When embarking on a website project, asking the right questions is crucial to ensure a smooth process and successful outcome. Whether you’re creating a new website or redesigning an existing one, understanding your client’s needs and goals is essential. Here are some key questions to consider:
- How long will it take?
Time is money. You don’t want your website to take forever to build. The sooner it gets done, the better.
- Will I own the content, domain name, and website when it’s done?
It is your website. When we build a site here at Webster Digital Marketing, Inc., we create it with the idea that the content and the domain name belong to you. Unfortunately, not all website developers do business this way. We have seen situations where the website developer would not release the domain name to the business without a substantial payment. So we recommend you protect yourself by asking this question.
- How many pages will it have?
It’s good to have an idea of how many pages your website will have. You’ll have at least three minimum, a home page, an about us page, and a contact us page. If you offer certain services or products, then those will likely need their own pages. Do you have reviews you want to share? You’ll need a page for that, too. If you cover a certain area, maybe you can include a service area page. A list of your company staff can also be good to put on the website.
- Will my site have a contact form?
If you want to have a professional looking site, then it should have a contact form on the contact us page and possibly on other pages of the site as well. Having one makes it easier for potential customers to reach out to you.
- Can I add other functionality later? Like a web store, calendar, or gallery?
Be sure the platform for your website is flexible enough to address the needs of your business as it grows.
- Will my website be optimized to rank on Google search?
Just because you build a website, doesn’t mean people will come to visit it. You need a strategy for showing up on search engines and that strategy starts with a search-engine-friendly design and continues with an ongoing SEO plan. To be optimized for search engines, your site should include:
- Titles and descriptions for all your pages
- Optimized images with alt tags
- Lots of internal and external links
- A sitemap
- How fast will my website be?
. If you want to be competitive, rank on search engines, and attract customers, your website needs to load quickly. Make sure your website developer is aware of this an experienced at increasing website speeds. A fast website is helpful to your SEO efforts.
- How will my website look on my smartphone or tablet?
More people browse the web with mobile devices than use a desktop computer, you’ll need your site to look good and be usable on smaller devices. Ask if your site will make use of Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) and make sure you receive a “responsive design”. That means the design of the site responds to the size of the screen. How well your website looks on multiple devices can also help you with your SEO.
- Will I be able to make changes to my website?
Times can change. Your business can change too. If you need to make changes on your website, you should be able to do it with no problem. This should include the ability to add images and files, to update existing pages, and to easily keep the design of your website (colors, fonts, etc) unchanged. You may want to also ask about training for your employees on how to make changes to the site.
- How much do you charge for website updates and how long do they take?
We are often told that customers request changes to their website but don’t receive them for long periods of time (or sometimes ever). Be sure your website designer will be responsive in the future. You may even want to consider a service plan so that your site can be updated regularly.
Contact us to help with building your website
If you’re ready to build a website for your business, then contact Webster Digital Marketing.