Designing a website isn’t always what you expect it to be. You start off with excitement, thinking you’ll whip up a beautiful site in no time. But before you know it, you find yourself caught in a web of design decisions and options. Sometimes, it can feel like trying to solve a massive puzzle without the box cover to guide you.
That’s why I came up with 8 things you need to do before you start designing your website that will save your time (and sanity).
1. Your website copy
How your website looks is what attracts your website visitor. Your website copy is what keeps them on your website. Using the right words, that speak to your ideal client is a process that can take time. I’d argue that it is one of the most important things to do first. Questions like:
- Who is my ideal client?
- What do they want or desire?
- How can I help them get what they want/desire?
- Why should they choose me?
Are questions that your website copy will answer. You can either do this on your own or work with a copywriter to create copy that speaks to your ideal client’s hearts.
2. Your brand colours
Knowing the exact brand colours you will use is a big time-saver. Some of the best places to get colour inspiration are Coolors and Design Seeds.
When choosing which colours to use it’s recommended to look at what each colour represents. The colours you choose can influence how your website visitors will feel about your website.
3. Your fonts
Choose up to 3 fonts that work well together and know which fonts you will use for your headings and paragraphs.
4. Your images
I would recommend having a brand photoshoot after you’ve picked your brand colours. Or go through a branding process as this might influence the images you use on your website. Your images should ideally complement your website and your brand.
Having your images ready and saved somewhere, including any stock images, will save you time.
A good place to get free high-quality stock photos is Unsplash.
5. Your headline
Your headline is the heading at the top of your website which tells your website visitors what they will get from working with you. This is the first thing people will read on your website and it should speak to your ideal client.
For example, on this website “You know that you’re meant for something more” is their headline. This taps into the desire that their ideal website visitor will have.
6. Your website structure
How many pages will I have? Which pages (e.g.: Services, About, Shop, etc) will you have?
7. Your website builder
Knowing which website platform (e.g.: Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, etc) you will use is important. The direction your business might be heading in the future might influence the platform that you use long-term.
8. Your Domain Name
Once you’ve picked your business name, the next step is checking if you can use it as your domain name. You might find that your name is already taken, and as a result, you might have to brainstorm different names that you can use instead.
If you are ready to design a website and brand that feels aligned to you and helps you connect to your ideal clients, then check out the website and brand services that I offer to see how I can support you.