You can’t run a thriving retail business without an eye-catching storefront. It’s the face of your company.
Then, there’s the digital world.
Your website is your company’s storefront, the hub for all your online sales. All your marketing channels direct to this hub. Everything needs to be on point, from loading speed to usability design.
But, how long does it take to design a website?
There isn’t an official timetable. Professional web developers typically have websites up and running within six months.
What goes on during the process?
Keep scrolling to learn more!
The Consultation Stage
Every professional website begins with a consultation.
Most reputable web design firms offer some complimentary offers. If you visit bluefrogwebdesign.net, you’ll notice they offer free SEO audits. These audits review your entire website for optimization, keywords, and search rankings.
It’s essential to take complete advantage of your free consultation or audit. Prepare plenty of questions.
Great questions include:
- Are you familiar with your industry niche?
- Can I see past examples?
- What would the total job cost?
- Who would be designing my website?
- How well do your websites rank in Google?
- How long can I expect results?
- What web development platform do you use?
- Will the website come with a user-friendly dashboard?
You can always book multiple free consultations with various web firms to find a suitable designer. You can also avoid wasting time by only contacting designers specializing in your niche.
Get to Know Your Audience
It’s not just about how the website looks; web design is also about marketing. Professional web designers know the site’s audience inside and out and apply that knowledge to the plan.
For example, if you want to build a fashion website, you should also integrate your Instagram into the design. Highlight Instagram giveaways on your homepage and encourage customers to tag you in their favorite outfit posts. Pinterest also blends perfectly into fashion websites.
On the flip side, a construction site wouldn’t need a heavy Instagram presence since its primary audience doesn’t use Instagram to find construction services. This audience is more likely to use Google. Thus, you would need a heavily SEO-optimized website to draw traffic.
What if you needed a website for a research lab?
In this case, you would integrate whitepapers and case studies into your site. This niche attracts B2B customers, not consumers. This audience is exceptionally informed and does plenty of research before buying.
How do web designers understand the mind of your ideal visitor?
They perform meticulous market research to reveal valuable data about your audience. This data is visualized as a customer profile, a representative of the ideal user.
Therefore, you may wind up with a customer profile with the name Sally. Sally is a college graduate who makes over $100K and dreams of living in the suburbs. This profile would be perfect for a real estate firm trying to promote its agent services.
Web developers use several methods to extract this data. They may perform this research in-house or hire a market research firm.
Methods include:
- Feedback cards and surveys
- Social listening
- PPC campaigns for brand awareness
- A/B testing
- Consumer psychology
- Website geographical data
- Localized data
A/B testing is a great way to narrow down your audience. After all, it’s not just about generating leads but attracting quality leads that convert. As your leads grow, you should segment your marketing lists to personalize user experiences.
Choosing the Right Web Design Layout
You know your audience, what they like, and how to communicate with them. Next, integrate this data into a seamless web design.
Regarding web design, it’s best to follow the adage that less is more. Busy graphics confuse and frustrate visitors while slowing your website down. Ensure there’s plenty of white space to allow the eyes to rest.
Simple designs also work best on mobile devices. In the meantime, you can always enable Google AMP through your content manager.
Mobile web pages load quicker, decreasing bounce rates. Plus, users expect all websites to be mobile-friendly by now. You can even add “click to call” buttons to your mobile PPC ads, allowing visitors to call your business directly from Google.
Apply Color Theory to Your Website Design
Next, choose a suitable color scheme.
Ideally, your palette would be your company’s brand colors. Choose niche-appropriate colors if your business doesn’t have an “official” color scheme.
For example, if you’re a spa-related business with olive green and dusty lavender logo colors, this combination would also be your website’s color palette.
Suppose your business consulting logo is a simple font type. Instead, you would use an appropriate color combination for the niche, like blue and white, red and white, or blue and yellow.
This part is an excellent opportunity to fine-tune your brand identity. Always have a color wheel handy for inspiration. Think about the color palettes that inspire you to buy, create, and eat; the point is to encourage users to take action.
Don’t forget to include compelling media, like quality photos, videos, and infographics. Branded videos are an excellent opportunity to integrate your brand colors into media with the help of custom t-shirts, banners, watermarks, and other branded elements.
Ramp Up Your Analytics Strategy
Remember to monitor your website analytics from the beginning.
This data reveals your web performance over time, including the following variables:
- Online sales history
- Geographical data
- Unique visitors per day
- Bounce rates
- Click-through rates
- Web page loading speed
You can also use analytics to find new business leads.
For example, social listening reveals what users say about your brand or related services. It’s a great way to meet potential customers where they are.
How Long Does It Take to Design a Website?
Don’t wait to start building a website that generates interest and sales!
So, how long does it take to design a website?
If you start now, you could have an impressive website completed in just a few months. Follow this guide as you envision your project. And check out the blog for even more inspiration.
