Build a Professional Website – 6 steps

Let's break down our 6 steps to consider when building a professional website! In today's digital age, a well-designed business website is the cornerstone of your online presence. It's not just a virtual storefront if you're selling products, but a powerful tool for brand representation, customer engagement, and revenue generation.

Not only do you acquire a powerful tool that can leverage your audience without needing to rely on third-party platforms, but you also become an authority in your niche online. Other benefits include accessing unlimited professional email addresses with your domain name as the mailing address. 

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential steps of building a successful business website. We'll cover the following 6 steps to get your first Professional Business Online:

Before diving into the technical aspects of website development, clarifying your website's purpose is crucial. What are your needs? Are you looking to showcase products, offer services, provide information, or sell products online? Clearly defining your website's goals will lay the foundation for the entire project.

Your website's purpose serves as its compass. It should align with your business objectives. For instance, if you're an e-commerce business, your primary goal might be to drive online sales. In contrast, a service-oriented business might aim to generate leads or provide valuable information to its audience. 

For DPT, we're a service-orientated business that aims to help people like you Build, Grow, Integrate and Optimise your online presence. This allowed us to define our website's purpose.

 By specifying your purpose, you can tailor every aspect of your website – from design to content – to meet these objectives effectively. This clarity also ensures that your website resonates with your target audience, addressing their needs and expectations.

Your website's purpose isn't static; it can evolve as your business grows. Regularly revisit and refine your goals to keep your website in sync with your overarching business strategy. Ultimately, a well-defined purpose guides your website's development and sets the stage for measurable success.

Once you have a clear purpose in mind, it's time to plan the structure of your website. Create a sitemap that outlines the main pages and how they connect. Consider the user experience – intuitive navigation and logical organisation are vital to keeping visitors engaged.

The structure of your website is akin to the blueprint of a building.

It defines the layout, flow, and organisation of your content. To create an effective structure, identify the core pages your website needs. These may include a homepage, product or service pages, an about us section, a blog, and a contact page.

Next, think about how these pages relate to one another. A clear hierarchy ensures visitors can easily find what they're looking for. For example, your homepage should offer a snapshot of your offerings with clear links to more detailed information on product or service pages.

Consider user experience (UX) at every turn. 

Your navigation menu should be intuitive, with labels that make sense to your audience. Organise content logically, using headings and subheadings to guide readers—Prioritise mobile responsiveness, as many users access websites via smartphones.

Remember that your website structure can evolve over time. As your business grows and customer preferences change, be prepared to refine your sitemap. Regularly analyse user behaviour through tools like Google Analytics to identify areas for improvement.

In summary, thoughtful planning of your website's structure ensures a positive user experience and effective content delivery, contributing to the overall success of your online presence.

Your website's design should prioritise user experience. It should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and responsive across various devices. Invest in professional design to create a polished and trustworthy online presence.

A well-designed website isn't just about aesthetics; it's about functionality. Consider the following design elements:

Responsive Design:

With the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, your website must adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes. Responsive design ensures a consistent and user-friendly experience. The tool we use, which has a built-in Responsive tab, is the Thrive suite. Responsive design is just one of the many features of the Thrive suite package.

Alternatives can include Elementor or Divi Website Builders! 

Intuitive Navigation: 

Users should easily find what they're looking for. Clear menus, well-organised content, and strategic calls-to-action (CTAs) guide visitors through your site.

Branding Consistency: 

Your website should reflect your brand's identity, including colour schemes, logos, and typography. Consistency builds recognition and trust. This is one of the significant factors we look at when it comes to DPT's Website Audits and planning.

Not only is this important to keep in mind when building your website, but we also recommend maintaining uniformity of colours, logos and typography across all social platforms and offices. In doing so, your authority in your online space will continue to grow.

Page Load Speed: 

Slow-loading pages can drive visitors away. Optimise images and use efficient coding to keep load times fast. One of the tools we recommend to maximise the speed at which your website loads is WP Rocket. Not only does it monitor unnecessary coding and image load times it also offers Imagify, and Rocket CDN. These three bundled together will get your website off to a flying start

Remember that your website is often the first interaction potential customers have with your brand. A well-executed design creates a positive first impression and encourages users to explore further. If you already have a website, copy and paste your URL into Page Speed Insights or GTMetrix.

Both these sites will give you a score on how fast your website is loading and suggest improvements. One of the big contributors to slow speeds is media-rich photography/images and incorrect file use. We recommend converting all your photos on your site to jpeg, webp or png.

High-quality content is the lifeblood of your website. Craft engaging and informative content that resonates with your target audience. Use SEO best practices to optimise your content for search engines, improving SEO ranking. With a catalogue of content up your sleeve ready to go, you're able to schedule your content, to be released on a regular basis, and will give your website a credibility boost.

Compelling website content achieves several critical goals:

Engagement:

Engage your audience with clear and persuasive messaging. Speak directly to their needs, interests, and pain points. One of the best ways to capture the most interest and engagement is basing your content around 'searcher intent'. Searcher intent refers to the phrase or question prospective clients search in Google to find a solution to their current problem. If you can write short and long-tailed keywords and phrases around that intent, the chances of attracting your ideal customer are higher.

SEO Optimisation: 

Research and incorporate relevant keywords to improve search engine rankings. Well-optimised content enhances your site's discoverability. Pick 10-15 Keywords to focus on at a time, as you generally will only be able to rank for some relevant keywords to your industry. We recommend using Chrome extension keywords everywhere to see what your competitors are ranking for to give you an idea of which words or phrases to target yourself. As the old saying goes, "Why reinvent the wheel when it's working perfectly fine?". Once you've established a baseline, you'll have something to work from.

Authority Building: 

Provide valuable information that positions your brand as an industry expert. This fosters trust and credibility. As mentioned above, authority building ties in with brand consistency; the more significant the uniformity across all platforms you create content on, the better results and ranking you will begin to see.

Conversion: 

Effective CTAs within your content guide visitors toward desired actions, such as signing up for newsletters or making purchases.

Remember to keep your content fresh and updated regularly. Blogs, news sections, or resource libraries can help you provide ongoing value to your audience and improve your search engine rankings.

Selecting the right development platform is crucial. Options like WordPress, Shopify, and custom development offer unique advantages. Your choice should align with your business needs and technical requirements.

WordPress: 

Known for its flexibility and ease of use, WordPress is a popular choice for content-focused websites and blogs. It offers a vast library of plugins and themes to enhance functionality and design. We recommend using WordPress as our platform to build all our websites. We've found it to have a good balance of available plugins and valuable tools without getting too confusing and difficult to manage.

Shopify:

If you plan to sell products online, Shopify specialises in e-commerce. It provides a user-friendly interface, secure payment processing, and extensive e-commerce features. We've found that although Shopify has impressive features for eCommerce businesses, it needs the library of useful plugins that WordPress offers and is only customisable to a certain level.

Custom Development:

For businesses with unique needs or specific functionality requirements, custom development offers complete control over your website's design and features. A few platforms you could use are Webflow or Figma. These platforms generally offer more customisability and the tools required to implement your desired outcome but can be very user-friendly with the correct training.
Consider factors like scalability, maintenance, and security when making your choice. Collaborate with web development professionals who understand your goals to ensure a seamless development process.

Before launching your website, thorough testing is essential to ensure it functions flawlessly. After a successful launch, implement ongoing maintenance and update strategies to keep your site secure, relevant, and high-performing.

Testing: 

Rigorous testing is crucial to identify and rectify any issues. Test for functionality, responsiveness, and compatibility across various browsers and devices. Conduct usability testing to ensure a smooth user experience. A few useful tools to help run tests include Ahrefs, Semrush or Moz.

Launch: 

Once testing is complete, it's time to launch your website. Ensure all technical aspects are in place, including domain registration and hosting setup. If you're Australian-based, we recommend Conetix for your hosting. We use Conetix for our hosting solution even though they are a little more expensive than other popular hosting sites like HostGator, BlueHost or Hostinger. However, Conetix are an Australian company with servers in Australia and a friendly team always willing to help, adjust, or reset aspects of your website with just a quick call! 

Maintenance: 

Post-launch, establish a routine for ongoing maintenance. Regularly update content to keep it relevant. Implement security updates to protect against evolving threats. Consider implementing a content management system (CMS) for ease of maintenance.

If you want to avoid all the hassles of ensuring everything is up to date or implementing a CMS, call us! We can set your website up on one of our maintenance plans starting from only $149 monthly. You can read more about what our maintenance offer includes by following this link.

Additionally, monitor website analytics to gain insights into user behaviour. This data can inform ongoing improvements and refinements to your website's performance and user experience. A popular choice that we use is Google Analytics, JetPack analytics and Hotjar. 

Now that you've gotten this far, what next? Begin the process! You don't have to follow each step one after the other. Start where you feel comfortable. Alternatively, if you're still overwhelmed or completely lost, give us a call. We can either schedule a time where we go through building your website right next to you with you, or get us to build it for you. Call now or send us an enquiry. A team member will get back to you shortly.

In summary, a successful website isn't a static entity but a dynamic one that requires continuous attention and improvement. Embrace testing and maintenance as essential elements of your digital strategy to ensure long-term success.

We hope you found this article insightful and that you can start making your first professional business website! Be sure to follow us across all our Socials and sign up for our newsletter to receive occasional emails with events, offers and new blogs!  

Disclaimer: If you choose to purchase or sign up for any programs or software talked about in this article, a small compensation may be paid out to DPT Total Solutions. This does not come at any extra cost to you. We use these affiliate payments to ensure we can provide you with the best advice and practices to Build, Grow, Optimise and Integrate your business online.