If you've reached this page, chances are you're overwhelmed, you don't know what to do, you don't know where to start, you don't know anything about anything about websites and you're going crazy . . . aagghh!!!
Okay, relax . . . take a deep breath and put down the coffee (the caffeine doesn't help). I'll hold your hand, we'll go through it together. I want to help you get your 'show on the road' and flying down the highway at 100/mph.
The Startup
Don't deflate the ball, before you start it rolling
No one jumps into a pool without first checking the temperature or seeing how deep it is (well, unless it's on a dare.) So don't do that with your business. You need to weigh the pros and cons and decide if this business is actually going to make it and if it's a necessity in what is a tight economy.
I know you have visions are grandeur: Relaxing in a Trump Tower™ with a cute Attendant serving you a six-figure cheque on a silver tray . . . but can we focus on the website first?!
You need to plan your business, start your business, work your business . . . and then you can start dreaming about the retirement.
A website is the #1 way to go. Anyone who's anyone has a website and in a world that is based around pure technology, computers and robots, you need one - and you need it to look good. The printing materials will come after, all with your website stamped on each and every one.
The Big (Framed) Picture
The best laid plans of mice and men
Okay, stay with me here: A logo is needed before the website . . . the name is needed before the logo . . . the business plan is needed before the name . . . and an espresso is needed before the business plan. Phewf! Got it? Good!
Here's a checklist to help you begin:
- Choose a business name
- Research the name
- Choose your company colors
- Get a logo
- Get a website
- Get printing materials
- Distribute printing materials with logo and website on it
Tip: Outlining what you want on your website, can actually help you outline your business plan all together.
The Name
What's in a name? A lot more than a rose
Choosing a business name is important and what is even more so, is researching the name. Can you imagine finally deciding on a name you're excited about and launching it, only to find out that it's very similar to a disreputable business? Di-sas-ter!
The Logo
Brand (name) spankin' new
Once the name is established, then comes the fun part: the logo! When it comes to determining the colors, you may leave that up to the designer to provide color samples or choose them yourself. I recommend Color Schemer (.com) if you're trying to come up with your own palette.
Before the logo is designed you need to provide direction to the style of the logo. The theme achieved will be branded across all your materials.
Theme and Style Ideas: Corporate, Professional, Whimsical, Artistic and Illustrative, Simple, Text Only, "Cliparty"/"Cartoony", 3D, Feminine
The Competitor
Keep your friends close, and your competitors further away
Check out your competition on the web - don't steal from them! Just see what they're doing and plan to have a bigger, better, giant-bite-size business plan.
The Domain
Your virtual stamping ground
You may have heard the name "domain" and "hosting" when researching how to get a website started. If you have no idea what these are and you visit a website that offers web hosting, you'll be wanting to smash your forehead against a brick wall. Please don't do it too hard, we need that highly intellectual head of yours to get this business off the ground!
Definitions: A domain is the "www." name you create and purchase. Hosting is the service that allows your website to be viewable on that domain name.
Creating a good domain name is important as well. Here are some tips:
- Use a ".com" name, if possible, instead of ".net", ".biz", etc. There's nothing wrong with directing away from the ".com" name, but it's more universally known.
- Use keywords pertaining to your business. For example, if your business name is Pink Frill and you sell cupcakes and cakes, then use something like: pinkfrillcakes.com.
- Please be practical and don't use those super-ooper crazy-long domain names. No one wants to spend hours typing out a domain name just to visit your site. Just because your business name could be Go Green Technology and Institute doesn't mean it has to be: gogreentechnologyandinstitute.com. Condense it into something like: gogreen.com.
The web hosting company that I've worked with (and have been happy with) is: Lunarpages.com. You can go right on their home page and start searching for available domain names. Your domain name is FREE with the purchase of a web hosting package.
The Website
Don't get caught in a cob web
Your website needs to be eye-candy, with a cherry on top! Unfortunately, people do judge a book by its cover and that's why you have to prove that your website is just as good as your services and products are!
A website can be done in a good amount of time (from 1 - 8 weeks, depending on the project) I know it's a lot of thumb-twiddling and you're tempted to send five emails a day saying, "are we done yet?", but it's a process. If you want an amazing website created overnight, you'll have a put in a request to the magic fairy godmother. I'm not quite sure what her rates are though.
Before a Web Designer and/or Developer can begin on your website, certain information on your end needs to be ready to go and handed off to us. It not only helps speed up the process, but it helps you determine your business plan.
Here is a checklist that is usually included in the web design questionnaire I send to my clients before the website begins:
- Logo - Do you have a logo to incorporate in your website? (If no, text only will be used)
- Main Navigation - What main navigation is required? (ex. Home, About Us, Services, etc.)
- Sub Navigation - What sub-navigations will be required? (ex. About Us = History, Our Team, Company Profile, etc.)
- Industry - What is the nature of your business?
- Target Audience - Who is your target audience? Who do you want to reach with this site?
- Attractive Websites - Please list any website addresses of sites that you like the look of to determine your desired style.
- Layout Preferences - Do you have a particular preference for web layout, main navigation (vertical or horizontal), graphics (illustration designs or photos), or font?
- Theme/Style - What type of theme/style are you trying to achieve? (ex. Very professional, warm, friendly, flashy, artistic, very simple, interactive, etc.)
- Home/Landing Page - What information do you want on your home page? A welcome paragraph, a list of services you offer, just photos with a sentence or two . . . please be specific about the areas you want highlighted when people first visit your website.
- Images - Will you be providing images or will I be using my own?
- 25 Keywords - Please provide 25 keywords that best describes what your website and business is about. Please try not to make it too generic, for example, instead of “flowers” you might want to say “fresh bouquet flowers.” These keywords will help get you recognized on the search engines.
- Extras - Are there any comments/specific ideas that I need to keep in mind while designing your project?
- Content - Please provide the content that you want on each page of your website. ***** IMPORTANT!
The Test
Survival of the fit test
Once your website is designed and coded, it's put up for you to test-view before going live. Small (if any) textual changes are made at this point.
The Launch
When pigs fly, you're flying higher
It's done and the website is live! This is the part where you squeal, jump up and down and visit your site a 100 times a day just to admire it because you're so excited that you got a big part of your business accomplished!
The Promotionals
The world is one's oyster, if you can stomach the seafood
Now that you feel like you've got something great accomplished, you're ready to take on the presidency, fight all the villains of the world and reign with Trump in his tower . . . however, why don't you start planning for your promotional items first? These may include: Postcards, business cards, letterheads, envelopes, and everything else under the moon that you want to hand out, mail out, work out . . .
