12.05 – Putting Everything Together For The Perfect Website
After you have some ideas for your website content and layout, start sketching out storyboards for your home page and other pages. Then begin designing your site, either by yourself or with a designer who can do it for you quickly. If you prefer the DIY route, there are numerous website builders you can subscribe to on a monthly basis, all offering hundreds of templates to choose from. You can use a template outright or modify it to fit your style and needs.
Since consumers browse websites on various devices—smartphones, tablets, desktops, and laptops—ensure your website automatically adjusts to each format. Most website builders have responsive design capabilities that adjust images and text for different screen sizes. However, it’s a good idea to check your site on all your devices occasionally to make sure no glitches occur.
Using Website Builders
You need a platform to build your website and tools for designing and executing it. Choosing a provider may be difficult, so consider the following when making your decision:
- Price for value provided: What do you pay for bandwidth, technical support, design options, and other key components?
- Ease of use: A drag-and-drop editor is a key indicator of simplicity.
- Support: The hours and responsiveness of the platform’s technical support and live chat staff should be key to your decision.
- E-commerce options: Do they offer e-commerce templates, and do they charge anything besides credit card fees for consumers’ completed transactions?
Browse review sites that list the top website builders. The top recommendations vary, so look at the features of each platform you’re considering and compare them on your own.
Create your own top 10 list after reviewing several platforms’ features, prices for storage capacity, technical support, design ease, and e-commerce functionality. Research each website builder and then start crossing options off your list until you find the best fit for you.
Finding Quality Imagery
As you build your site, focus on the quality of your images. If you use your own photos, make sure the resolution of each image is as good as the artistry, so you look professional.
Beyond the resolution, use images that show attention to detail. Don’t use a photo of your products in a cluttered environment or pictures of your people covered in shadows or surrounded by irrelevant crowds.
As you map out the pages of your site, list the photos that make sense for the content. Then take the time to shoot clear photos of your people, products, and places of business with good lighting and a clean background. Here are some tips:
- Use your smartphone: Modern smartphones have high-quality cameras that provide high enough pixel counts for digital and even print assets. Edit photos for proper lighting, shadows, colour saturation, size, special effects, and more directly on your phone before posting or publishing.
- Purchase a small light for your smartphone: This helps in taking quality photos.
- Consider an ancillary lens for your smartphone: This allows you to zoom in tighter on product details, speakers at events, crowd or landscape shots, and so on without losing quality. Both lights and lenses for smartphones are affordable and easy to find.
You can also buy images fairly inexpensively from many sources. If you only need them for your website, you can purchase low-resolution photos at a lower cost. You can purchase one image at a time or sign up for a package that provides a set number of images per month. Plan your budget according to the resolution needed for digital materials.
Check out stock photography sources such as Adobe Stock, Getty Images, iStock, or Shutterstock. Also, look for inspiration on Flickr, where photographers share their work.
Building websites is fun and offers many opportunities to release your inner creative. Remember, the layout, content, words, and designs impact your engagement and business goals much more than just the look and feel presented. Plan your website around the expected experience of your target audiences, your desired outcome for visitors on your site, and the KPIs you define.
