With the New Year right around the corner, now is a popular time for companies and businesses of all sizes to start planning a new website, or a revamped website, for the upcoming year ahead. But designing an effective website is something that takes time, patience and planning. But how do you start planning a website? And what are the key decisions you will need to make, before you make design choices? Well, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester, we are Manchester’s leading web design experts. We work with companies in a range of sectors across the North West, including those in Blackburn and Chorley, to provide top quality, effective web design solutions. As a result, we have produced this guide to everything you should know about planning a successful new website.
What are the important decisions when planning a new website?
When planning any website, you need to start with the basics, before you can even consider design choices. You will need to know:
- What your website is aiming to achieve
- What kind of brand you want to become
- Who your target audience are
- Who your competitors are
The purpose of your website
Whether you need your website to educate and inform, or sell your products, there are a variety of website purposes to choose from. But most companies and businesses are looking for a website to help them sell their products or services to a wider audience. And this will then influence the range of design decisions you make. From the above the fold featured content, to the nature of the text and call to action buttons, the purpose of the website should determine a whole variety of web design choices.
Company branding
By creating a website, you will be creating a brand, if you don’t already have one. This brand needs to fit the ideals and goals of your company, and present these in a visual, user friendly way. It will also help determine the tone of your text, including headings and call to action buttons. This branding should then be used throughout your online presence, including your social media platforms.
Considering the target audience
Knowing your target audience demographic can be very helpful to the design process, as it will influence design decisions that are made. For example, a website aimed at children, will be designed very differently than a website designed for the over 45 age category. From the colour scheme to the images, the layout to the text, it is essential that your website is designed with the target audience in mind. This will help to increase sales and sign ups, making your website more successful.
Looking at your competitors
Knowing which websites you will be battling against online, isnt as simple as real world competition. Online, you could be up against companies from around the UK, with smaller independent chains and large multi-national companies all on the same page. So before jumping into your web design, it pays to take some time to see who your competitors are, and what the website looks like. You might even find ways to outperform them.
For more information or professional web design support, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design Manchester.