Things you need to know about creating your website(s)
Here we go with the basics. I get asked all the time to detail the steps necessary to get going with a website. I'm talking primarily about Business websites here. I will also qualify this by saying I have a minimum requirement for business sites and the base line is this: If your site cannot be viewed the same way on all devices from smart phones to laptops and desktops on Mac, PC, Unix, Windows Phone 7, iOs and android, then the site fails. Delivering the message the same is of the highest order, the corporate message must be consistent.
You know what tech is the first out the door with this minimum requirement? Flash! That's right, the thing people ask for the most, is not business grade and has no place on a business website. Imagine a potential client visiting your flash website and cannot view it because it requires a plugin or flat-out just won't work on that device. This means no in my world, sorry flash. There is other tech out there that has issues as well, so make sure you test your site in every browser ad device you can. Don't worry about not being able to use flash though, we can get very creative and come up with alternatives.
Other requirements are what system or methods are being used to develop your website? Things have changed big time in this world, and the most effective sites out there are using CMS's (Content Management System). The most popular and most recommended is Joomla. There are others and I hesitate to put Wordpress in the mix, but there is popular opinion out there that is a good alternative, it is not. Wordpress is not a well developed CMS yet. It has years to go. It is not ready for business grade websites. It may be OK for personal sites, but do not deploy in a business scenario (yet).
So be very careful about the technology and build methods you use, or you could find yourself having to rebuild and magnifying your internet budget. Don't choose Wordpress because you think it's easy to use, that's the last reason you should decide to use it.
Ok here is what you need.
1) domain name. (go to gooru.ca for instance and start usage the domain checker to see if what you want is available. Get creative, get unique)
2) Secure a Web Host. As for a company like Web GooRu that specializes in Joomla Web Hosting, not all hosts are created equal, for instance Go Daddy may be big but Joomla sites will suffer over there. Ask if you are not sure.
3) Gather your ideas about what you want. Think about the functions and resources you will need. Picture in your mind the main menu and all the areas that it leas to. This will begin to set the structure of your site, write it down in a mind map or drawing if you can.
4) Find yourself a web developer that gets offended if you call them a web designer :) any good developer knows there is a huge difference between designers and developers. A developer will build a site for you from the ground up, and a designer will design it from the logo down. That may have worked in the '90's but today we need engineers (developers) on the front lines ensuring that stable, compatible sites are being built. Web designers generally stop at function and resource and compatibility.
5) If you need graphics like logos try to have those done already, or higher a designer to do just that. Or here is the biggest tip of the day: purchase stock images from a site like www.dreamstime.com there you can purchase license and royalty free images that will make your site sing for very few pennies.
6) Understand that websites are not static anymore and they must be taken care of month after month. A website today is more a collection of web applications then anything and those apps must be tracked and updated just like another app. If you do not realize this then your site can easily fall prey to those that wish to exploit it. Be mindful!
That's the process the way I see it, and how I prepare all my clients, I hope it serves you as well. Please drop me a line if you have any questions.
Cheers
Curt Hemingway