What you should know before creating a website

Creating a website is a great way to publicise your business, product or service on the internet. But before you start, there are a few things you need to consider to ensure that your site is efficient, attractive and optimised for search engines. In this post, we'll cover some essential aspects you should know before creating a website.

Define your site's purpose and target audience

The first step in creating a website is to define the objective you want to achieve with it. Do you want to sell something, inform, educate, entertain or generate leads? Depending on your objective, your website will have a different format, content and design.

You also need to know your target audience, i.e. the people you want to visit your site. Who are they, what are they looking for, what are their problems, needs and interests? By answering these questions, you'll be able to create a website that fulfils your audience's expectations and preferences.

Choose a domain and hosting for your site

The domain is the address of your website on the Internet, for example www.purpledesigns.pt. It should be easy to remember, write and pronounce, as well as being related to your objective and your audience. You can register your domain on a specialised site such as dominios.pt.

Hosting is the service that stores your website's files and data on a server on the internet, allowing it to be accessed by visitors. You should choose hosting that offers security, speed, stability and technical support. There are various types of hosting, such as shared, dedicated, VPS and cloud. You can hire hosting from a site such as Amen or Hostinger.

Select a platform and theme for your site

The platform is the system that allows you to create, edit and manage your website in a simple and practical way, without the need for technical knowledge. There are several platforms available, such as WordPress, Wix or Squarespace. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on your objective, your audience and your budget.

The theme is the set of visual elements that define the appearance of your site, such as the colours, fonts, images and layout. You should choose a theme that suits your purpose and your audience, as well as being responsive, i.e. adapting to different screen sizes. You can use a ready-made theme that comes with the platform, or customise your own with the help of a professional or an online editor.

Create and optimise your website content

Content is what you offer your visitors, such as texts, images, videos, audios, forms, etc. The content must be relevant, original, up-to-date and of high quality, so that your site is useful, interesting and trustworthy for your audience.

In addition, the content must be optimised for search engines such as Google and Bing so that your site can be found easily by users. To do this, you should use SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) techniques, which involve the use of keywords, titles, subtitles, meta tags, links, etc. You can use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to monitor and improve your site's performance on search engines.

Promote and maintain your site

Finally, once you have created your website, you need to publicise it in order to attract and retain visitors. You can use digital marketing strategies such as social media, email marketing, blogging, YouTube, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc. You must choose the channels that best suit your purpose and your audience, and create valuable content for them.

In addition, you should always keep your site up to date, correcting any errors, adding new functions, improving usability and security, etc. You can count on the support of a web design company, such as Purple Designs (Wink, wink), which offers professional website creation, optimisation and maintenance services.