Website Design Checklist: Everything You Need to Launch Your Business Website

Are you ready to take your business to the next level by launching your professional website? In this comprehensive blog post, you’ll learn everything you need to know to get your business’s website up and running. 

The Importance of Building a Website for Your Business

Before we dive in, why have a website for your business? It’s no secret that we live in a fast-paced, digital world, so having a virtual storefront for your business no matter what industry you’re in is important.

Your website is the digital hub for everything going on in your business. Having a well-designed website establishes your credibility. It’s a place to showcase positive client testimonials and share recent work.

Your website also increases your visibility and helps you reach a wider audience through SEO (search engine optimization) strategies. It’s an asset that you own and have control over, unlike social media platforms. 

By intentionally designing your website and incorporating elements discussed in this web design checklist for business owners, your website has the power to consistently generate leads and boost sales for your business.

Website Design Process

Now that you have a deeper understanding of why a website is important and how it can impact your business, let’s cover the aspects of the web design process.

Research

The very first step to designing your website is conducting some research. Here’s what you need to look into.

Choosing a Hosting Platform

First, select the best website hosting platform for your business. This is where your website will be built. There are many different factors to consider when selecting a hosting platform, including price, features, and ease-of-use. 

Think about what the main goal of your website is. Certain platforms are better than others, depending on your niche and how you intend to use your website. 

If blogging is your primary focus, Wordpress is the most popular option because of the ability to install plug-ins. The Yoast plug-in is a popular one to boost SEO efforts- although you can also have a successful blog through Squarespace.

For e-commerce businesses, Shopify is your best bet. Shopify dominates the e-commerce market and offers many features specific to those kinds of businesses.

Are you looking for a mix of everything? Squarespace is an amazing hosting platform that works for a wide range of business owners, including bloggers, podcasters, coaches, course creators, brick and mortars, and more. It’s an easy-to-use platform that grows with your business and integrates with many other marketing platforms you need. 

In my opinion, as a web designer and SEO consultant, Squarespace gives you the best bang for your buck. You can find info on Squarespace pricing plans here but keep in mind, when you work with me as your designer you’ll get a 20% discount your first year PLUS a 6-month free trial as we build your site.

Competitor and Market Analysis 

Now that you selected your hosting platform, conduct some research on your competitors. 

Browse their websites and take note of their styles. Are they typically more bold, calm, or inviting? Do they use bright colors or keep things neutral? 

Take note of their tone of voice as well- if they are more professional or more casual in their copy. This gives you insight into where there are gaps in your industry and how you can fill them.

Next, research their SEO. What keywords are your competitors ranking for? If you aren’t sure, plug your competitor’s website into Google Keyword Planner and see which keywords it suggests.

Design & Planning

Now it’s time for the fun part! You’re ready to start planning out what your website will look like. 

This includes your branding, imagery, copy (the text on the website), and layout. Don’t skip that last one- it’s important that your website is easy to navigate and you design it with intention so that visitors aren’t questioning where to click next!

Branding

Your branding represents how your business makes others feel. You communicate this through your logos, fonts, colors, and tone of voice. My branding was done by Rockfish Design Studio, but you can DIY your branding on Canva if you’re just getting started!

Consistency is key when it comes to your branding. On your website and in all your marketing materials, stay consistent with your fonts and colors. Add your logos to headers and footers on your website.

While hiring a brand designer can be a significant investment, it also makes DIY-ing your website easier because you’ll have all the patterns and brand files to work with!

Content

Of course, creating your business’s website content is both crucial and time consuming, so this is where you’ll likely spend a chunk of time in the beginning. 

Gather all your images needed for your website. You have the option of using brand photos if you have them, and/or stock photos. If you choose to go the stock photography route, I recommend MOYO for sourcing images!

In addition to your images, you must write your website copy. Google requires a significant amount of text on each page to fully understand what your website is about. This is so Google knows how to catalog it and rank your content on search engines. Keep that in mind when writing your copy!

Optimize Your Website for Search Engines

We’ve discussed SEO a bit throughout this blog post so far, but prioritizing SEO strategies is crucial if you want your ideal clients to find you organically. SEO tells Google what your website is about and where you should show up when someone is searching for something specific. 

For example, if you’re a Maryland bakery, you want your business to pop up when someone searches for “bakeries in Maryland”.

With a little bit of research and time upfront, you’re able to get traffic on autopilot to your website for months or even years to come. Here are some helpful resources to boost your rankings on search engines.

Use my Launch Checklist to make sure you have the basics down

Wondering what SEO strategies to implement before launching your website? I cover everything I recommend putting in place before hitting “Publish” in this free SEO checklist- click here to download your copy!

Join RANK Method to get the whole experience  

Are you brand new to SEO and want to fast-track your success? RANK Method is my signature program to get you off the social media struggle bus and into a long-term marketing strategy that generates leads on autopilot for your business. 

I walk you step-by-step through my 4-part framework to infuse SEO strategies onto your website in a manageable, simple way. If you’re excited to learn approachable SEO techniques, click here to join RANK Method!

Use SemRush to Audit your site, find keywords, build backlinks, etc

Another helpful tool for upleveling your SEO strategy is Semrush. This program helps you with keyword research, backlinks, competitive analysis, and so much more. You can get a lot done with their 7-day free trial!

Track of your keywords with a Website Design Checklist in Excel or Google Docs

This is another resource I have available in my SEO course and helps keep track of what keywords you are trying to rank for on each page, monitor the amount of monthly traffic, and take notes.

Having a keyword tracker in Excel or Google Sheets helps you better understand how changes to your SEO impact your website traffic over time so you can make more informed decisions about what to add to your website’s design and structure in the future.

Connect with Integrations

Integrating your website with other tools and platforms will streamline your operations and improve the user experience. Here are a few different integrations I recommend adding to your site.

Email Marketing 

Building your email list is crucial for business success. Flodesk is the email marketing platform I recommend to business owners- click here for 50% off your first year. Once you create an account, you can embed forms on your website to help grow your email list.

Connect Google Analytics and Search Console

In order to track your SEO efforts and notice improvements over time, connect your Google Analytics and Google Search Console accounts to your website. This data will help you make marketing and business decisions, so it’s important to set it up properly from the start.

Honeybook for Inquiry Forms

Do you have a workflow for your customer journey? I highly recommend using a CRM, or customer relationship management software. Honeybook is the all-in-one platform I use, and it makes this process simple. 

Click here to sign up for Honeybook, and once you have an account, you can embed contact forms for new inquiries onto your website.

Technical Website Set-Up

There are a few technical steps you must take before hitting “Publish” on your website, but don’t worry- there are plenty of tutorials online if you get stuck with these steps.

Connect Your Domain

Make sure your domain is active and connected to your website! If you bought your domain separately from your hosting platform (ex. Squarespace is your website host, but you bought your domain on GoDaddy), ensure it’s transferred to your website.

Make sure SSL certificate is active

Double check that your SSL certificate is active. If you aren’t sure how to do this, conduct a quick Google search with your website host. 

Website Compliance

There are a few rules for all websites that you want to follow, and compliance is an important component. Make sure your website is compliant with regulations such as GDPR.

Why Your Website Needs a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Another rule is that you must have a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use page. Aren’t sure what these are or don’t know how to create them? Click here for the templates I recommend and use code “HILLTOP20” for 20% off (or “HILLTOP5” during sales)!

Web Design Pricing Options to Consider

When it comes to designing your website, there are lots of aspects to consider- including pricing. Depending on where you’re at in your business, you likely have a certain investment level you feel comfortable with.

You have the option to DIY your website from scratch. This is the cheapest option, but also the most time-consuming. On the flip side, you can hire a web designer to create a done-for-you website. Or, you may select a hybrid approach of the two by purchasing a website template.

Is it cheaper to build my own website?

Building your own website is the cheapest option financially, but it presents its challenges. You must be willing to invest a lot of time upfront and may end up completely re-doing all your hard work or hiring an expert later on. If web design and SEO are not your specialty, this is likely not the most ideal solution for you.

If pricing is a concern, I suggest purchasing a website template. This gives you an affordable AND effective solution, because templates are cheaper than hiring a professional to design your website. However, they typically are created by an expert, so you know your website was built to attract and convert your ideal clients. All you have to do is drop in your own content, swap out colors, fonts, and images, and you’re ready to launch! 

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Website Template 

Are you thinking the template route is the best option for you? Here are a few factors to consider when choosing your website template.

First, think about your budget. Showit templates are typically more pricey. Can you get away with a one-page template to get yourself started for less than $100, or do you prefer spending more upfront to get a complete website template?

Next, look at the layout. Does the website template have the main sections and pages you need for your business? Remember while you can make changes, you still want to have a strong starting point.

Lastly, acknowledge how customizable and user-friendly the website template is. With my Squarespace templates, everything is customizable thanks to the Squarespace Fluid Engine. You can design, move things around, add/save/remove sections, etc. Also, if you aren’t a code expert, you may prefer something more simple. If anything breaks with code, it could be a hassle for you to figure out on your own.

Interested in learning more about website templates and how they work? Click here to read the blog post!

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