10 Things You Need to Do Before You Build a New Website

Websites 101
Written By Shannah Albert

You’ve got a brand-new venture (a business, a project, a side-hustle, a non-profit) and you need a website to share it with the world, but you don’t know a lot about websites and have no idea where to start. Don’t worry, I’ve got you!

Here are 10 things you need to do BEFORE creating your website, whether you are thinking about doing it yourself or hiring a web designer. I have included actionable tips and resources to help you tackle these steps AND a created a free website planning checklist (at the end of this post) so you can get going ASAP on your website.

1. Determine the Goals for Your Website

A website can do many things for your business. If this is your very first website your main goal is likely to establish a professional online presence and give people a way to get in touch with you.  That is a great place to start and it might be all you need at the moment.

 Here are some other things a website can help you do for your business when you are ready:

  • Build an email list to stay connected with potential clients/customers

  • Send newsletters to prospects and clients/customers

  • Offer a free resource (whitepaper, guide, quiz, mini-training, etc..) to help build your email list

  • Write blog posts to share knowledge and help attract new clients

  • Allow clients to schedule appointments with you online (and potentially collect payment when they schedule)

  • Sell products (digital or physical)

  • Host and sell online courses

  • Send invoices to your clients and allow them to pay online

Some of these features may require separate software or an additional subscription on your website platform, depending on which platform you use. Squarespace can do everything above but you do need to pay for separate subscriptions to send email newsletters or schedule appointments. You also have the option to use other tools (potentially free) that integrate with your Squarespace website.

If you plan to hire a web designer, they will need to know what features you need because it may impact the scope and price of your project.  A designer should also be able to help you select the right tools to support these goals. If you are shopping for a website template, make sure it includes the features you need to support your business goals!

2. Research Competitor Websites

It’s helpful to know what other people in your industry are including on their websites and what messaging they are using to connect with their prospective clients. This can help you figure out what to include on your own website and make sure you stand out with your own unique perspective and style. 

Visit some competitor websites and take note of:

  • What pages and information they include.

  • How are they all the same? What features, sections, or information are common for your industry?

  • What you like and don’t like about their websites

3. Get Clear on Your Visual Preferences

Websites are visual marketing tools. You will have to choose colors, fonts, and photos for your website.  Even if you hire a designer and/or photographer to help you, they are going to need input on what you like and don’t like.

Start paying attention to websites you visit in your day-to-day life. Check out your friend’s websites. Revisit those competitor websites and focus on the visuals.

Things to take note of:

  • What you like and don’t like visually

  • Pay attention to colors and fonts (typography styles)

  • What design styles you like and don’t like (minimalist, lots of graphics, custom illustrations, icons, animations, etc..)

If Pinterest is your thing, you can search there for website styles, fonts, colors, etc., and create a Pinterest board to help you (or your web designer) when it’s time to design your website.

4. Decide on a Strategy for Your Logo and Visual Branding

“Visual Branding” is the process of defining a unique visual identity for your business. This is an in-depth service that explores the personality of your business and includes logo design and a selection of colors, fonts, and other custom graphics to use in all of your marketing. Hiring a brand designer can cost thousands of dollars and is a good investment when you are more established but it’s not usually in the budget for a new venture.

It’s totally fine to DIY your own colors and fonts when you are first starting out and you don’t NEED a logo on your website. You can put the name of your business at the top of your website and even use a unique font to make it look special.

Some web designers offer logo design at an additional cost or a mini-brand add-on service that includes a simple text-based logo and color and font selection. Some may even include this in their website package. Keep any eye out for this if you are searching for a designer.

If you want to DIY your own “branding” I have a mini course that teaches you how to create a simple logo yourself and select fonts, colors, and photos for your website for only $27.

5. Gather Photos and Plan a Photo Shoot

High quality photos are one of THE most important parts of a website.  The best way to make your website unique to YOU is to have a professional photo shoot. Ideally you want more than just headshots. You want photos of you in action, your workspace, your community, and any other pictures that communicate who you are and what your business does.

Search for “Brand photographer near me” to find a local photographer who understands how to take pictures for a website. 

You can also find free high quality stock images from sites like Unsplash and Pexels or pay for stock photography on sites like Adobe Stock Photos and Stocksy. Most web designers will expect YOU to find any stock photos you want to use on your website. Some may have an add-on service to find photos for you.

I recommend investing in photography BEFORE investing in branding or a custom website if your budget is limited. You can purchase a template and build a beautiful website on your own if you have great photos!

6. Collect Client Testimonials

Your potential clients will want to see proof that you know what you’re doing and that people get results from working with you.  Testimonials from past clients are the best way do this.  In today’s online world, everyone expects to see some testimonials on a website.

Start collecting client feedback now if you haven’t already! Remember to collect titles, company names, and photos. Testimonials are more powerful with photos of real people to go with them. Even if you are in an industry where you can’t share specific client names (like therapy and law) authentic, anonymous, quotes from clients can be very helpful.

Here is a helpful article on collecting testimonials: How to Ask for Client Testimonials: The Only 2 Email Templates You’ll Ever Need

7. Make a Plan for your Website Words

Writing the words for your website (aka website copy) can be the most challenging part of the website preparation process, but good website copy is crucial for an effective website. Some web designers provide copywriting guidance as part of their service. They may sell a copywriting guide or offer an add-on service to write the copy for you.

If you purchase a website template, it may include a copywriting guide, or you might be able to buy one at an additional cost. As you start to explore website templates and web designers, pay attention to the copywriting guidance they include. 

Hiring a copywriter can be expensive and usually not within budget for a new business. Many copywriters have courses or templates you can purchase (at a lower cost than having them write it for you) to help you write your website copy. Here are some copywriting resources I recommend:

8. Purchase a Website Domain

Your domain is your website’s address on the internet (eg: www.shannahalbert.com). You purchase your domain separately from your website and it costs between $15 - $20/year. (You can usually get a deal on your first year.) Your domain can move with you if you change website providers and you can purchase a domain even if you don’t have a website yet.

You can buy a domain directly from Squarespace, and keep everything in one place (if you have your website there as well) or purchase it from a separate domain provider which might cost slightly less. I like to use Squarespace or Namecheap for my domains. There is an extra step to connect the domain to your website, if you don’t buy both from Squarespace, but it’s not hard to do and your web designer will help you with this or any template you purchase will provide instructions.

You can use any domain website to check whether a domain you want is available. Here is Squarespace Domains search tool.

9. Pick a Website Platform

There are lots of website platforms out there to choose from. Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, Showit, and Shopify are popular platforms for solopreneurs and small businesses.

How do you decide which platform to use?

  • Check out my blog post Why I Use and Love Squarespace (which includes some pros and cons of other platforms)

  • You can Google and read other blog posts that compare website platforms (but remember the author might be biased, like me!)

  • You can focus on finding a designer or a website template you like and go with the platform they use

10. Hire a Web Designer or Do-It-Yourself

Deciding whether to hire a web designer or build your own website (DIY) is a question of time, tech savvy/interest, and money. Here are the options you have:

  • Build your own website with a free template that comes with your website platform of choice (it won’t likely come with instructions)

  • Purchase a template to give you a head start (and instructions) to help you build your website on your own (~$150-$500)

  • Start from a template and hire a web designer to implement it for you (semi-custom website) (~$1,500+)

  • Hire a web designer to build a custom website for you (~$5,000+)

I talk more about these options in these two posts on my blog:

The Net-Net

Building a website is a big project and there are quite a few things you need to sort out before you or a web designer can start the technical work of building the website.  If these 10 steps feel overwhelming to tackle, a web designer can help you work through them and give you great advice. Web designers not only have technical and design expertise, we also understand how all of these pieces come together to make an effective website!

If you are a checklist kind of person, download the Website Planning Checklist below and to track your progress through the 10 steps above. And if you need more help with your website planning, you can book a Power Hour with me and we can figure it out together!

Shannah Albert
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