How to Build Your Next Website Like a Pro
Building your first website was probably like trying to assemble IKEA furniture with a blindfold and only a butter knife. You got it done, sure, but it's got the wobbles, and why are there spare screws??
The good news is that you probably learned a thing or two while doing it! You've graduated from the messiness of the just get it done, School of Web Design. These days, you’re older and wiser, so you know what you like and don’t like. It’s time to rebuild, and this time, we’re doing things right.
This is your time for a grown-up website. But where to begin? Here’s 5 concepts to take into this next phase of your website's glow-up.
My clients, Bloome Consulting, started with a DIY singled paged website - when we set about making their next website… We pumped up the content, focused on story telling of their amazing clients and showcasing their skills.
learn how to love Analytics
Remember last time when you just assumed people would click on your About page? Ehhhh Wrong! Your first website was a flat, dimensionless wall. This time, you’ve got content and it’s about time you learnt how to use it.
It’s time to do some digging - here’s where to look for a start.
Use Google Analytics on your current site to identify the pages where visitors consistently bail. If your checkout page has a high bounce rate, it's not the visitors—it's that confusing page acting like a velvet rope to nowhere.
Which blog posts or landing pages are actually pulling in traffic? Do they have call to actions that keeps them on your site? These are your superstars! Give these pages the prime space that they deserve on your new site. Your redesign should work for your stars, not the other way around.
Send an anonymous survey to past clients asking, "What was the most confusing, frustrating, or downright ugly thing about my old site?" Prepare to wince, then fix it!
Lock Down Your messaging
Your first site was probably trying to be everything to everyone. Too many messages that never quite hit the mark. It’s time to rein it all in and speak directly to your ideal client. All of the other folks can just continue their search.
“HOT TIP: If you want to know how your key messaging is landing. Head to your favourite AI platform - give it your business name and ask it what they specialise in. The response may surprise you.”
If AI isn’t your thing, you can always ask a friend for their take and see what their key takeaways are.
I’d encourage you to invest in a copywriter - honestly, it will change your life and your business. A talented copywriter will wade through your current content, your briefing and say it better in fewer words. Best bit is it will be written for humans and also mean that you don’t get ChatGPT sounding content. Think of the hours you’d save not having to write and re-write your prompts.
Make it easy for people to contact you
We aren’t playing a game of hide and seek here. It should be really easy for people to connect with you or book in a service.
A couple of other things people expect to see on your website…
I highly recommend putting your price lists online. This helps you to get more qualified leads coming through to your discovery calls.
For my service provider friends, you must have an option to book a call so that customers can book a discovery call with you. Let your customer pick a time that suits them and lock it in. Please, please, please - don’t make them go back and forth checking calendars on email.
Mailing list sign-up with a tasty little lead magnet. Even if you don’t intend to do mail outs, I’d encourage you to build your mailing list from day one. Your socials can be taken away from you, but your mailing list is yours.
Every pixel, every headline, and every button on your homepage needs to be singing the same tune for that one goal. If a section doesn't help you achieve that one thing, it’s time to set it free.
Speed over fluff
If your old site loaded like a computer game from the 80’s, your leads have already left before it loaded. Speed is no longer a luxury; it's the bare minimum. If you were focused on shiny features last time; now, we're focused on the engine.
Your Speed Upgrade Checklist:
Stop uploading giant, unoptimised photos straight from your photographer! Use modern formats like WebP (you can toggle on a Squarespace feature to do this) and compress every single file (tinyJPG and TinyPNG are fab free resources). If an image is too large, it’s chewing up your load times.
Keep it lean; you don’t need 17 embedded things on your page. It’s time to cull. Each one is a tiny speed tax.
Let Your Content Boss the Design Around
It’s time to have a dig around your analytics and see what’s working in your content and what isn’t. This way you can keep the stuff that works and rejig the bits that don’t. This time, your content is the star, and the design is the stage crew.
Leading with a content and key messaging approach:
Write your best, most important copy first.
Determine the flow and hierarchy. What needs to be seen first?
THEN, find a framework/theme that highlights that specific flow.
Clarity always beats coolness. Your users need to know what you do and how to pay you in five seconds flat.
Accessibility is cool
Accessibility isn't just a nice-to-have; it's fundamental design, because we are desiging for people first and foremost! It means people with visual, hearing, or motor challenges can still use your site.
The things that make your site better for humans—like descriptive alt text on images, high colour contrast colours, and proper heading tags (H1, H2, etc.) are the exact same things that help Google bots crawl and understand your site. Being a good citizen = being a search engine legend.
You can check if your website passes the WCAG guidelines as the bare minimum. I’ve written a whole blog on this if you want to check it out here.
When it comes to building your next website, you’re always going to have more of an idea of what you want. We can focus on the strategy behind your website to really tailor it to achieving your goals. There’s nothing wrong with a DIY approach, too, but I highly recommend getting a professional to review your website and check in which ways you can improve your website to help it land better.
With every approach you choose, you’ll go into your second build knowing more about what you want and where you want to go. This is your chance to turn mini-lessons along the way into genuine organic traffic.
If you’re ready to rebuild, let’s have a chat about what you’re trying to achieve with your new moves, book a chat with me at a time that suits you.
