Don’t buy a slice when you need the whole pie!

Unsuspecting small business owners think a web developer is going to create a complete website. But website development is only a slice of the pie.

Creating a new website is more than just “website development.”

Start with your website goals

Begin with your website’s purpose and goals.

• Who are your visitors (prospects)?

• How will you explain the value you create for them?

• What makes you different from your competitors?

• What do you want visitors to do on your website?

• How are you going to create trust with the visitor?

Maybe you want a business-card website that proves your business is real. Or a website that lets you share information and educate your visitors. Your goal might be to convince people to sign up for your services or a newsletter.

Each type of website will have different goals, structure, and backend tech.

Write copy for online audiences

Here’s the deal: writing online is different.

Most people just skim. You have to make your point quickly.

Once you’ve got your website’s purpose and goals clear, you need to write the copy. Even if you love to write, there are specific ways to write for online audiences.

Most website developers make YOU supply the copy for your website.

Get ready. You’re gonna have to learn how to write online. How to write headlines. How to write copy. You’ll have to write for all the pages on your website.

Or fork out more money for a copywriter…

A content writer will cost extra money over website development ($0.50-$1.00 per word). A basic website has approximately 2,500 words!

Website development details

Finally, the actual website development…

But it’s more than just the colors, fonts, images, sections, and pages.

Does your website developer do on-page SEO? (Adding page titles, page descriptions, image names, and image alt-text on the backend of your website). A developer needs to use heading tags on your page (I can’t tell you how many websites I review miss that simple tactic).

Sometimes website developers don’t size images correctly, leaving you with a slow loading website.

The Google Machine doesn’t miss these mistakes. If you don’t respect “The Google,” she’ll ignore your site and offer up your competitor’s website instead.

Website testing

Get a test results report after your new website is launched. And get an explanation of what was tested and why. Make sure Google Console was set up, and an index crawl was requested… Or it could take weeks for your new website to be found!

If you want to learn more about website indexing, check out Neil Patel’s post (very detailed… not for the tech shy).

Website training and support

It breaks my heart when clients tell me they don’t know how to access their website and fix a spelling error. (What???!!!)

Make sure training and support are part of your website package.

Don’t get trapped by shady web developers who charge you for every small fix.

Please. Please, make sure that ownership of your website is transferred to YOU. There are some shysters out there. They disappear when you need updates to your website, and you’re forever locked out of a website with YOUR business name on it!

A COMPLETE Website!

A complete website project is more than website development. Ready to learn more?