of a web hosting company is crucial to the success of any website or online business.
A lousy web hosting service can affect your business in below ways:
- Slow loading speed of your website, affecting its SEO.
- Malicious codes or virus injections on your website, affecting its reputation.
- Frequent downtime, affecting your users’ experience
Here are but some of the qualities that your web hosting company must have:
- 24/7 support
- CDN support (for enhanced speed)
- Backup support
- Anti-virus tool (to protect your website from viruses and other malicious codes)
Again, if you are not sure which web hosting company or package you should choose, consider hiring a website designer who can help you out based on his or her experience.
#4 Will I need website maintenance services too?
Whether you need website maintenance services or not, depends upon your future strategy.
If you just need website to showcase your services and products, you may not need regular web maintenance services.
However if you intend to update & enhance your website with new features and sections every week or month, then you definitely need a website designer to maintain your website.
#5 How much is my web design budget?
There is no standard or fixed cost of website design.
The cost of your website development may vary according to the scope of work, your web developer charges, web development platform and few other things.
Whatever the case, you must define a budget for your website development.
Now you may ask “How do I know the cost of my website development?”.
Well, this blog post will help you to determine the cost of building a website.
#6 What are the KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) of my website?
What do you want from your website?
Do you want to create a website for the sake of just having a web presence or you intend to get leads & sales from your website?
Perhaps, you may need a website to sell more products through an e-commerce store.
If you wish to sell on your website, you need an e-commerce website however if you just need to showcase your services, a basic website will do.
Find out the key reason to build your website before you get started on its development.
#7 What's the target launch date of my website?
How soon do you want to launch your website?
If you need a website in a few days or weeks, go for WordPress web design however if you don’t have any time restrictions, you can opt for custom web development too.
#8 Do I need the control of my website?
This is another question that you must ask yourself before you build your website.
If you want to take control of your website’s content and images, hire a website designer who can build a CMS (content management system) based website for you.
On the other hand, if you will not be managing the websites yourself, a simple HTML website will work for you.
#9 Do I need a custom website design?
Do you need a custom website design or a template based design will be good for you?
In case of a custom website design, the time-frame & cost may be higher as compared to a template based website.