Your checklist for building a new website

Before you start a new website, there’s a few key decisions you need to make. Use this checklist to tick off all the first steps you need to take before launching your brand new website.

The business basics:

▢  Buy your domain

Make sure you have already checked for websites with similar domain names, and that the format of your website URL will work in all formats e.g in print and after an @ symbol for emails. You might also want to buy similar domains to protect your brand e.g buying the .com and .com.au or very close versions e.g domainname.com and domainnames.com 

▢  Choose a CMS (content management system) for your website

There are lots of different platforms for you to build a website, compare the price, ease of use and also what they specialise in. For example, Shopify is built for eCommerce websites but can also be very expensive. Squarespace is cheaper and easy to use but not designed for bespoke features.

▢  Create a Google Business Profile

You can start your profile by going to https://business.google.com/. This will help you show up in Google Search, vital if you are a local business.

Simple starter content:

▢  Write a short description for your business

Writing a description between 150-160 characters will be helpful for setting up business profiles and your website descriptions.

▢  Find some suitable imagery for your business

Choose a few images that you could use on your website, either from your own product shoots or from license free stock imagery.

▢  Create your logo in digital formats

You’ll need a business logo and/or an icon for your website. Create a version of your logo with a transparent background for your website branding, and create a small square ‘favicon’ (the little icon you see in your browser tabs).

▢  Choose 3 or more brand colours

This will make designing and building your website much simpler with ready to go colour choices for buttons, backgrounds and headings etc. Remember to put them all together and check they don’t clash.

Marketing and privacy decisions:

▢  Decide if you need a mailing list or newsletter

If yes, then have a think about how you want to send emails and where you will store the contacts securely.

▢  Consider if your users will need a log in or membership

This is important for deciding which CMS to choose and for planning how users will access your products or services online.

▢  Create any social media profiles for your business

Also consider if you want to connect these profiles to your website for remarketing.

▢  Pick a ‘Call To Action’

Have a think about what is the most important action a user on your website should do. Maybe it’s “Buy now”, “Book an appointment” or “Download App”.