with In today’s digital age, a website is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any business. After all, your company site serves many functions— such as helping business owners reach new and existing customers, providing a landing page for ads, and allowing consumers to shop from home or on-the-go.
Building a new site that accomplishes your business goals, however, can feel like an overwhelming task. Where do you start? A website is the face of your company and needs to reflect the intricacies of your business. Even more, your website must also be SEO-optimized to rank in search engines and have high-quality content that conveys important information about the products and services your business offers.
When it comes time to build a new website for your business, go with a company you trust. At Media Venue, our website design services follow a detailed and transparent process to help businesses owners achieve their goal of a beautiful and functional site. After all, we don’t just jump into the creation and design; we want you—the client—to take a step back and get an understanding of what you want to convey and how. In fact, this brings us to the first step of the website development process:
Planning a New Business Website
New websites can be an intimidating task to take on, which is why it is important to work with professionals to guide you through the process. This is because when planning a new business website there are multiple factors that should be considered before the design begins. Taking time to consider each these factors beforehand allows us to create a website that is best optimized for your business and goals.
Some factors to consider include:
Defining Primary Geo-Target Areas
One major consideration is your business’s primary geo-target areas. This is especially important if you have a brick-and-mortar location (or multiple!), or a certain service region—you can utilize hyper-local content specific to your location to attract customers from your area and highlight markets where your business is located and/or offers services.
Gathering Business Information
In order to ensure accurate information on your site, be sure to list out all the products and/or services your business offers as well as a brief description of each. If there are specific brands you’d like to feature, include a list of those as well.
Aside from your business offerings, it’s important to also compile your basic information: address, phone number, store hours, social media links, accepted payments, and any other details that you think potential customers may seek out.
Determining Conversion Goals
Another important factor to consider when planning your new website is the conversions goals. What is the main purpose of your website? You can have one main conversion goal or several, such as a customer making a purchase, scheduling an appointment, signing up for an email list, etc. Identifying your specific goals will allow us to create a website design oriented around driving action to these conversions.
Outlining Design Elements
Another aspect that should be discussed when planning a new business website is the visual design aspect. In fact, website design can have a major impact on customer experience, SEO, and revenue.
To begin, we recommend looking at your top three favorite websites. Take note of what you like and don’t like about each of them; this can be anything from the layout to the content. After identifying which design and content attributes you like about other, we can discuss which of these to incorporate into your own site to best meet your goals and objectives. This is also where you should think about color scheme, logos, or any other visual elements you want to be sure are included.
Website Proposal
Now that you have identified what attributes you need and would like to see in your new website, it is time to request a proposal. You should ask for a few options so that you can evaluate and compare the similarities and differences. For each option, list out what you like, don’t like, and what don’t understand.
Treat the website proposal process like a job interview—ask your potential developer questions about their procedure, style, and previous projects. A good web developer should be willing to meet with you to discuss your questions and concerns. You also want a partner who will continue to ask you questions – and answer yours – throughout the project to achieve a website that meets your requests and business needs. Of course, Media Venue is happy to answer any questions you have. We’ll also provide samples of our past work to better illustrate the website design services we offer.
Some good questions to ask:
- Will I (the client) own the website upon completion? (Hint…you should!)
- What platform will the developer use to build the site?
- Is it easy to make revisions? What is the fee for revisions?
- Is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) built into the website and will the developer be responsible for annual (or bi-annual) updates?
- Is Search Engine Registration included in the fee?
- Are there samples of other websites the company has built?
- Are there any references from previous clients that have received website development services?
- Is a NAP (name, address, phone number) included on every page along with a dynamic map?
- Will social media links be included on each page?
Once these questions have been answered and you have selected your website developer, be sure to carefully read through the agreement. You want to ensure the developer has not included any hidden fees or information that may surprise you later.
The Website Development Process
At Media Venue, the Development Process outline our standard process for the new website build, allowing time for both development and creative direction. In order to efficiently and effectively develop your new site, we’ll provide you with a detailed process outline prior to the project start date. We’ll also schedule a meeting with you to go over this in-depth. This transparency ensures that both our team and our clients have a true understanding of the project scope.
Typically, the development process takes 45-60 days. However, if the new website is large or especially complex, additional time may be required. We will work with you on a timeline for your individual build before the work starts and will keep you updated on the progress throughout the project.
After the design, framework, content, and formatting have been completed and the client approves the site, Media Venue will be ready to take the site live!
Understanding the Steps to Creating a New Business Website
Taking the first step towards a new business website is a major one. Many companies offer website design services, so it’s important to know what to look for in a good developer. Remember, if a company can’t or won’t answer your questions, you do not want to work with them on your new website!
At Media Venue, we aim to be transparent throughout the website development process. We want you to have an active voice in all stages of their build. What’s more, our website design services can be paired with many of our other services to help your business reach its goals. A website is a major investment for your business and becomes the face of your brand. Be sure to choose a website developer you trust!
For more information on our website development services or to request an assessment of your current website, contact Sarah Kelley—our SEO and Content Manager—by email at sarah@mediavenue.com or by phone at 502-855-4789. Enhance your marketing investment with Media Venue!
