There are many difficult parts of building a website, one of the more difficult is determining your audience, but here are things to consider when building a website. There are many ways to do this, from doing market research to analyzing age and gender demographics. Once you have determined your audience it will be easier to build a site that meets their needs.

Unfortunately, the process sometimes takes more time than planned because sometimes these steps lead to unexpected problems. For example, an idea for a site may have been fully conceived only for an analysis of age and demographic data reveal that it is not popular with its target audience. In such cases, people need to find ways around these issues or scrap them completely favouring another idea that will work better as part of their long term business plan.

However, when building your website, there are several things you need to consider:

Things to consider when building a website

1) Is it a Generic website?

Most people go in for generic websites because they think they don’t need a “niche” site that caters specifically to customers as most of their needs can be met by having certain information easily accessible on the homepage. However, this is a grave mistake made by many and leads to lower traffic and less profits.

2) Mobile Device Compatibility

With the increasing popularity of mobile phones and tablets as a means of browsing the Internet, it is important to include a responsive website design (RWD) in any web design project you undertake. RWD adjusts its layout depending on the device being used to view it so that maximum comfort is offered to users on all platforms.

3) Web Hosting

Before you commence with building your site, you need to determine where it will be hosted. There are three main types of web hosting services: dedicated server, cloud and shared.

4) Do you need a Dedicated Server?

This is the best kind of web hosting service because it provides you with your own hardware and an inbuilt server that never goes down. You get full control over the hardware, but there is a drawback. It’s very expensive so may not be the best option for small businesses and individuals.

5) Do you need a Cloud Hosting?

This type of hosting is becoming increasingly popular, especially among mid-sized businesses because it offers them more features at a fraction of the cost. The storage space available and bandwidth are pretty standard across all plans while they differ in how much RAM they include to store data temporarily while it is being processed.

6) Or do you need Shared Hosting?

This type of hosting is ideal for small businesses, non-profits and individuals or those who have a limited budget. Instead of paying for your own server, you share a server with other businesses, users or clients and all share the resources. With this type of hosting, you are promised 99.9% uptime and technical support is also provided.

7) Is it a specific Niche?

This is the best option when it comes to building a website that offers specific services and products because of the fact that it narrows down your audience and makes it easier to target them with more relevant content. You should create a site that offers only certain products and services as this will make it easier for your customers to find you online.

8) What kind of Content will you put up?

The content of your site should be useful for the purpose for which it is intended. You have to consider what information is needed by your target audience and include it in your site design along with useful links that convert into leads. If you have a blog, then make sure it is regularly updated with new posts.

9) Do you need a Designer?

It is a very good idea to hire a professional web designer as they will know exactly what you want and how to implement it. An in-house designer may not be skilled enough to design the site and will end up with a mishmash of designs that don’t match at all.

10) How will you handle Content Management?

Most people do not spend enough time on their website because they have no idea how much time it takes to implement all the changes. A good way to ensure the site works perfectly is by using an easy-to-use content management system that allows you to upload new content, edit existing ones, add links and store images wherever you want them. WordPress is an open-source content management system but it’s very expensive to use.

11) Do you need to include Social Media?

It is important to ensure that you have your own social media pages and profiles on the most popular sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn. This will make it easier for you to share links of your site on these sites and get more traffic as a result.

Conclusion

It is essential for you to do a lot of research before you go in for a website build as it will be your online face in the long run and should be designed accordingly. If you have done enough market research, then you will find it easier to decide which platform to choose.

The most important part of your site is the design as this is what attracts visitors and increases profits. Having an expert do your web design will ensure that the look of your site matches its function with all features working seamlessly together. It’s also important that an experienced designer keeps up with trends and designs based on the latest technology available so that your site is easy to maintain down the line even if you are not tech-savvy yourself.

You might be interested in ways to merchandise your business