8 Things to Consider Before You
Start Building Your Website

By Peter Polesel

1. Do you understand your business and your market?

If you are starting a brand new business, take the time to do some planning and ensure you know exactly what your offer is and who you are trying to target. You cannot build an effective website without doing effective business planning. Be sure to access the free business advice available through the BEC.

2. What should I consider when selecting a domain name?

A domain name is the entry point to your website. You do not need a domain name to start building a website. So you may like to leave the purchasing of a domain name till you select a web developer. A web developer can then give you advice on what kind of domain name can work for your business.

Things to consider include; how easy it is to remember, it’s length and the relevance to your business name. If you don't think you are ready for a website, you can still purchase a domain name and use it for your e-mails. This way you can start developing your online brand immediately. Just make sure that you are happy with the domain name you have chosen.

When helping my clients choose a domain name, I also incorporating the keywords people use when searching for the client’s type of business. This can sometimes be an easy way to get high rankings on words or phrases that are incorporated into your domain name. However expert guidance is required here.

3. What should a website cost?

The starting point for a small well designed website is probably around $2,200. The larger and more sophisticated your requirements the more it will cost. Shopping cart sites usually start from $5,000.

While you should always use a variety of promotional methods to promote your business, for many businesses search engines can be the primary source of leads or enquiries. So investing in getting your website to rank high is a priority. See ‘What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?’

4. Does it matter who builds my website?

Yes it does. Using non-professionals to build your website is usually a great way of saving money, but it usually doesn't give you the foundations of a solid website strategy that incorporates search engine optimisation (SEO).

5. Should I be able to add content to a website?

Ideally yes. A good Content Management System (or CMS) should allow you to easily update pages with new content. However sometimes that can add to the cost of building a website. So you need to ask yourself whether you really do need to update your site on a regular basis or whether that could be done for you by your web developer at an agreed rate.
When talking to your web developer about a CMS be careful as certain CMS solutions can interfere with your site’s ability to rank well on search engines. Again get expert advice in this area.

6. What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

SEO helps customers find your website on search engines for a variety of phrases relevant to your business.

It's great having a good-looking website, however if no-one can find it on a search engine it's a lost opportunity. Search engine optimisation helps your website rank high on the words and phrases that people use when searching for your type of products or services.

Don't make the mistake of spending all your money simply on a good-looking site. A good rule is that if you have a budget of say $5,000 you should perhaps spend 50% on the website design, and 50% on search engine optimisation services.

Be wary of web developers that say they include search engine optimisation in their proposal but they do not include any methodology or separate fees for search engine optimising your site.

7. Key questions to ask when choosing a web developer

• Have they done work for similar businesses?
• What kind of results have they helped their clients achieve?
• Do they design in a manner or style that is relevant to what you want to achieve?
• Do they understand my business?
• Will they be a useful business partner?

8. Key questions to ask when choosing an SEO professional

• Have they done work for similar businesses?
• What kind of results have they helped their clients achieve?
• Can they provide examples of how well their clients’ sites are ranking?
• What results is it reasonable to expect?
• Do they understand my business?
• Will they be a useful business partner?
  

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