One of the biggest steps in owning your own site is the design process. You need to know how you want your site to function as well as who is going to be using your site. There are literally millions of other sites out there, and you need to be sure that your site does not get lost in the shuffle. Read on to learn how to create a great website.
First off, you need to think about who your target audience will be. If you are unsure of what kinds of people will visit your site, you will have a difficult time marketing to them. If you are having trouble, think about who among your friends and family would be the most likely to to use your site. This is especially true if you are going to be marketing a product. Once you have determined what kinds of people will use your site you can move on to the next step.
Now that you know who you are targeting, find out what they expect in a great website. There are many statistical analysis programs out there to help you with your task. Check out your competition to see what they are offering. You need to know what kinds of features your visitors will be looking for when they visit. You may even need to do some polling to get the answers you want. Don't be afraid to ask around or even create an online questionnaire.
Now that you know what are the most important things to include, it is time to get down to the planning process. Balance the importance of various features with the costs of implementing them. While you don't need to write your content now, you will probably want to list out the majority of the titles and topics you will need. Get help from a friend if you are having trouble being objective. Getting a second opinion can clear out a lot of problems.
Keyword selection is going to be extremely important in attracting visitors to your site. These are the terms that will make your site pop up in the search engines. Make sure the keywords you use truly reflect your site's content. You will lose potential sales if your keywords do not reflect your content. Your keywords will help to create a targeted audience for your site.
Make sure your editing will be suitable for the audience you are targeting as well. Everything from color scheme to pictures needs to be specifically tailored to fit your site and its visitors. If you have a great layout then people will find it easy to find your content and make purchases. This will bring in more repeat business and more money.
Web design is simple when you follow these steps. By spending the time to create a great website the first time around you will save yourself from having to completely redo it later. Use the information you have learned to build a great site.