Web Design

Web Design Checklist

Web Site Strategy

  1. What type of site will your audience like?
  2. What is the purpose of your site? – Make sure the pages of your site have a call to action that supports the purpose of your site.
  3. Provide a sample portfolio of products or work online. Make sure the site helps you obtain or retain customers.
  4. Plan for adding new sections or pages as the site evolves.
  5. Make sure you have a form to provide customer feedback.

Web Site Set-up

  1. Select a Web Hosting company so you can be up and running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with email addresses and perhaps blog support.
  2. Select a domain which uses keywords or your business name.

Web Site Content

  1. Decide on a sitemap which simplifies categories.
  2. Use a flowchart to plan how the content of your web pages will link together
  3. Decide how much programming will be necessary for the site. For instance, will you need a contact form, shopping cart, order form, calendar, survey, or even a content management type website which will allow you to make changes from any web enabled computer? Will your website capture customer information in a database?
  4. Analyze your online competition for ideas.
  5. Identify sites you would like to link to.
  6. Make sure all of your content is in electronic formats so your web developer can easily work with it.
  7. Decide if you need a search feature on your site.

Web Site Maintenance

  1. Think about the frequency you will need to update your site. How will you update the site? Will you need some training in order to maintain the site yourself – if that is the way you would like to go?

Web Site Marketing

  1. Put your new website address on all stationery, business cards, phone messages, and brochures.
  2. Register the domain – at least a coming soon page – with search engines as soon as possible to avoid the Google sandbox.
  3. Begin a link building program as soon as possible.
  4. Set up Google analytics to monitor how visitors come to your site and what they do once they get there.

Using keywords in your web copy

Here are the steps to create a web page.

  1. From the keyword lists you have chosen for your site, pick a primary and a secondary keyword that you’ll want to rank well for with the web page or article.
  2. Write the title of the web page making sure that you include the primary keyword in the title. You can also try to fit in the secondary phrase but if you find it hard to do so and still maintain good English, then don’t worry about the secondary keyword in your title. I try and keep the title to around 60 characters in length.
  3. Write the description tag using both the primary and secondary keywords. This should describe what the page is about and should be around 150 – 200 characters long.
  4. Write the first paragraph which should be a summary of the overall article and should include both primary and secondary keywords.
  5. Next, map out the structure of the article, writing headings and subheading that each contain keywords. This will help you write good search engine copy and also focus on what the web page is supposed to cover.
  6. Finally, think about the internal and external links that you might point people to. The linking text should be keyword rich.

After Your Website is Built, Follow This Website Validation Checklist: