How to Get Started on a New Website? A Practical Guide

Introduction

In order to be able to exist on the Internet and successfully gain customers, subscribers or
readers need a properly designed, transparent and responsive website
website. Creating a new website is an exciting endeavor that can
significantly influence the development of your company or project. To ensure that the entire process runs smoothly and
was successful, it's worth preparing well for it. In this article, we will answer
Key Questions: How to start building a website? What is hosting? What is a domain?
What materials should you prepare? What should you pay attention to when creating a blog? How should you present your offer?
Where to get photos and materials for your website? Why are good photos and descriptions important? How
Can a professional interactive agency help you achieve your goal?

How to start creating a website?

The first step in creating a website is to define its purpose and target audience.
Consider what functions your website should fulfill and what content will be published on it.
Then create an action plan that includes:

Research and competition analysis

Check out what the websites of companies in your industry look like. It's worth considering what you like about your competitors' websites, what you'd like to include on your own, and what you'd like to avoid.

Concept and sketch of the website

The initial design and structure of the website, also known as the wireframe. How we would like our website to be composed, what elements it should contain, and which subpages should be included in the menu.

Platform selection

Decide whether you'll use a CMS (e.g., WordPress) or build a website from scratch. Choosing a website development system is crucial for its functionality, manageability, and maintenance costs. Content management systems (CMSs) like WordPress offer easy updating and content management without requiring coding knowledge, which is a significant advantage for non-technical users. However, CMSs can be less flexible in terms of advanced features and sometimes require regular updates and security features, which is a drawback. Pages written directly in HTML offer full control over the code and can be more optimized for performance, but their development and modification require advanced technical knowledge, which is a drawback. The decision should depend on the specific needs of the project.

Suitable hosting?

Hosting is a service that provides server space where your website files are stored. Choosing the right hosting is crucial to the performance of your website. The most important aspects include:

• Speed: affects page loading time
• Reliability: ensures website availability without downtime
• Technical support: help in case of problems

Domain or how they see you…?

A domain is a unique internet address where your website will be available. A well-chosen one
A domain should be easy to remember and associate with your brand. Domain examples include:.
www.twojafirma.pl.

More about domains and which domain to choose, what to pay attention to when choosing a domain and how
a well-chosen domain affects our visibility, you can read here.

What materials should be prepared for the website?

Preparing appropriate materials, i.e. the so-called content, is one of the most important stages
work on the website. What is on the website depends on you and has a significant impact on the reception
page and whether the user will find what they are looking for. Here is a list of the most important
elements:

Content

Product/service descriptions, homepage texts, blog texts, etc. All materials
Information available on the website should be written in a language as appropriate for the intended audience as possible. Therefore, defining the target audience should be the first step in creating a successful website. Be cautious about the length of text unless the specific situation requires it. Remember to include valuable content that users will certainly appreciate, which makes you appear as experts who know what they're talking about, which is what we care about. Errors and inaccurate material should be avoided.

Photos and graphics

High-quality images will enhance your website. Well-chosen photos and graphics will let the visitor immediately know if they're in the right place. However, overloading the page with images will create a feeling of confusion, and the user won't find what they're looking for, which is something we want to avoid. As always, balance is key.

Logo and visual identification

Graphic elements associated with your brand are your calling card, so it's worth considering this issue and consulting with specialists to ensure that the visual identity resonates with your target audience and best fits the website's character. Logos placed on the website should be in PNG format, which offers the best scalability. We don't want our logo to become a jumble of pixels due to an inappropriate format.

References and case studies

If we want our brand to be trustworthy online and therefore attract new customers, it's important to include examples of previous projects and customer reviews on our website, which increases credibility and showcases the results of your work. To this end, it's worth starting work on your portfolio from the very beginning so that it can be easily added to the website.

How to present the offer?

Your offer should be presented clearly and attractively. Here are a few steps:

Structure

Divide your offer into categories and subcategories. This allows for easy grouping of offers in the website menu and allows the recipient to find exactly what they need. Remember, nothing is more frustrating and discouraging than clicking through unnecessary subpages to get to what they're looking for. Access to individual items should be as intuitive as possible.

Descriptions

Carefully developed with an emphasis on customer benefits.

Price-list

Clear and understandable.

Where to get photos and materials for the website?

Good photos and descriptions attract users' attention and build brand trust. Aesthetically pleasing and professional photos highlight the quality of your offerings, while carefully crafted descriptions inform and encourage action. Images and visual materials can be acquired in several ways:

Professional photo sessions

The best quality, but also the most expensive, original and professional photos significantly improve the website's reception and increase the credibility of both the website itself and the services offered. While photos should be of good quality, it's not advisable to upload large photos to your website. Large photos take up a significant amount of server space. This also causes the website to take longer to load, which negatively impacts its reception, something we want to avoid.

Image banks

Paid (e.g., Shutterstock, Freepik) or free (e.g., Unsplash or Pexels). The advantage of using stock photos is definitely the speed of downloading them and the selection available. You can definitely find photos on every imaginable topic, in any color scheme, setting, or size in stock photos. The disadvantage of this solution, paradoxically, is their availability. Therefore, there's a good chance that you'll see the exact same photo on another website, or worse, on your competitor's website. Stock photos don't provide a reliable representation of your service or product, so they're not always a good solution.

Is it worth creating a blog on your website? What should you pay attention to?

A blog is an excellent tool for building engagement and positioning your website in search engines. By writing blog articles, you let your customers know they're dealing with professionals who are knowledgeable in their field. It's worth considering from the outset what you want your blog to look like to ensure it aligns with your website. Here are some blog tips:

• Regularity: Publish regularly. This will build a lasting relationship with your readers and keep your site alive.
• Substantive value: Provide readers with valuable and interesting content.
• SEO: Optimize your posts for search engines by using relevant keywords.

How Pixelis can help

Pixelis, a professional interactive agency, can significantly simplify the entire website creation process. We have the knowledge, experience, and team of experts needed to ensure your website is present online. You don't need to know how to design a website so it's readable, functional, and displays well on phones, what accessibility rules are for people with disabilities, or how to integrate Google reviews with your website. We handle all the technical aspects of website creation, and we'll train you so you can independently create blog posts or add specific services to your website. Everything is tailored to your needs and skills.

They offer comprehensive services such as:

• Design and implementation: From concept to finished website
• SEO optimization: Increased visibility in search engines
• Technical support and updates: Ongoing website maintenance

Summary

In short, creating a new website requires a well-thought-out strategy and proper preparation. Our tips will surely make the process more organized and efficient. If you need support, don't hesitate to seek the services of professionals who will help you create a website that meets your expectations and the needs of your clients.