You learn A LOT from opening up your own business, and going through the design process of launching a website was a huge learning opportunity. I own two businesses, and the website designing processes for each of them were very different. In large part because I was very hands off with my first website. There was many reasons for this including, I had a great designer, I was short on time, and I didn’t have much of an opinion on what I needed my website to be capable of doing.
This time around I did have a lot more insight into the process, and knew that this website needed to be much different than my other website. I discuss this much more in this week’s episode of the podcast, so definitely check it out below if you want to hear more of my thinking on getting started. That being said, here are the biggest things that I learned:
Find a Great Designer
Both of my websites had wonderful website designers. While there are many tools out there that can allow you to figure it out on your own, I whole-heartedly believe that the investment into using someone who has been specially trained in this will not only make it an easier process for you but it will be 10x more beautiful and functional.
If you do decide to go the DIY route, keep it simple and functional. And remember, perhaps this is an intermediary step for you for growth! Sometimes there’s a financial incentive to do it yourself. My first website- I absolutely did for the first 2 years, and there came a time for a rebrand, and that’s when I partnered with my first designer.
Know Your Purpose
Your website is a functional tool, so that others can know what you do, learn more about your services, and for people to get ahold of you. It is also a beckon out there on the interweb for marketing. You may need it to also be your store, or a tool for clients to book your services, etc. But before you begin, know the purpose for you.
And of course, I’m going to tell you only use other websites as inspiration and please don’t try to simply replicate what someone else has done. There’s no need to feel like you have to all of this extra features and fluff if you’re just really needing something more simple! Let go of outer expectations, and create your own- right from the very beginning.
Take Action & Make Decisions
Once you get going, you’ll find there’s lots of decisions that have to be made. Everything from design decisions like what kinds of fonts and colors will you use, what do you want your buttons to look like, what should your headers and footers look like, to back end decisions like what kind of hosting do you need, security decisions, plug-ins and theme, and payment portals. Do your research, but do not get stuck here as it’s so easy to do. Obviously this is probably not your forte of knowledge or skill, so learn what you can, weight the options, and just make a decision. If down the road it’s not working for you, you can absolutely readjust. Just. Keep. Going.
Final Thoughts
When you’re deep in the creation of your website, you may never feel TOTALLY ready to launch. Set a date and then build towards what’s do-able to create, finesse, and polish to be able to launch. You may need to release some of your prior expectations. But just remember, the most important part is having something beautiful out there that people can start viewing and looking through to find you/your business.
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