If you are looking to establish your business online, then chances are you will need a website. A website is the best way to present information about your company and make it easier for customers to find what they are looking for. If you are just beginning to learn about website development, you should start with the basics. This article will provide a checklist for you as a beginner to follow when you create your first website. There is no need for you to be overwhelmed by all of the information out there on the internet. We will break it down into simple steps that can help guide your way through this process and make things easier for you!

The following is a new website development checklist to help you get started on creating your dream website:

Register a Domain Name

The name of your website’s “location” is its domain. It will be whatever separates the “www.” from the “com,” for example, or any other extension—www.domainname.com.

You may register your domain name with any of the domain registrars, and we strongly advise you use one that also hosts your website.

Take some time to come up with a memorable domain name for your website, as you won’t be able to register a domain name already owned by someone else, so don’t rush through this step.

Make sure the domain name reflects your company’s style and branding. The domain name should ideally be your company’s name. In rare situations, someone else has already registered that domain name. If it’s royalbakery.com, try adding your geo-location to the URL. If royalbakery.com is unavailable, check if royalbakerydelhi.com or royalbakerynoida.com are available.

Choose a website building platform

There are numerous website-building platforms accessible with a simple Google search. You must complete research to discover which one best complements your organization’s nature, financial constraints, skills and experience, and your preferences for the website.

There are two primary ways to develop a website.

DIY Website Builder

A do-it-yourself website builder is a platform that provides you with the tools to create and design your website. You are responsible for all content, including text, pictures, videos, etc.

The DIY website creation tools are now designed for small business owners and do not require technical or design expertise. Even those who don’t have a technical background may design a professional-looking website by simply following online instructions with a good DIY tool.

Outsourced Website Development

An outsourced website development company will design and develop your website for you without any input from you. They will take care of everything from registering your domain name to creating the site’s layout and adding all necessary pages.

Whatever website platform you utilize, you must always be concerned about the expense. Choose the platform that best suits your needs based on the various capabilities of popular platforms. The more extensive the capabilities, the better your business will be able to reach out and connect with visitors. Providing accessibility to integrate with third parties, after-sales services, and SEO tailored to your company is one way to boost traffic.

Select a Web Hosting Company

A website is a virtual space stored on real-world computing hardware connected to the internet. This is referred to as “web hosting.” Your website will not function unless it has web hosting.

This is an essential step that many people overlook. A dependable host will prevent your website from becoming inaccessible for a certain period.

Choosing the best host for your website in terms of performance (period during which your website is accessible to visitors), website speed, plugin and extension compatibility, and elasticity is crucial.

When you are looking for a web host, ensure their technical support is available 24/seven. A dependable hosting service will provide you with round-the-clock customer care and live chat facilities to resolve any problems as quickly as possible.

Design Your Website’s Layout

Now that you have selected your website builder, hosting company, and domain name, it is time to begin designing the layout of your site.

Your visitors will immediately be able to tell if they are on an amateur or professional website.

A business owner may decide not to design their web pages but hire a graphic designer instead. This way, they can concentrate on other aspects of running their organization while also ensuring all content looks consistent with brand guidelines.

Every page should concentrate on how to solve the problems your customers may face. This directly links your website’s content, images, videos, and overall structure.

The more you fulfil the demands of your consumers, the greater your chances are of developing an interface that is ideal for them.

Take Care of Branding and Style Guide

A style guide is a document that establishes and maintains your website’s branding, design, and visual elements. It ensures all web pages are designed similarly and look professional.

Including a section on brand guidelines within your style guide will help strengthen your company’s identity by providing employees with instructions on how to use logos, fonts, colours, and other graphic elements correctly.

The look and feel of your website should complement your brand while also attracting new visitors. Use images, graphics, and creative videos to deliver key concepts and improve the appearance of the text on your site.

You should begin with a simple website to navigate and be aesthetically appealing. At first, keep only a few fonts, light colours, and plenty of white space.

When creating or designing any marketing collateral for your business, always make sure you use approved brand assets found in the style guide. This will maintain consistency across all channels and avoid any embarrassing mistakes.

Create engaging content

You’ve probably heard the phrase “Content is king.” That is true in so many ways. You will notice a surge in traffic if you produce the most compelling content.

But, what exactly is content? The pages’ text, video, audio, and photographs are considered content.

You may use content to instruct or lead visitors to take action on your web pages, blogs, guides, ebooks, and social media profiles.

Make sure that the information on your website is helpful and answers people’s questions. For example, explain how your product/service adds value to the consumer and why they should select yours over others available.

Before you start writing, ensure that you have a firm understanding of all of your client personae. Your content should be simple to understand and relevant to your target audience.

Test Website’s Usability and Functionality

Website usability and functionality testing is essential to ensure your site works correctly, looks good on all devices and operating systems, and offers a pleasant user experience. You can’t just build it and forget about it. You need to regularly monitor the performance of your website through various tools such as Google Analytics (for traffic) or Pingdom (to check for page load speed).

You must invest time into understanding how users interact with your pages by performing regular A/B tests between different experimental layouts to determine what works best when optimizing each web page for conversions.

For example, if more people are visiting your ‘About’ page than any other section but few of them proceed further down the funnel, this might be an area that could do with some attention.

The more you know about your site and its use, the better chance of developing a website design that would engage visitors and motivate them to take action.

Get the Add-ons for extra functionality

Add-ons extend your site’s functionality and make it more user-friendly. A security suite like SiteLock will protect your website automatically from malware attacks. Secure your data using an SSL certificate, so it’s safe from hacking, and you’ll also get a trust seal. Investing in Business Email Hosting will help you communicate more effectively with your clients. 

Launch your Website

Now that you’re armed with this website development checklist, you can put your plan into action. Before going live, take a few minutes to re-read the text and make sure everything is in order. Use social media to drop teasers leading up to the big day. As a result, you’ll know that the rest of the world is anxiously awaiting your website’s launch.

Make sure to keep track of your website’s progress and constantly test and improve it to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment.