Website Development: Addressing Issues for Success
If you are a beginner in terms of creating websites, you should know that creating a website is a difficult discipline, a profession in itself that requires significant learning on many topics such as Web Design or SEO.
So I will try to be as didactic as possible and give you the general keys so that you can address the topic of website design simply.
When reading this article, you should have a general view of website creation that will allow you to better orient yourself when you build your own site alone or with a specialized agency.
The different types of websites
Since the creation of the Web, usage has changed considerably. From the simple information base, the Internet has now become the main source and destination of our daily uses: check your bank account, order a meal, or even prepare your holiday.
The uses are so different that it is difficult to classify academically a real nomenclature of websites. Here is a first segmentation that will allow you to better understand the families and uses of websites:
Showcase website
The site called “showcase” is to simplify an interactive company brochure that aims to present your company in the best way. It will be said that the more attractive your website is for your visitors, the more your brand is valued. The showcase site is the basic building block of your presence on the Internet.
Blog
The blog is the living expression of a website. I mean that the blog is a website that lives, that evolves over time and that allows to retain an audience. Whatever your goal, you should keep in mind that a website is primarily a medium, a device that allows you to communicate without limits. You need to be prepared to write (or have written) content about your business, whether you are a professional, an association or a large company… Communicate!
eCommerce
I group in this category all sites that have the vocation to offer you online services or sell you physical products books at home or digital products like podcasts.
This is probably the most popular form of website as it allows you to do business directly online. Today, most activities offer an online sales channel to facilitate commercial transactions.
This categorization is obviously arbitrary and limited. I invite you to consult the excellent resources I found on the Web on the typology of Internet sites:
Choosing your site’s domain name
Your domain name is literally the address of your website. It’s your digital sign. The choice of your domain name is capital and generally must take the name of your company or brand.
A domain name is always associated with a . com or . fr extension, the best known on the Web. There are hundreds of different and lesser known extensions that can allow you to differentiate yourself or specify your specialty in terms of activity.
For example, if you are a real estate agency, there is the . immo extension or if you are a newspaper the .media
There are several possibilities to register a domain name and here I give you the main companies to register a domain name:
Web design: visual identity and web design
Creating graphic pages for the Web is an art in its own right: insiders call this discipline Web Design. Since the framework is a digital screen (or rather screens), the constraints of creation are different than for the graphic design print.
Indeed, the web designer must create a website that must adapt to the different screens of the users' terminals: desktop, tablet or mobile phone. This technique is called responsive design and requires specific know-how.
The role of the web designer is essentially to transcribe your visual identity on the Internet. Its mission is to adapt your world by relying on all multimedia techniques such as video or dynamic HTML.
If you have a sensitivity for graphics and want to get into web design, I recommend the most popular online software for web designers: Figma. The editor offers a free version that will allow you to explore the basics of web design:
Managing content and updating your site
If you are creating a website that aims to offer content in volume and that evolves over time, you will need what is called a “back office” or a content management console.
There are many website development environments that address more or less important issues. I advise you to explore the solutions that allow you to create a website with an existing content management module:
CMS or Content Management System
Here are a few examples to familiarize yourself with the context:
How to be visible on search engines?
The techniques to be well referenced on the Internet and specifically on the Google search engine are called SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or SEM (Search Engine Marketing). This is one of the very important keys to ensure the good visibility of your website on search engines.
SEO does not improvise!
You have two options, call a specialized agency called SEO agency (there are many) or embark on this great adventure:) I advise you to follow the legendary blog on the subject of Olivier Andrieu that will give you the taste of the trade:
How to be visible on social networks?
To be present on social networks, it’s simple! You must first create a social page of your company on each social channel, it is free: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and many other emerging social networks such as TikTok or Snapchat.
Then you have to publish social posts, small news that you will share with your network, the followers of your social channel. It’s simple and yet terribly complicated! Rest assured, here are some useful links to deepen the topic of social networks:
How to sell your products on your site and develop your online sales?
You need to develop a merchant or e-commerce site that will allow you to sell products or services and allow your customers to make payments online.
This is the most complex form of websites and I cannot summarize e-commerce in a few lines. Here are the resources needed to get started on the subject of online sales:
That’s it! I hope this introduction and these resources will help you get started on designing your website. Do not hesitate to leave me your comments to evolve this article:)
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