Building a website is not a task that should be taken lightly, if you want to do it right the first time. We have put together this guide to aid you through the whole process. You will find a lot of tips, examples, links to useful services and resources, which teach you how to build a website as easily as possible...

Start with a plan

Creating a website that ranks well with the search engines and pulls in lots of traffic takes as much time and money as creating an unsuccessful low-potential one.

Amazingly, people often start creating a website without building a clear plan of what they want that site to achieve.

If you're going to build a website, take a few moments to stop and brainstorm the best website concepts for you. Take the time to think it through thoroughly before you actually start creating a website. It takes less time and money to do it right the first time than to have to go back and fix problems with your site after it is finished.

The few hours or so that you spend here, in planning your site content, will determine exactly how big your success will be.

Most people fail in any business because they don't plan adequately. So invest the time now to maximize your returns later.

Defining your purpose:

The first consideration in creating a website is to define the web site's purpose. All too often, people start work on their web site without giving any thought to a clear statement of purpose for the site other than the fact that they want one. Unfortunately, if you skip this foundational step, you risk confusing visitors of your site due to the website's lack of purpose and ultimately having them leave before they can get to the true value that your web site offers. Internet users today are more impatient and less tolerant so they are not prepared to spend time trying to work out what your site is about and how it will benefit them. After all, this should be one of your site’s main goals.

The next step we recommend is to categorize your web site. From an artist standpoint there are, generally speaking, three common types of websites in which we will describe in more detail below:

Personal Web Site
Having your own Web site is a great way to keep your family and friends informed about what is going on in your life. Some of the common purposes of a personal web site are: to post and share pictures, detail your experiences with a blog, and keep people informed about your upcoming major life events.

The Online Portfolio Web Site
Having a Web site to promote your artistic ability is vital in getting the exposure you need to take the next step. One of the common goals that artists have for a web presence is so that publishers, galleries, and other people of influence understand what their art work is all about. It also increases your visibility and professionalism and helps separate you from the average weekend hobbyist, regardless of whether you offer your artwork for sale online.

E-commerce Site
Many artists use their web site to sell their products and services directly to customers. By creating an online store you can not only educate your customers about your business but also give them the opportunity to make a purchase while they are doing their research. Whether you have a local business or a national enterprise, being able to sell your products and services directly on your Web site increases your business’s visibility, scope and revenue potential.

More Thoughts on a Web Site's Purpose
Now that you have a general categorization of your website; think about what your site is going to offer to its visitors. Your goal may be to:
• Present information on a topic.
• Showcase your artwork.
• Sell a product.
• Provide a service.
Often, you will be aiming for a combination of these. If you are providing a service, you are also likely to be supplying marketing information and other related content. This is perfectly acceptable, but you should not lose sight of the principal purpose of the site, which in this case is to provide a service.

You may consider providing a whole page devoted to the purpose and goals of your web site: why the site was created, what it is about and what the user can get from it. If you have seen the opening page of this site, you notice that we spell this out to our visitors.

Defining your purpose will also help when it comes to submitting your web site to search engines. They will ask you to provide a short description about your site. The accuracy and relevance of this description will determine whether or not a searcher visits your site or chooses another.

In really this is not as scary as it sounds, but careful thought early on in the process can save you both time and money down the road if you don't have a good handle on the site's purpose. The remedy in most cases is to redesign your web site.

Once you have come up with your purpose - write it down somewhere as you will need to refer to this information down the road.

Finding and understanding your website's niche

The way to be successful in the Internet is to select a specific niche and to fill it with high-value content.

Absolutely everyone has some special interest, hobby, passion and knows something that others from around the world seek.

Your goal is to find a subject that you really know and like and that you think would have some appeal for others. Your passion will make work fun and easy. If a concept really turns you on, you won't be working. You'll be playing.

The real opportunities lie in the niches. The optimal niche must be not too broad and not too narrow. Can a single person ever fill a Web site about, for example, "Photography?" On the other hand, a Web site about "Midwest Nature Photography of Blue Spruce Trees" will not attract many interested visitors. The right niche lies between these extreme examples.

Try to look at the Web site from the visitor end. Who are they? What are they trying to do? What other stuff do they look for? Figure out what problem your target market is trying to solve when they do a search. Your Web site should solve that problem.

Checking out the competition

Now that you know your purpose and your specific niche, it's time to look at competitors so that you understand what information you should have on your website. To begin, visit Google.com and search on your specific niche keyword (for example: 'Wildlife Photography'), then start looking at the websites that are returned in the results. Don't assume that your potential competitors are doing everything correctly, as that is usually not the case.

What you should be looking for is themes that are a part of a number of the sites. For example, for a wildlife photography websites that sell prints, how do they present their order information and what information do they disclose about their fulfillment process. What you are trying to understand at this point are the critical items that need to be a part of your website. As you are reviewing these sites, you MUST look at them from a visitor's perspective. So staying with the wildlife photography website example, when I'm looking at order information on the various sites, what is displayed that would answer the questions about the print purchase to make you feel comfortable ordering from them.

Take a lot of notes as you go through this exercise, as this will become content that you will want to be a part of your website and should be shared with whoever will be designing your website.

Define success for your website:

This is more of a thinking exercise than a lesson – but the results are very powerful. Answering the questions below will give you a clear vision of what direction you want your website to go before it has ever been constructed.

1.) What is your initial vision and expectations of your website?

2.) What is your long term vision of your website?

3.) How will you measure whether your website is a success?

This is information you should share with whoever designs your website as it could save you time and money down the road if the initial web site is developed with you long term vision in mind from the beginning.