Congratulation you’ve decided to create a new website! Before we can get started development we need a few things from you. We created a website planner guide to help you gather all the relevant content for your new website.

Topics

• Goal Identification
• Buy a Domain
• Logo
• Make a List of Pages
• Images
• Select your Website Layout and Themes
• Other
• Conclusion

Goal identification

Determine what goals the site needs to fulfill. I.e., what its purpose is.

1. Who is the target audience of the site?
2. What do they (target audience) expect to find or do there?
3. Is this website’s primary aim to inform, to sell, or to amuse?
4. Does the website need to clearly convey a brand’s core message, is it part of a wider branding strategy with its own unique focus?
5. What competitor sites, if any, exist, and how should this site be inspired by/different then, those competitors?

Buy a Domain

The first step to any new website is purchasing a domain. This is the address where people can find you. If you already own your domain, make sure you know where you purchased it, and what the password is for your account. If you don’t have a domain yet, here are a few of our favorite places to buy your domain.

Logo

Your logo is a combination of text and visual imagery that serves two purposes. It tells people the name of the company and it creates a visual symbol that represents your business. Some logos have powerful symbolic association connected to people’s memory. For example, the Apple logo is so familiar that they don’t need the text “Apple” for you to recognize that that symbol represents Apple.

Why do I need a logo?
Having a professional looking, well designed logo builds trust. Potential customers are more likely to do business with you if you have a well designed logo. If your logo looks like it was designed in Microsoft Word, people will question how well you are able to deliver your core business products/services.

If you don’t have a logo yet, we can arrange one for you. Just contact us here and we give you a quote. If you would like to arrange one yourself here are a few resources for logo creation that fit all budgets.

Make a List Pages

Imagine your website in terms of pages. Make a list of the pages you know you’ll need on your site, and which ones you would like to see on your navigation menu. A good way to visualize this is by imagining a web chart like the one below.

You can edit this template and create your own diagram. Creately diagrams can be exported and added to Word, PPT (powerpoint), Excel, Visio or any other document. Use PDF export for high quality prints and SVG export for large sharp images or embed your diagrams anywhere with the Creately viewer.

Images

Images are a must have for website. Be sure that beautiful images will enhance the beauty of your website. If you have your own high quality content already, I would recommend using Google Drive (it’s free) so we can share image files easily. If you don’t, we have listed four of our favorite websites where you can get free stock photos or customized content.

Select your website layout or theme

If you’re unsure how you want your site to look, go around the internet a look at different websites and their layout. You will sure see something you like, and if you do you can send us the link of the websites you link. If you a planning to use WordPress as the engine to drive your website we’ve provided some resources where you look and buy themes for your website. You can buy one and send it to us as well. You can also tell us which one you love and we will arrange the rest for you.

Other

Other stuff that you should start to think about is;

• Do you need custom emails?
  • Think about the names for the custom emails
• Are interested in integrating your website with an email marketing system? (recommend)
  • We recommend MailChimp.
• Do you need a content management system (CMS)? (as the name suggests, it’s a system for managing the content of your website)