It's important to have your home on the web but why are you building this website? Is it for business or personal reasons? Will you inform or entertain? Are you wanting to sell something online?
More times than not, a website is meant to promote a product, person or service. Informational websites and blogs are meant to build up the writer as an expert and thus promote said writer. Creative professionals put their artwork online to promote themselves as creatives. Websites are built for brick-and-mortar retailers to promote their wares, location and brand - to get you to come in when you're in the area or drive across town if need be.
So what will your website do for you?
DESIGN FOLLOWS FUNCTION
Before you start building, decide what you want from your website. The best way to do this is to look at other websites that have similar purposes to you. Take time to examine how these websites work. Make a list of what you like and what you don't.
If you're a restaurant, look at other restaurant websites in and outside your genre. How are the websites structured? Where do they put their menus? Is the location on every page? Do they promote To-Go? Asking yourself these questions early will save you hours of revisions.
COMMON WEBSITE PURPOSES
- Sell a product
- Inform about a subject
- Promote a physical business
- Offer a service
- Promote an event
- Entertain through content
Of course, your website can do multiple things such as promote a lifestyle while selling merchandise, but it's important to have a bottom line going in at the beginning.
Once you decide what your website will do for you, you can move on to selecting a platform to build it.
Section 3: Selecting the Platform for Your Free Website >> Coming Soon
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