Common Steps in Website Creation

1. Content is King. The most important thing to remember about popular web sites is that they are always rich in content. This serves multiple functions. It gives your visitors useful information and probably more importantly, gives the search engines relevent content which greatly helps your ranking.
2. Stick to your subject. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Keep your goal in mind. Get over the temptation to put as many bells and whistles as you can on a page. The purpose of designing a site carefully is not to make it look cool, or win awards. It’s to accomplish the intended goal of the site. To “sell your service or products. Afterall we are talking about business here.
3. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Think about the message you are sending to your customer. The first page of your web site should be a concise description of the website. Don’t make this page too busy – entice visitors to dig deeper into your site through the use of inviting text and interesting graphics. The purpose of this page is to capture your customer and their attention. If you are serious about your business, buy your own domain name and don’t use a “free” hosting service.
4. Design sites, not pages. Your primary concern should be the site’s overall design. When starting to design a new site from scratch, you should try to create a design that will make sense to users, has a consistent look and feel, and is not to difficult to extend in the future. The consistency of design of a site is one of the factors that differentiates amateur sites from professional ones.
5. Make it easy to get around your site. As Stephen Covey says, “begin with the end in mind.” Your customer should be able to easily navigate to any page in your web from any page in your page. It’s important to link in a consistent, well thought out manner that users can learn to navigate. Have clear links to your pages and, if are selling a product, make it easy for people to buy it! Invite customers to contact you with their questions or comments. This is a great way to capture their information. Add links to other sites only when necessary, or on a special links page at the end of your site. You want visitors to go through your site before surfing off to another!
6. Make sure your site is functional in all browsers and platforms. You want to get as many visitors to enjoy their visit.
7. Don’t forget to tell the world about your new site. Make sure that your URL is on all your company business cards, letter heads, brochures, phone systems, etc. Swap links with other related web sites. List your site with the major search engines.
8. Keep your site current. Come up with a reason for people to visit and revisit your pages and recommend them to their friends. Blogging is perhaps the most effective way to do this.
9. Use an autoresponder. Entice visitors with a newsletter or free gifts to join your list. You will find that capturing customer’s (or potential customer’s) information is the most important step in creating a successful website.