Your first step to a great web site?
Saturday, September 12th, 2009So what is the first step you should take when thinking about creating, or updating, a web site?
- Find a cheap designer?
- Buy a book and learn HTML?
- Open Word or Notepad?
- Find a cool site to copy?
If you were thinking number 3, you’d be right.
Before you do anything about a web site for your company/organization/band, sit down and write down why you need one. The reason for doing this is simple – It should be the first thing that you’re asked by any decent designer or firm you approach to build the site for you.
Maybe you want to promote your store, advertise upcoming events, or showcase your songs. Without this knowledge in your pocket you could end up with a web site that does not suit your needs and leaves you frustrated.
What next?
Next thing you should write down is everything you want to say on your web site. Don’t really think about different pages or headings at this point (that can be done as part of the Information Architecture), but more about the type of content about you and what you have to offer. Again this is something that the person building your web site can use to guide the design and functionality.
In the coming weeks I’ll be posting some more tips and ideas on how to get started on, or refresh, your web site.