5 Things to Look Out for Before Building a Company Website

So you have decided that it is time for your business to finally have its own website, but where do you start? How should you go about it? Is having a “.com” enough? Listed below are 5 things that you should know before building a company website.

1. Know the purpose of your website.

This is the first and the most important aspect of your website that you should think about before contacting a web designer. You will first need to identify what you want the website to achieve. Is it geared towards selling products? Is it to advertise your services? Or do you want it to be just a venue for potential customers to gather information?
2. Decide if you need a content management system (CMS).

You will need a rough idea of how often should you update your website, depending on your website’s purpose. If you think that your website does not need regular updating, it would be more affordable if the people who made the site will be the ones who will do the updating, saving you time.

If you plan on changing your website frequently (adding new products, updating newsfeeds and so on), then you should have a content management system. A CMS will let you easily add and edit information on your site without needing technical knowledge.

3. Choose who will host the website.

In choosing the company to host the website, consider the following first:

• Web space – how big do you want your website to be? How many pages do you have? You will need a package that will reasonably address these needs.

• Bandwidth – make sure you have ample bandwidth; companies who offer unlimited bandwidth are recommended.

• Reliability and speed of access – a web host should not only be reliable, it should also have a guaranteed uptime.

• Technical support – make sure that the web hosting company that you choose provides a 24/7 technical support because problems can come anytime.

• Location – it is better to have your target audience and your web hosting company in the same area. Like for example, if your target audience is in UK, your server should also be hosted in UK.

• Features – most web hosting companies offer fully loaded control panels these days. It will allow you to control your server easily for activities like setting up email accounts, etc.

4. Choose an appropriate domain name.

This is probably one of the most important steps when creating your business website. Choosing an appropriate domain name is very crucial in making or breaking your online presence. Your domain name is considered as your online identity and will represent your website and your business as a whole.

5. Have a corporate identity.

If your company has already established a brand, it should logically be incorporated in your website. Make sure that you web designer understands how you want your company to present itself through the site – like the color schemes, the theme, the overall layout, the labels and titles, and so on.