Need a website for your business? Be prepared.

Developing a website for your business is similar to building a house in that once you start, you may find there is no end to its development.

It is of utmost importance you treat the creation of your new website, similar to that of your first home, in that before starting the project, you have well prepared yourself in advance.

It is a big mistake to have a web design company begin your website without any content.
That “lorem ipsum” filler text you occasionally see on websites are remnants of a broken dream. The business owner got busy, and never got around updating it. This is not only an eye sore but it removes the credibility that the company worked so hard to build on. Even when the owner gets around to replacing this text, the content will not flow as effectively as it could have if it was part of the original design process.

Providing content to a web designer allows them to focus on what they do best which is communicating your story in the most compelling and visually pleasing way to your esteemed customers.

By not providing this information early on, you strip off some of the authentic layers that make up your user’s experience. The end result is a mediocre web page that requires further costs and time spent on reformatting the layout to properly communicate the content.
A web designer, like a home builder, works with what they are given, so the bottom line is to organize your content in advance of your website project to ensure a beautiful end-result. And by content, this means:

1. Every word and sentence that should be on the website. This includes your major headlines, and key points to deliver. Your unique value proposition. If you don’t have well-written content, consult with your Toronto web design company to create some persuasive copy-writing. There are several benefits to having a professional agency develop your writing including ensuring proper principles are followed for effective indexing in search engines (so you rank on Google).

2. Photos or ideas of photography. You can use stock photo websites like www.dreamstime.com to select a few images that you feel bring together your brand. This will assist in inspiring and communicating a consistent idea to your developers.

If you work for a larger organization, it’s possible that no single individual would have complete information on the organization, aside from the business owner themselves. In these cases, it is important to sit among all stakeholders in your business to determine a content map and prepare as much as possible. At Thinkbound, our writers are available to fill in the gaps should you require writing services.

Preparing wireframes
Part of the process of custom web design is the development of wireframes for content layout. You will want this to visualize the placement of your prepared information before visual renderings and graphical elements are created. Having each page wireframed facilitates a clear and transparent understanding between designers and the client of the expected end result. On this note, don’t skimp out on any pages no matter how simple the layout of information is. Use our house analogy: missing one component can result in an unfinished result that can have all your efforts crumble down.

Using milestones to plan
Milestones assist in tracking the progress of your project from initial concept to launch. Use milestones to keep accountability and ensure the project is moving at a good pace. Checklists of features also help as developers and designers can manually sign-off on.

Congrats, your new website is live!
Now that your website is developed, then comes the tricky process of actually maintaining it with unique and relevant content to gain some traffic and convert some customers. This is the main difference between websites that receive 200 visits a day versus 2 visits a day. Blogging and local Toronto search engine optimization packages are especially effective in the realm of online marketing and getting your business into the public eye where prospective buyers can connect with your business.