LESSONS LEARNED ON LAUNCHING A WEBSITE
I am the first to admit that I know nothing about coding, HTML or how the back end of a website actually works. Nor do I want to. I am one of those people who just wants technology to work. I am not particularly interested in knowing how it works. I am also entirely comfortable with this and find happiness in the fact that 99% of the population is also completely in the dark when it comes to being a super tech. What I DO know, or rather what I have learned through practice, patience and a huge amount of trial and error, is that if you’re thinking about launching or maintaining a website to show off your brand, there are certain things you just have to have outside of all the fancy tech stuff. So here I have compiled my top 6 tips for building a website including absolute must-dos and mistakes to avoid at all costs.
1. SEEK EXPERT HELP
Given I am not exactly tech-savvy, I have found that the no.1 thing you can do when it comes to building your website is hire someone who is. I am so incredibly fortunate to have a dear friend who has helped me from the very beginning. We have worked together in lots of different capacities over the years and have a professional relationship that, over and above our personal one, is based in respect and honesty. Find someone you can trust because you will be spending A LOT of time with this person as you establish your website.
2. ACCEPT THAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE ABOUT 40 TIMES LONGER THAN YOU THINK
Please just come to terms with this now. If you know this going in, it won’t be quite so stressful. Accept that creating something beautiful takes time, aaaages in fact and brining your website to life should be a considered process. There are so many aspects to think about and so many rounds of changes, tweaks and updates. Allowing plenty of time means you can keep things in perspective and come back to tricky parts with fresh eyes after a couple of days of space. Just to give you an idea, my recent website updates took about 3 months from concept to go-live.
3. BE SPECIFIC
When you’re working with your website guru, please be really specific about what you want. A group of 10 people can witness the same event or moment but take away 10 entirely different experiences. So you need to spell out exactly what you want in clear, simple language. I became incredibly good at this when I was working in Hong Kong, translating emails that fluctuated between Chinese and English on a daily basis. There is quite an art to communicating precisely what you need to someone who is creative – and if you have never read it please google “Missing Missy” to see how ‘lost in translation’ (and hilarious!) art direction can get – and so you must learn see it from your website designer’s point of view and communicate in a way that they can best understand.
4. INVEST IN YOUR COPY
For the most part, people will be reading your website to gain an understanding of your brand. They will then interpret these words to decide if your product or service meets their wants and needs. So the exact words you use on your website matter. And they matter a lot. These words communicate your intention, your story, your tone of voice and your offering. And they help to build an impression of your brand in the mind of your potential customer. Whether you decide to write the copy yourself or have a professional do it for you, please ensure that the words are easy to understand, that they guide your customer through your website and clearly tell them what to do next.
5. BE DISCERNING WITH DESIGN
Just as important as copy is the visual aspect of your website. The visual components connect your carefully chosen words together and deliver the aesthetic personality of your brand. Simplicity is key and a few beautiful, original images are worth investing in up front. Select two fonts and up to three colours only to use consistently plus ensure your design incorporates enough white space to allow your branding to stand out. And if you’re not particularly creative, don’t forget that you’re working with an expert who is!
6. TEST EVERYTHING
I learnt this the hard way. I was all set to re-launch the blancspace co. website and so created a small announcement on social media. Problem was, as I pushed post, the mobile optimised version of my website stopped working. My darling friend (and website expert) was literally boarding a plane to Iceland as we tried to figure out what was going wrong but the point is that I should have tested it. So the very obvious moral of the story here is to test everything. And then yep, test it again and again to make sure your website is responsive across all devices.
Creating a website for your brand is one of the most exciting things you can do. So I hope you find these lessons useful.