Building a website, like building a house, requires planning and thought in order for it to be successful. This simple three step process will give you a guide to follow. I would be happy to help you at each step in the process.

The first and most important step in building a website is to gather and organize your content. Think through the information you want to present to your visitors. What information is critical? What pieces of information are secondary? Generally speaking when you are starting your site it is best to focus on the essential information you want to communicate to your visitors and then over time add additiona pages and information. This has the added bonus of keeping the content on your site fresh which Google and other search engines value in their rankings.

Generally your content is going to be divided into text content, images, photographs and artwork, and tables of information. Great images really boost the visual appeal of your site. Think about what photos might look good on your site. Photos of your products, staff, work and location all help your visitors visually relate to your site. A good picture is really worth a thousand words in web design. In addition content that provides a personal link between your visitors and your company is always valuable. Make your visitors feel like they know your business or organization on the first visit.

Once you have decided what information you want to include on your site, think about how to logically divide this information into the pages of your site. Next think through the navigation of your site. What information will be on your home (front) page and how will your visitors access other pages? For many sites this will be easy and obvious but its still valuable to think through how your visitors will navigate the content on your site. If you are planning to add more content over time, how will this new content be integrated into the existing site.

Check out the Design page for more information about our standard layout. Like most sites on the web, our standard layout is based on a three by three grid. Browsing through the Design examples is a great way to think about the visual layout of your page. We can assist you by creating a simple banner and finding and editing images for your site.

If you have decided to work with me on your site, we will have already had several conversations about the content, organization and appearance of your site. Now is the step where I put it all together and create your site. I will setup your site based on the design we have worked up and will then add your content and navigation. After a review I will make any changes you request and then activate your site for the world to see. Finally I will create a Google site map for you and submit your site to Google and other major search engines.

A good website is never really finished and one of the biggest mistakes you can make with your website is thinking it is finished. Keeping your content up to date is critical and adding new and fresh content will keep people (and search engines) coming back for more. In addition you should always monitor your site for web server problems and back it up whenever changes are made. Viruses and Spyware are easy to spread and you should monitor your site for these evil critters as well. Finally you need to keep your domain registration information current and paid up so you do not lose your domain name.