Websites are a great way to make a first impression. Whether you’re selling your services or writing an informative blog, you want an eye-catching website that makes people want to stay and read more. You don’t need to be a tech wiz to make your website dreams become reality, (the pros at nextfly can handle most of that) but there are a few things you can do Prepare For A New Website that might keep the process moving smoothly.

1. What Do You Want Your Website To Do?

If you have a current website, you may feel as though it’s lacking some capability that would make it easier for your customers. You may want to build a store to sell your products or have a calendar where people can book your services. All of these things are definitely possible to add to a new website.

A good first step to Prepare For A New Website is to make a list of what you want your website to do and prioritize it. Some cool capabilities might be exciting, but they could cost you a lot of your budget. For example, if you want to build a store with 100+ products, that’s not going to be cheap.

That’s not to say that just because you can’t afford it right now, doesn’t mean it can’t be added on later. Maybe you start with 20 items in your store and see how it takes off. As you make more money, you can reinvest it into your website. That’s the great thing about websites, you can keep adding to them.

2. Domain Name and Hosting

Your business probably has a unique name, and as special as you think it is, someone might have thought of it before you. Check out name.com to see if your domain name is available. Domains come with a price, and you should factor that into your budget. If it’s not available, there are suggestions that you take instead. Here’s something new, you are no longer locked into “.com” “.net” or “.org” anymore. You can be “.food” “.group” “.club” That could be a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

Hosting is also an important step when it comes to Preparing For A New Website. If you’re thinking “wait, I bought the domain, why do I need a host?” Think of it like this: Your domain name is your address. The mailman knows to deliver your mail to this place in particular. But hosting is your house. Without hosting, you have an address to a vacant lot.

A host is a spot on a server where your website lives. People who type in your address want to see your website popup. That’s how hosting and domain names work together. You can buy hosting through a 3rd party site, or Nextfly offers hosting with support, so if your website goes down, someone here can get it back up quickly. Most 3rd party sites don’t offer that quick response time.

3. Your Budget

People tend to think of websites as an easy thing to make, but they are more complicated than most realize. Someone is dedicated to you to make your website come to life. If you want a high-quality website that has all the bells and whistles you’ve dreamed of, you’re going to need to pay some big bucks.

Once your website is built, you may still need to pay for certain things. Hosting and domain names are a regular fee. If you want to improve your SEO score and have more people find you on Google, then that’s a recurring charge. If you want to upload new pictures and make new pages, that’s also more money down the line. Continued support is also something you might want to think about once your website is completed. In order for a website to stay relevant, it needs relevant content, and Nextfly can help create that content for you. So be prepared to pay more than the cost of building a website alone.

4. Collect Pictures, Brochures, and Logos

Now that you have all the information you want to get started, now it’s time to build your website. An important thing you’ll need to Prepare For A New Website is pictures and lots of them. A picture is worth a thousand words, and how many times have you gone to a website with zero pictures? Never. Pictures don’t just help tell a story, but they help sell your product and services and give clients a reasonable expectation of what you do. Yes, stock photos are an option, but you don’t want to be a caterer with these gorgeous pictures of food and then when your food arrives, it looks nothing like the pictures. It’s best to take your own pictures or hire a professional photographer to take some for you.

If you have a brochure or a document you send to clients, you’ll want to share that with your web design team. They can help match your website to your current marketing so things look smooth. The same goes for logos. If you have an already existing logo, you’ll want to incorporate it into your website. Make sure you have a digital copy somewhere and we’ll make it look professional on your site.

5. Make a list of keywords

What do you do? Why do people look for your services? Who are the kinds of people you want to attract to your website? Keywords help Google put your website in front of the right people based on their searches. Let’s say you’re a caterer. One of your keywords could be “caterer” but where do you cater? Everywhere? “Arizona Caterer” would be a good place to start. Or what sort of events do you cater to? “Wedding Caterer,” “Corporate Catering,” or “Kids Birthday Party Catering” all of these key phrases will get people to your website.

Web designers use these keywords and phrases in the paragraphs of your website. So when Google sees your new site, they get an idea of what you do and who you appeal to. Coming up with 5-10 keywords or keyphrases that your web builder can incorporate into your website will make it perform better in the long run.

6. Check Out Your Competition

It’s ok to steal ideas from your competitors, it’s how you stay competitive. So if you notice that your competitors have some cool design features or neat capabilities you wish your website had, tell us. You know what your customers want, and we want to help you find the right customers.

We aren’t experts in your business, you are. You have insight as to what would make people want to choose you over them. So make a website that you can be proud of that makes your company stand out. We promise to make your website unique as you are and that it’s not going to be a clone of someone else’s ideas.

Ready For Your New Website?

If you have all the things you need to Prepare For A New Website, then contact Nextfly to help make your website dreams come true. With experienced web builders, graphic designers, and web developers, we can help you build a website that you’re proud of.