For many photographers, getting started with creating or updating a website design can be overwhelming. It’s important to consider more than just choosing a design. Being clear on your requirements and planning for ongoing management are key to the success of your site. This article covers important essentials, whether you are creating a site yourself or whether you’re hiring a custom web designer. Here are tips for getting started on the right foot.
Creating a Unique Website Starts with a Unique Brand
When thinking about a website, often the first place people start is by selecting a site or template based on the design and look. How a site looks is important, but if it doesn’t fit your brand it’s not going to work no matter how good it looks. Most WordPress templates can be customized with colors, backgrounds and even layouts.
Having a clearly defined brand, target client and list features you need to accomplish marketing goals will help you choose a site design that works for you. It will also have a tremendous impact on the success of your online presence. This is really an important first step. Without a brand your site and business have no personality or identity. You’ll need a logo, brand colors, font selection and graphics. Ideally you have a brand style guide with these items already. You’ll need to provide these items if you hire a professional designer, or if you are using a site template and setting it up yourself. This will ensure a consistent brand identity.
Know What You’re Looking For And What You’re Needs Are
Many professional designers will have you complete a project questionnaire prior to providing you with an estimate. The brief will cover things like business info, your unique and differentiating advantage, business goals, a list of your closest competitors, a list of sites you like and what you like about them, features and other things related to your website. Even if you are going the DIY route, it’s a valuable exercise to go through.
Before You Start Creating A Website You Need To Be Able To Answer:
- Who you are and what makes you unique
- Who is your target client
- What your marketing goals are
You can download a website project planner here. Although it’s used for custom websites, it’s helpful for planning to if you are creating your own site as well.
Budget
Whether you are using a template and setting up a website yourself or hiring a professional you’ll need to know your budget and work within it. There are other costs in addition to the site itself that need to factored in, like branding, SEO research, hosting, domain registration, maintenance and updates. Don’t forget to factor in on-going maintenance and updates after the site is finished.
Website Management Tasks & Responsibilities
This is often an after thought, and not having a plan for these things can leave you scrambling and unprepared when things go wrong. Decide who will be responsible for these things before and after the site is finished.
- Who will be updating the site and creating the content for the site
- Who will handle SEO research and optimization
- Who is in charge of site maintenance – backups, software updates, securing, troubleshooting and other related issues
- Who will setup web hosting
- Does your web platform have any technical considerations
A website requires ongoing maintenance and updates as well as content creation. Managed WordPress hosting, saves time and money because they take care of the technical things like server maintenance, backups, security and hack recovery, updates and any technical things are handled the web host. Many web hosts, especially cheap ones do not offer these things, so keep this in mind. If you choose a budget host, either you will be handling those things or you’ll need to find someone who can.
Cost
The cost of a website depends on a variety of things. You can get a site up for less than $100 or spend as much as $5,000, but what you’re getting is vastly different. $79 will get you a template, $500 – $2000 to have an existing design customized or you can spend as much as $5000 and up for a custom site. Copywriting and SEO services will add significantly to the cost.
Building a website is like planning a new house or studio. There are many different options. You could start from scratch and build a dream house, or you could buy a pre-designed home and add a few touches to make it your own. Which one is better for you will depend on your needs and budget.
Don’t expect to buy a $79 website and get personal attention and on call service or support. What you save in price you pay for in time and handling most of the work yourself. Plan on budgeting a lot more time, both during and after your site is built. This is a good option for many businesses because it is less expensive.
Some pre-designed and less expensive options offer support via forums or email tickets. This is how web companies can offer support and keep costs to customers affordable. You will get support but don’t expect an immediate response – 24-48 hours is sometimes typical. Premium or custom options may include ongoing updates, SEO work, and development that will cost a lot more.
Don’t Choose Based On Price
Cheap and inexpensive is rarely a benefit and often comes with hidden costs in both time and money. There’s a mistaken perception that you can get a cheap template and hosting and for under $200. People that are serious about their business do not take the cheapest option. Do not choose a free site or template. Most free options don’t look professional or come with support. Whether you choose a template or custom website, good design and support do not come cheap.
Have Realistic Expectations
Time: Allow enough time to plan and work on your site. If you are setting up a site yourself using a pre-designed option, allow yourself enough time to learn the web platform. Many underestimate the amount of time needed to learn how to use or set up a new website, even a template. If you are new to WordPress, plan extra time for learning how to use it. Don’t unrealistically assume that you will buy a website template and “just know” how to use it. Any web service or template you use will require you spend a little time learning how to use it. Plan enough time to prepare content, whether you are creating the site yourself or hiring a professional.
Features Your Website Should Have
A Blog
Having a blog has many benefits for SEO and it allows you to make regular updates. This is great for new items, featured clients, and other updates that will attract new leads and return visitors to your site.
Email signup – capturing leads and building a list is important for repeat visitors and staying in front of interested prospects.
Social Sharing and Social Media Integration – important for SEO and engagement
Mobile Friendly Site – It’s expected by 2014 that the majority of internet users will be browsing with some type of mobile device. Google Recommends for responsive design.
Other features
- Does the site handle images and video, and if so what formats?
- Can the theme be customized to match your identity, like a logo, select Fonts, colors, layout? Is it easy to do?
- What features can you customize.
- Does the theme use H1 Tags for blog titles
- Easy navigation, is it easy for users to understand
- Support is an important consideration.
- Speed
- Does the site offer a way to capture leads – email signup, contact forms
- Is the layout customizable?
- Customizable contact forms
- Solid Website Structure and SEO Optimized Code – Many website templates claim to be “SEO Friendly” – but what does that mean? And what do you need to know about SEO
Things You’ll Need To Get Your Site Started
Domain Name & Good Web Hosting
The domain name is your website address and the name of your site. The web hosting is where your website is stored and “served” to visitors. Choosing the right web host is critical to the success of your site. Hosting issues and downtime can cost you dearly in both lost time and money. Here are some important things to consider when choosing any kind of hosting service.
- Will your site be configured properly?
- Will your site be optimized for speed?
- What happens if your site hacked?
- What happens if you have trouble with your site?
- Do they monitor and secure your site – or are you the site owner responsible?
- What kind of support is offered?
- Who keeps the site software updated?
Going the DIY route with budget web hosting requires you to manage these things yourself. Are you prepared to handle the things above? If not consider managed hosting.
Content
This is one of the most important parts of a website and often the most neglected. Content includes written copy, images, videos, misc media, graphics, page titles, a list of pages, names for navigation, sidebar, email signup and footer areas. Do you have content, like copy and images that support your content strategy? If not, you need to factor that into your budget or your time. Content is the most time consuming part of a website and this part is almost always underestimated. Gathering content for the initial development of a site is a big task, and is often the biggest reasons web projects end up falling behind schedule. One of the best things you can do for your business is learn how to write and create content that attracts people to your website. Copyblogger and Copyhackers are two excellent resources.
Have Your Logins Ready
- Your Domain Registrar (where you purchased your domain NAME)
- Your Current Web Hosting Admin Panel (where your site is hosted)
- Any other site logins, like WordPress, Email Service Providers or any other service or app for your site.
Have login information, passwords and anything else related to your web site where you can quickly find it. Don’t wait until you start your site or hire a designer to go looking for this information.
