What’s my current situation and why do I want to get a website?

This is a follow on from the previous article “How your Website Works on the Internet in Plain English” where I briefly explained what you need to know about Websites.

Removing the jargon so you could finally understand what Website Domains, Domain Registrars, Hosting Companies are and how they relate to your business website.

So let’s get started.

A good place to start is to ask yourself the question:

What’s my current situation and why do I want to get a website?

Okay, so you might not know the answer to this specifically but know you need a website.

So lets start by identifying which of these 4 following scenarios best describes your current situation?

Do you recognized yourself in any of these situations?

If you are in situation 4, you already have a website, meaning you have already:

1. Decided on and bought a Domain Name
2. Bought Hosting for your website
3. Had your website built
4. Are using Social Media to promote your website to get more work and customers (e.g. using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc)

This situation is different to what’s discussed below and you will undoubtedly have different requirements such as making sure your website is mobile optimized, making it more social, improving your on-site SEO and re-branding.

If you would like to discuss how we can help you with this feel free to get in touch as we can help with that too.

This article focuses on the first 3 situations. Benefiting those of you that “Do Not have a website yet.”

Here’s the thing… Put pen to paper

Before you even start looking at the mechanics of getting a website built it is really important for you to understand why you want to be online as this will decide

• How your website works
• What it stands for
• How it looks and
• What its “business purpose” is.

This is something you should start thinking about and should be guided by:

1. What your business stands for;
2. What it does;
3. What your customers expect and
4. How your website can compliment your existing business offerings.

No-one knows your business better than you do!

Thinking about these things now will make things a lot easier when you start the discussion with your Web Consultant and Developer.

Putting your thoughts down on paper as a starting point is great for making you think more strategically about the direction of your business and is a really useful reference point during your website meetings (Don’t panic, I don’t expect an essay just key points you think are important).

A good developer will work with you to see the Technological opportunities, creating a website that reflects your brand and business goals, expanding on these to ensure you get a website that is fit for purpose and meets expectations.

You don’t want to end up with a website that costs you a lot of money, has all the bells and whistles but you don’t need them for what you are trying to acheive!

An example would be having a car built that is capable of racing in the Formula 1 but all you actually need is a family car.

One that can fit the whole family in and doesn’t need to go 0 to 60 in 2.2 seconds (would be great fun for the kids though).

The KISS Principle works a treat here, meaning “Keep It Simple, Stupid” or “Keep It Simple Silly”

This has to be one of the best phrases to keep in mind when going through this process.

Keeping things simple, based on clear goals of what you want will ensure you keep on track and get the website that’s fitting for you and your business.

Does that make sense?

If so lets move on to the “Actionable Steps You Need to Take” and if not you can have a quick re-read so it sticks in your mind (we can wait, we’re not going anywhere).

Click for Step 1:
Deciding on a good and relevant domain name