Step #1: Start with a plan.

Start by thinking of how your website will serve your business.

Obviously you want to build a new website for your business for growth, but start with fine-graining it to smaller website goals.

For instance, a boutique guesthouse’s website might have two or more goals:

• To be found
• To drive new bookings
• To serve as a repository of information about the hotel
• To make it easier to make direct contact with the business

An e-commerce website for luxury handmade jewelry on the other hand aims:

• To convert sales
• To be found both via search engines and via paid advertising
• To promote new products

Step #2: Define all the content

At this step, you need to define all the content that you plan to include on your website and think about how it will be organized on the site.

This is the perfect phase of the development cycle where you will create the sitemap of your new website and decide which content appears where. Your web designer will help you with the information architecture here.

You will maybe consult with a professional copywriter, the professional who will write the content of your website, and hire a professional photographer if, for instance, wish to display products that sell from the screen.

Step #3: Decide on your future needs

In this step, you will define your future needs.

Are you going to update your website with new content continually? Then you will be needing a Content Management System, like WordPress, or an e-commerce platform, like WooCommerce, or maybe both.

On the other hand, do you need something for a specific marketing campaign? Then you will be needing a custom-designed landing page that will not be updated in the future and will serve your short-term business goals. In this case, probably a static website is what you would go for.

Step #4: Register a domain name

When you have defined your website’s goals, content and future needs you are ready to obtain a good domain name.

Your domain name, also known as your website address, is often the entry point to your site. Choosing a good domain name is easier said than done, as it requires multiple factors to be considered.

Some hints when choosing a domain name:

• Include your brand/company name
• Make it memorable.
• Make it easy to spell, free of numbers, hyphens, or other unusual characters.
• Make it short
• Choose a recognized, trustworthy extension (.com is ideal if we are talking about a commercial website for instance).

Step #5: Invest in good hosting

For your website to go public you will need a set of files to be somewhere on the “web”, under a secure connection, and “linked” to the above web address/domain name, under a protocol named DNS.

This is a good place to consult with your web designer, developer, or agency, as your needs and future goals you have set at the previous steps might make a significant impact on the best hosting service provider and the plan that is more proper for you.

For instance, the decision to handle frequent high-quality image uploads on a photographer’s portfolio website through a Content Management System will make a real impact, as the hosting must, not only, support a large hard drive quota, but also the Content Management System itself and the technologies that are needed for it to run.

Step #6: Make plans for maintenance and marketing

If you build a new website for business growth and launch it, you are not automatically going to create a windfall of traffic, customers, or sales.

You heard that right. A website evolves with your business. It is a tool that needs to be continually built, reevaluated, and maintained, always thinking about, not only your business needs but also your target audience, or your prospective customers.

Some ideas:

• Add valuable, search-engine optimized, content.
• Add content frequently that engages with your site’s visitors and makes them stay longer on your website.
• Social media campaigns or Email Marketing.

Step #7: Invest on professional help

Your job is not building websites or even maintaining all the infrastructure that is needed for it to run. Your job is to run your business.

Don’t skimp on cost. With design, you get what you pay for. Don’t try to cut corners.

Use a professional, experienced designer and developer who will guide you on all the above steps.