Are you a sprouting startup or a small business looking to design a website to establish your virtual presence? Initially, designing a website may seem too much. Of course, it is surely a little challenging. However, designing a website from scratch isn’t as difficult either – especially when you have a web design step-by-step beginner guide from FABTARY, a trusted web design company in Durban, by your side. So, let’s see how to design a website from the beginning of this blog.
Design Your Website in 8 Easy Steps – Ultimate Guide to Effective Web Design
Having a website is necessary for every business, no matter if you are a local restaurant chain or a global logistics giant. But contrary to the myth that it takes a herculean effort to build a website, here’s how you can do it in eight simple steps.
1. Define Your Website’s Purpose and Plan It
While it is true that every business needs a website, most business owners do not know the purpose of their website. Such websites can never prove an asset but always remain an expense. Nevertheless, with this guide in place, you know you should have a purpose for your website’s existence. That will drive the website’s design and every other element involved in designing and developing it.
For example, if you are an eCommerce site, you will aim to drive people towards buying your listed products. On the other hand, if you are an IT company, you will want people to connect with you through your website and then you will take the lead ahead from there. Every website has a specific purpose. Yours should also have one to ensure it has a meaningful presence across the web.
If you aren’t sure what your website should offer, look at some competitor websites and see how they’ve done it. Don’t copy them but always learn from them and keep their website as a reference point. It will help you stay relevant and compete better. If that’s overwhelming given your current responsibilities, hire one of the best web design agencies in Durban.
2. Select the Right Platform
Your website needs a platform on which you will build it. The most popular one is WordPress. It is a content management system (CMS) that helps build wonderful websites for various business domains. WordPress is user-friendly, versatile, affordable, and scalable. However, while using WordPress, you will have to purchase a web hosting service. You may go for shared hosting for now.
Since WordPress involves some basic learning. You may also use a site or page builder solution like Hostinger Website Builder. It is a much more beginner-friendly solution with a visual, drag-and-drop interface enabling editing and customizing without leaving the website page. Hostinger offers free AI tools for heatmap generators, logo and copy, built-in SEO tools, and all-in-one online store features.
Once you finalize the platform, you will have to get a domain name. Consider it an address visitors will type to open your website. Usually, people use their personal or business name as the domain. However, it is likely that the name is already taken, especially if it is a common one.
Furthermore, choose a suitable domain name extension. Usually, .com is used for commercial websites. On the other hand, .tech is used for tech-related projects. You should also choose a country code top-level domain for a particular market. For instance, if you operate in South Africa, you should register a .za domain.
Seek help from web development companies in Durban if making a choice or the technicalities involved in it are consuming your productive bandwidth.
3. Craft the Website’s Design
Once you’ve done the groundwork, it is time you design the website. The process involves choosing a web design template, the website’s color theme, selecting the correct typography options, and creating a logo. Themes comprise pre-created layouts and visual elements made by designers. It proves useful for non-technical users by simplifying the web design process. Thus, you won’t have to worry about building the website from scratch. If you’ve chosen WordPress, you can download numerous themes for free from the official directory.
Next, choose a color scheme that suits your brand colors and identity. Know what every color means, especially in a particular culture to avoid letting those colors create a negative perception about your brand.
Further, proceed with logos. Create a logo that represents your company’s name, values, products, and services. Partner with a web design company in Durban to create a logo for your business or use an AI logo generator. The first option is better considering the human intelligence involved in designing a logo.
Select the correct font. The font should match the tone of your content, business, and brand communication. For example, if you are a fashion designer, you may want to choose a light and artistic typography. On the other hand, if you are a manufacturing firm, you may want to select a more professional-looking font.
4. Create Essential Web Pages
Usually, a website should have essential pages, including the Homepage, About Us, Product/Services/Solutions, and Contact Us. Some additional ones may include Blogs/Resources. Each page has its significance that makes it a must on the site.
For instance, a homepage briefly introduces your business, its values, core expertise, purpose, etc. It is usually the page from where users begin browsing your website. Hence, it has to be impressive and gripping enough to retain the user and drive them further.
About us talks about the company, its inception, vision and mission, history, brand story, etc. It attempts to establish a connection with the user and give them more insights into the company.
The products/Solutions/Services page discusses the offerings of your company. So, ensure you provide adequate information about your offerings so that users read it and contact you to know more about them or engage in further interactions.
Contact us should have elements like the business’s phone number, email ID, and GPS location. Also, add a contact page so that you get precisely the information you need and simplify it for users to connect with you. The resources page is optional. However, having it can help you increase your website activity and benefit from the SEO perspective. For instance, having a blog page can help you add blog content to increase SEO visibility, and provide vital insights into the industry and various subject matters relevant to your business.
5. Optimize Various Elements
Another significant aspect of your website is user experience. Some significant elements include navigation, visual hierarchy, web page speed, and accessibility.
Navigation refers to the ease of moving across your site and encouraging visitors to explore your website content. To do so, ensure effortless navigation. It means users should reach a particular piece of information in as few clicks as possible.
On the other hand, visual hierarchy is the strategic arrangement of the page’s elements. It intends to direct the eyes of the users to the essential information for better comprehension and help users take the desired action. One strategy in this regard is using a Z-shape format. It is a layout that helps users see content from the top left to the top right of the page and then continue diagonally to the elements positioned below it.
Another significant aspect of a website is page speed. A slow-loading website results in lower click-throughs, bounce rates, and fewer changes in ranking on search engines. Some tips to increase website speed include having a minimal design, optimizing your media files, removing unnecessary lines, non-functional characters, negative spaces, etc.
Lastly, also work on the website’s accessibility. It refers to designing websites that provide equal access to people with disabilities. The purpose is to ensure seamless navigation and eliminate barriers preventing people with physical limitations from accessing online content.
6. Make it Mobile-Friendly
Today, most people will access your website from your mobile phones. Having to deal with a website that isn’t mobile-friendly can be annoying. The user may close the website and look for another option – perhaps, your competitor.
Besides, Google also considers mobile-friendliness a critical factor for rankings. Hence, it is evident that you should make your website mobile-friendly.
Some ways to do it include using hamburger menus, having touch-friendly CTAs, and optimizing from scrolling. Working with an expert web design company in Durban can help you develop a mobile-friendly website delivering a consistent experience across different mobile screens.
7. Test and Launch
Do not launch your website without testing it. Look for design-related issues. Ask your friends, family members, and acquaintances to check the website and provide feedback. In addition, you can conduct A/B testing. It is a usability testing method wherein you create two versions of the website and allocate them to different user groups. Towards the end, you can compare both websites and see what performs better. However, test only one design element at a time to identify factors affecting the website’s performance.
8. Ensure Regular Monitoring and Updates
Monitor your website’s performance regularly and make changes to keep it aligned with user needs and expectations. Use tools like Google Analytics that offer insights on different website performance metrics like conversion rate, pageviews, bounce rate, average session duration, etc. Partner with web design agencies in Durban to keep your website’s performance optimized.
Design Your Website Effectively with FABTARY, a Web Design Company in Durban
We hope the above helps you get started with your web design journey. However, you should note that you don’t merely need a website, you need an incredible and performant one. Accordingly, partner with FABTARY, one of the best web development companies in Durban. Our experts will design and develop a remarkable and responsive website for your business and help you keep it optimized at all times. Email us at info@fabtary.com to learn more.
