So you decided to get a website.
That's great news! If you're a small business, a start-up, or even a one-time event, creating a website to your needs and goals is an absolute must if you want to start growing.
There are a couple of things you would have to consider when having the idea of building a website or having someone create one for you.
Who's making it? How much would the plan cost? Do you have a target audience already? Have you thought of cyber security for potential hackers? And this is just a baseline. However, the good news is, you don't have to do this alone.
You are a businessman/woman, not a tech-savvy guru who understands the ins and outs of a website. All you want to do is sell your vision and prove to yourself you can make it with your own 2 hands.
So then how should we go about getting a website?
Well, there are a couple of ways to go about this. Let's talk about building a website first.
Is it going to be
Yourself
Freelancer
Agency
Each do have their own pros and cons, but at the end of the day it's really about how you feel and what fits best with your business needs. Let's just make it simple.
Yourself
Pros - Cheapest cost
Cons - Large amounts of labor, time, and stress
Freelancer
Pros - Having the flexibility to have open and proactive communication with your freelancer for your envisioned website.
Cons - You still need to have an idea on how you want your website to be which is where the communication comes in and research for a good freelancer who hits the sweet spot on affordability.
Agency
Pros - An incredibly easy process, a group of highly experienced professionals in their field focusing on that aspect of website such as: Design department, Cyber Security, Communication with the client, and the list goes on.
Cons - Really Expensive and better for a long-standing business with a high success rate.
The thing is you probably won't need an agency until you scale up, so you really shouldn't be looking for this option especially if you're on budget. As for yourself, do you really want to take so much time creating a website when you should be moving forward with your vision?
I'm being biased here, if I was a business owner (Technically I am) I would rather have someone else create a website for me for a reasonable cost so I can continue what I love doing and make it as a business. It just makes sense.
Your biggest concern for a website
Cost, Appeal, and Maintenance.
Cost
More than anything, the first question people usually ask is "How much"? cause the economy you know? Without budget for the price then you really can't get anywhere.
In order to have a proper measurement of cost you need to talk with your freelancer (I can be your freelancer if you're wondering (wink)) about what you want on the website such as:
How many pages?
How interactive do you want the website to be? (Buttons/Slide Banners/Welcome screen etc..)
Deadline for the website?
Images and videos
It's endless possibilities, and with that in mind, as your freelancer is jotting all this down they'll take everything you want for the website, do their calculations and give you a rough estimate and that's how you'll get a good view of how much it would realistically cost.
Appeal
I don't think I need to tell you, but first impressions are everything and if your website looks run down, cluttered, looks like a scam website then you can bet customers are running away along with a potential revenue stream.
This is especially bad since Google or whatever browser you're using reviews the website and gives its final result on where it should be placed on its ranking. I'm personally not an expert on that specifically but if your website is on page 50 (just to exaggerate) on Google then you know something's wrong
This happens due to visitors exiting fast or the website using bad etiquette (repeated words for SEO, spamming web links etc..) to reel in customers. This is where the Appeal comes in. If you don't want customers to leave,
Make your website welcoming
Make it easy to navigate
Let your website be fun (Think about what's fun about the industry you're in)
Have it organized
The designing aspect is something you're gonna have to talk about with your freelancer, but these are a couple of examples to give you a head start.
Maintenance
Just as it says and yes, even websites need maintenance. As technology changes so do cyber attacks and the human tendency to grow out of things.
The best advice I can give is to just keep it fresh.
Be up to date with new trends
Have the latest updates on cybersecurity (what's recommended)
New content
New Images and videos
You get it. just keep it fresh.
With all this said
If you're able to grasp on the idea of how that looks like then I think you're on the right path. And it all comes down to how prepared you are, how much research you've spent and if you found the right person for the job.
If this is something you can't do on your own then let's get in touch! Let's create a frame where all the ideas, concerns and goals are all written on paper and build something out of it. If I don't end up being the right fit then at least you got experience out of it to make a better choice in the future. Think of me as the starting line for you and what better way to start than having a guide?
I look forward to our conversation! Have a good day and a better business!