How to Design a Website: 6 Easy-to-Follow Steps

How to Design a Website: 6 Easy-to-Follow Steps

Designing a website sounds pretty straightforward, but there are several things you need to get in order before you launch your online platform. Here are six easy steps to get the most out of your web design.

• Define the objective and strategy for your website.

It may seem like a simple point to make, but before you dive headfirst into developing your website, you must first determine its objective.

Aside from researching your business and developing a content strategy, you should consider what your unique selling point is and how you want to be seen.

People aren't idiots. They will see right through you if you put yourself out there solely to earn a profit or enhance your personal profile. Your website's design is inextricably related to your brand, and it must appear genuine and engaging.

• Investigate the most recent web design trends.

Web design evolves quickly, but there are some common themes from which you may learn. It's crucial to highlight at this point that just because a web trend is popular doesn't imply it's good for you.

Because design is identified as the most significant component of a website, it's critical to take your time looking at what competitors are doing. Each industry will have its own style, so you must decide if you want to blend with it or challenge it.

• Choose a template or theme.

A template, sometimes known as a theme, is the design of your website. 

Most platforms will provide you with a variety of templates to pick from, each of which comes pre-filled with sample content.

Templates are typically categorized into industry areas, making it quite easy to search through them and select ones that are applicable to you. Each category will have templates with built-in industry-specific functionality, saving you the time and work of integrating them later.

• Choose the ideal domain

Choosing a domain name is one of the most crucial decisions you can make for your website. It's your website's address and the way visitors will remember it.

While many of the top names are already taken, it doesn't mean you won't be able to discover a domain that is perfect for your company.

Consider the following elements while contemplating good domain names:

• It's should be simple to speak and spell. Potential visitors should be able to pronounce your domain to their peers in a bar without having to ask how to spell or say it.
• Short and to the point. We suggest a maximum of 14 characters. You don't want a domain name that's too long and difficult to remember and say.
• Choose a domain ending in .com, .org, or.net. While there are other domain name systems available, it is recommended to stay with the tried and reliable. After all, you want people to be able to recall it.
• Numbers and hyphens should be avoided. This merely makes the URL look awkward. Furthermore, it makes it more difficult for users to tell others what your URL is.

• Publish!

It's time to double-check everything before going live!

Request that your family, friends, and coworkers examine the site in preview mode (which is available on all website builders and ecommerce systems) and let you know if they see anything wrong. You can even enlist members of the public to test it and provide feedback.

The following are some frequent items to look for:

• All of your links work properly and take people to the correct page.
• Your entire website is readable and easy to navigate.
• The homepage is never more than three clicks away.
• Your website is functional on desktop, mobile, and tablet devices.
• On any website, loading times must be 5 seconds or less.

Always take the time to thoroughly test your website before launching it — first impressions are everything. After that, you're all set to publish your site and launch it into the online world!

• Examine and improve

Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of a functioning website. You're free to sit back and unwind now, aren't you? No, not quite.

It is critical to monitor the performance of your website. You must continue to work and improve!

Most systems include built-in analytics, or at the very least an app that you can install. You can also connect your website to Google Analytics to track things like:

How many page views do you get?

The length of time that consumers spend on each page

What is your bounce rate?

Rate of conversion (for ecommerce)

These statistics, known as behavioral metrics, can assist you to determine which web pages require attention. They also assist you in determining where you need to improve your SEO.