Creating a new website: what to pay attention to?

How to create a new website?

Imagine that you are the sculptor Pygmalion. And the site is Galatea, no less! The greatest creation! It’s not easy to come to the decision that it is needed. But deciding on a specific option in all its diversity is no easier! And here, unlike statues, the simple term “beautiful” is not enough.

To prevent the imaginary model from turning into something else in reality, we suggest paying attention to the following points.

Face to face

We were sure you knew your audience, but there was no web portal. Did they provide services through social networks or was the subject area so narrow that the promotion method was word of mouth? Customers already know that you make a worthy product! But this is not enough to develop a web resource.

Or was there an online service, but in simple HTML without a CMS and adaptation for mobile devices, it looked like an artifact and evoked thoughts of the Paleolithic period? Can't be! They don't exist anymore.

Consider what kind of website will customers like? Strict and official? It will be used by people who want to read a few jokes about an event or by a researcher who is only interested in dry facts during working hours. He would like to immediately go to the catalog and find out data on the measurement error and wavelength in the machine parameters, without wasting time on bright banners and unnecessary information.

Competitors

A point that is often missed when creating new sites. If you haven’t done a competitor analysis before, now is the time to do it. Consider the sites of companies that operate in this niche. What solutions do they use: landing pages, corporate websites, full-fledged online stores, information portals.

Evaluate the implementation, go through the menu and catalog, is it convenient for you, can you easily find the product? If you wanted to arrange certain elements in a similar way, but in practice it turned out to be inconvenient, then this is a chance to take into account the mistakes of others and prevent their repetition.

Right on target

Before creating a new website, decide on the primary tasks in the subject area using the example of an enterprise and identify the needs. In some cases, it is optimal to choose a standardized solution: a landing page or a ready-made template that can be adapted.

Options for which you may need a website:

• The previous version is outdated. For technical or moral reasons.
• Change of corporate identity. The colors, logos, and fonts are so different that it’s easier to do everything anew than to rework an existing web resource.
• Expansion. The company's sales have skyrocketed so much that it is becoming impossible to process orders through social networks. We are happy for you!
• Automation. Simplify the procedure for providing services in terms of internal processes (registration, delivery, pre-registration, cost calculation, accounting).
• Image. Increasing brand awareness. Bringing together activity information and core concepts with immediate communication for collaboration.

Choose your hero

Don't waste time searching for specialists. Choose people who can explain incomprehensible points in simple language and answer exciting questions without irritation (if you do not plan to master the field of design or programming in depth in popular courses).

Choose your superheroes! Marvel or DC? That is, we wanted to say, several freelancers or a whole company with a close-knit team that will solve all issues from A to Z?

Talk to contractors and tell them what problems the new online resource should solve. Choose an engine based on functionality and recommendations, and not because your friend has a project implemented on it or likes the name.

Don't look back at the past. Do you want a portal similar to the previous one, because... Are you used to the admin panel, but it doesn’t meet the functional requirements? Think about what is more critical: studying a management system for a week or using a resource that will not give a certain result for a year or more?

CMS

Experts will tell you which one is suitable for a particular case: Joomla, 1C-Bitrix, Tilda, Drupal, OpenCart, CMS.S3, Wix, Evolution, MODx, etc. Each of them is needed for specific tasks, some are easily adapted and modified, while others are more difficult.

Don’t plan a large-scale solution with many modules and integrations “for the distant future.” By the time it arrives, the platform may be outdated, support will be suspended, or the enterprise will expand. Conversely, do not use the simple option if it does not satisfy all needs initially.

Use logic and choose a control system according to its intended purpose. Just like in nature. A giraffe doesn’t try to swim in the river, and an alligator doesn’t try to fly? The need for modifications, if the web resource is not completely self-written, should be minimized.

Before deciding on a CMS, look at ready-made projects with this implementation. When using a template, it is almost always possible to evaluate the visual component in advance.

Terms of reference

Structurally write everything that you would like to see on the web resource so that you can be understood by the specialists who will implement it. There is no point in compiling technical specifications on pages of the same type (sheets 1 and 2 of the catalog will be the same). Pay special attention to sections where the blocks are different (the main page and the contact page will be radically different).

Subcategories may have different appearances depending on the application and filters. For example, in an online home furnishings store, the color of an item may be important. And in the catalog of a company that supplies machines for wood or metal, it’s unlikely.

If the template displays 6 products per line, and you need to implement 4 with an additional parameter, then indicate this in the documentation. Describe absolutely all the key points.

Prototypes

At this stage, the outlines of the future portal will be conveyed in accordance with the technical specifications. Specialists will create prototypes of the pages of the new site, taking into account the documentation and all wishes. As a result, you will be able to evaluate the location of the main functional blocks.

Be careful, because everything else will be created according to these layouts and their image and likeness; if there are errors in them or the technical specifications, this will be reflected in the finished result.

Judged by the cover

The designer will draw the pages in accordance with the approved color combinations, indents, fonts and other nuances of the corporate style. If a contractor asks you to provide content for pages, then try to do so. The preparation of materials can begin at any stage of development. Check the relevance of the information in the texts and rewrite them, take photos in high resolution.

If, frankly speaking, you are too lazy to do this, entrust the work to contractors. No matter how impeccable an online store may be in appearance, few people will want to buy a product that is difficult to see. If you have decided what you need create a new website and period, then our specialists will help you do it and save you the hassle of thinking about the points listed in this article!