Every artist and entrepreneur should have a website. However, sometime you don’t know where or how to start.
If you follow these 4 tips, the website design process will go 80% smoother and your web developer will love you.
Decide if you need it
Take a step back and think about if you really need a website. If your motivation is to just own the domain name, you can easily purchase one from GoDaddy.com and forward to your Twitter/Facebook page. If it’s for a blog, you could sign up for a free WordPress or Tumblr blog and use with your domain name.
If you decide that you do need a website, make sure you have the budget. With website design, you get what you pay for: people who have tried to get a website designed for the low-low have ended up with sites that look like this:
Figure out what kind of site you want
Will it be just a landing page for contact information, a blog site for your thoughts, or a website for your business? Will you need e-commerce capabilities (shopping cart)? Will it be media-heavy? How many visitors per month do you anticipate your site will receive?
Knowing what you want in the beginning stages can save you time, money and headaches.
Oh, and don’t build your website with Wix or Vistaprint. If you do, just know that you’ve made a terrible mistake, it won’t work on all platforms, and the world is judging you.
Do your research
Study other websites for inspiration. Take notes on what features you want to have, but be flexible in case they aren’t feasible.
Pinterest is a great resource to collect and sort out all of your ideas.
Develop your content
Plan out each page of the website and compile all of the necessary content, including logos, headshots, articles, bios, and more.
If you’re starting a blog, plan out the different categories of content, and if possible, start writing some of the posts. If you’re selling merchandise, make sure you have photos and descriptions of all of your products.
The more you prepare, the less time it will take to get your site up and running.
Why should you do this?
As a web developer, I give discounts to clients who already have a clear vision for what they want, and more when I don’t have to write their content for them.
It’s kind of like going to a skating rink: you pay less when you bring your own skates.
