Intro to Technology
With Covid-19 forcing the world’s economy to focus it’s efforts on technology, it’s no wonder many business owner’s are looking to move their business online. While this may be an easy move for some, it leaves many wondering what the best approach to building their website would be. We hope these tips for website design cut down on the large learning curve that we’re now facing during this time. It may seem overwhelming at first, but educating yourself through use of these types of blogs, and keeping your focus on the long term benefits that will unfold from the outcome, will make moving your business online much more easy and worthwhile along the way.
Domains
Although there are many website design considerations when it comes to website design, one of the first things to consider is your domain name. What is a domain name? Think of this as you would, like a physical sign that hangs above your storefront. It would be a name of your choosing that would best suit your virtual store or website. This is what you type into the “address bar” when finding a website. It starts with www. and can end with many different extensions such as .ca or .com.
Domain Extensions
Another consideration when choosing your domain name would be it’s ending. For example, some businesses that are located in Canada may opt for a “.ca” ending. There are plenty of options to choose from and reasons for choosing them. For example, “.org” could represent a not-for-profit website, while a “.io” may be chosen for a new tech company. Some may purchase multiple domains (.com, .ca, and .org) if they want their clients to find them through whichever ending they choose. And some may choose a .com if the .ca is already taken. Whichever domain name and ending you choose, be sure to do some research prior to registering it, as you want to ensure any other similar domains don’t confuse your audience or lead them to an unintended site that they assume is yours.
Website Design and Hosting
Once you’ve decided on a domain name, it’s now time to consider your hosting provider. What is hosting? Hosting is much the same as renting a physical space; you pay an ongoing hosting fee for your virtual business location. The hosting platform then provides you storage on their servers to host your website. Hosting is where your website design files sit when “live” on the internet. In order for your website design to be visible online, you need to have what’s known as a hosting plan. If going with a web designer, it’s always good to have a chat with them about what your goals are before you make the leap into purchasing a hosting plan.
Some designers strictly design your site and may require you to purchase your hosting plan and manage it yourself, while others will handle everything for you. Bullseye Branding Inc. allows you to choose what best suits your needs. While we do offer a website hosting with our website design, we also allow you to decide on whether or not you would like to purchase and maintain your hosting plan independently as well. We also give clients the option to choose a maintenance plan to keep their website secure and up to date as they go.
Tips for Website Design and Development
Last but not least, you have your website design! There are many different ways you can have a website designed. These “platforms” or Content Management Systems (CMS for short) offer users the option to design their website. It’s important to do a little research on which platform is best suited for you and your business as some offer free design tools, but with paid applications needed for functionality and/or online e-commerce (shopping) fees that you may have to pay. Some may also require you to know a little web design in order to make the site look aesthetically pleasing or more functional.
Hooray for WordPress
We like tend to stick to WordPress as our main website design offering. This means that our clients pay for the design setup, but save money in the long run with not having monthly fees for added functionality. WordPress has a multitude of what’s called “plug-in’s” that a user can choose from in order to make their site more functional, and a lot of these are free, with having the option to purchase the premium version. But a lot of sites run solely on free versions. WordPress also allows a user to create “on-page SEO” (Search Engine Optimization) which gives them a leg-up on optimizing each page and product in order for it to be properly optimized for online search purposes.
Now that you’ve covered all the basic’s, it’s time to dig in and put some thought into who you’re targeting, what message you want your audience to receive, and what call to action you want to achieve through your online design efforts. But we’ll save that topic for another day! For more information on tips for website design and development feel free to contact us here. You can also follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see our latest designs and other helpful posts or catch us on LinkedIn. Hopefully this was helpful and we look forward to sharing more tips with you throughout the year!