Working with a team of digital experts can be a unique experience for business owners in need of a new website. For some owners, it can almost feel like you’re speaking a different language. Terms get mentioned that you might not have heard before, and the entire process might feel a bit foreign. So, to help, we reached out to a few web experts and asked them to teach us how to streamline the process.
We asked the web gurus: How can an owner best be prepared to work with your team when purchasing a new site? They provided us with several handy tips to help owners get informed and acclimated to their services.
Most Important Tip: Have a General Vision
The number one thing recommended by website creators is for owners to have a general vision in mind for their new website. Bringing in samples of other websites that you like would be a great starting point. This doesn’t have to be expressly detailed, but it’s very important to have an idea of what your company wants and needs before starting.
For example, you wouldn’t tell a home contractor, “I want a new house,” and leave it at that. You’d probably describe the type of house you want. “A two-story house with a basement and attached garage” would be a much better way to start.
As one web developer we spoke with described it, “So many times, we have clients that expect us to take care of everything and then are not happy with something in the outcome. The client needs to know what they want so we know what we are supposed to do. Then together we can avoid a hundred revisions.”
Get Your Collateral Ready
When building a new website, there will quite often be an array of materials the owner company will need to provide. This would include things like photos, graphic files for logos, videos, and most likely text to serve as content for the site’s pages.
As an owner, your company can prepare many of these materials beforehand and probably save time and money by having your collateral ready. Gathering these items can also help your company form a clearer vision of what you want your site to look like, which can help you inform your web team.
Designer/Developer Roles
A few distinct types of professionals may be a part of your web team, and it might be handy to know the difference. A web designer is one that works on the front-facing parts of your website. They design the look and feel of your pages and may work more with your images and logos.
A web developer works on more of the back-end technical steps. They control programming, security, functionality, updates, and other systems that make your site work.
Things to Know
Purchasing a new website isn’t exactly a single purchase like buying something from the store. There are a range of necessary things to know, some of which may come with recurrent costs.
Domain – A domain is the name and address of your site, such as example.com. This is something the owner company would purchase, based on availability of the desired name. Note that in some cases, a domain can be a pricy purchase if it’s a very desirable name. (That’s why many tech companies have such weird names, so they can purchase their preferred domain.)
Hosting – Hosting is kind of like renting a storage space. Typically, owners will pay a regular fee to have their site and content (like photos, etc.) hosted on a particular server. Sometimes this can be free, but most companies should expect a regular cost for hosting services.
SSL Certificate – Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates keep internet connections secure. You’ve seen these as the little padlock icon next to a URL in your browser. Your site may require an SSL if you have payment transactions or sensitive user information. There are numerous types of SSLs. The more sensitive your information, the better SSL you’ll need. These might come as a one-time purchase, a recurring annual fee, or even free for basic versions.
CMS – A content management system (CMS) is a platform a site owner can use to edit their website, like WordPress, Squarespace, or many others. Some site owners may want the ability to edit their site, and others may not.
Licensed Content – Sometimes companies prefer to use a specific font or theme, which in some cases is licensed content and would come with an associated cost. There are royalty-free options out there too.
Maintenance – Site owners often prefer to retain their web development partners for future maintenance services like SSL updates, updates to the site’s software, and other actions. However, some owners opt to perform their own maintenance.
Emails – Other things to consider are options for various email services. Some owners have their site domains set up to point to other email exchange servers, like our company does with our @buildingindiana.com email addresses.
Email Campaigns/Marketing – Some companies also choose to coordinate their email marketing campaigns through their website. This may include options like integrating MailChimp, Klaviyo, or other platforms.
Websites in a Nutshell
All that, in a nutshell, are some of the general things an owner can expect when they decide to work with a web team to create a new site for their company. It’s a fun process, especially when you’re prepared and understand what your company will be purchasing. The more informed an owner becomes, the better experience they’ll have when they set out to create their fresh new site.
Editor's note: Did you know companies can be sued for poor website accessibility? Check out our article here to learn more about how to mitigate online liabilities.
