I’ve been watching a new building go up across the street and I’m amazed at how many different groups of people have come to work on their part of the project.
There were people who came to clear the land, dig up the dirt, pour concrete for the foundation, frame out the first story, then the second story, then a roof was just put on and now I imagine they will start working on the inside electrical, plumbing, walls..
So many details.
It makes me think about how much goes into building a website.
You can get away with throwing some words and pictures on a page with your phone number and calling it a website, but it won’t be a very good one.
There’s a lot more that goes into making a website that is useful to visitors and helps guide them down the path of becoming a happy customer.
If I were to assemble teams of people to work on each part of the website building process it would look something like this.
- Research
- SEO
- Copywriting
- Branding
- Graphics
- Illustration
- Photography
- Videography
- UX/UI
- Web Design
- Web Development
- Analytics
[WORK IN PROGRESS]
Research
Who is your website for?
What do they need help with?
Where do they hang out online?
What words do they use to describe their problems?
How do they currently get those problems solved?
What sets you apart from the competition?
What do they search for on Google?
All of these questions should be answered before you start building a website because they will help with decisions that need to be made later on.
Copywriting
All the words you collect from your research should then be assembled into paragraphs and pages of content for your website.
You want to use the exact words your customers use when they talk about their problems so that they know they’re in the right place when they land on your site.
It helps prove to them you understand what they need.
And it’s the words on each page of your site that will guide them to take the next step towards finding answers to their questions and solutions to their problems.
You need someone who can craft those words to not just list the facts, but to trigger the emotions that cause action.
Facts tell. Stories sell.
You want stories woven into the pages of your website so that it will be easy for visitors to connect with you.
Stories are how you build relationships offline and online.
Photography
Once the words are created for each page then it’s time to call in the photographers.
They can take a thousand words you have on a page and take the perfect photo to capture that story and help visually tell it to your audience.
And even though it’s tempting to just use anyone with a phone to take a few pictures for you it will go a long way when you hire a professional.
They’ve had more practice and the quality will show through.
Videography
Not always required, but when you’re trying to trigger an emotion in someone the faster you can get a story into their head, the closer you get them to taking the next step.
Words take time to read and pictures can speed that up a little, but moving pictures are even better.
But again, it’s not about transferring information and facts.
You want to transfer feelings and emotions because that’s what causes people to take action.
There’s no point in going through all of the effort to put information on a website if you can’t get people to take action when they finally see it.