What to Prepare for Your New Website

Web Design
Written By Allison Wyper

Think & Write

  1. What is the purpose of your website? What do you want it to accomplish for you? Take some time to think, journal, make lists about your goal(s) for your new website.

  2. Who is your ideal visitor & what do you want them to do before they leave your website? It’s very helpful to get clear about your intended audience and the actions you want them to take to engage with you and your offerings.

  3. In 1-2 sentences, briefly describe what your work and/or this website is about. This text might appear on your home or about page, in Google searches, etc. Avoid confusing language or specialized jargon. It should be easy for your ideal visitor to understand.

  4. Draft or compile page text. Type or paste your content into a simple Word or Google doc. Keep your copy short and easy to understand. Visitors should be able to quickly scan a page for the information they seek. Some texts you might need:

    • Home page intro (perhaps using your site description from Step 3)

    • Bio(s)

    • Testimonials

    • Project or Service descriptions

    • Mission statement

    • Your/company story

For help on writing your bio, check out this blog post.

For help on writing a killer About page, check out this guide.

For help thinking through your site goal & ideal visitor, read this article.

Images

Gather the photos or graphics you want to use on your website. If you are creating a portfolio site, organize them in folders by project. You will likely need to resize your images for the web, and give them descriptive filenames.

Read my guide to image formatting & file naming.

Research

Look at other websites, in your industry and beyond. Bookmark/make screenshots of pages you like. Make notes about what you like and why. Pay attention to the FUNCTION as well as the style.

Ask yourself:

  • Is it clear how to interact with this person or company?

  • Can I find the information I am looking for?

  • Do I want to spend time here?

  • Do I feel seen by this person or company?

  • Do I get a good sense of who they are?

THINGS TO HOLD OFF ON, FOR NOW:

  • Signing up for Squarespace/starting a new trial site. I will do this for you so you will get the benefit of my 20% discount.

  • Buying a custom domain. If you don’t already own your preferred domain, you can purchase one through Squarespace, and it will be free for 1 year with the website I start for you.

  • A logo is not necessary to launch your site, but if you have one, that’s great! Since it isn't possible to display a logo and site title at the same time in Squarespace, you will want to use a logo image that includes your site title text. Ideally, your logo should be saved as a PNG file with a transparent background.

Allison Wyper
I am an interdisciplinary artist with over a decade of experience providing administrative, marketing, and production support for artists and creative professionals nationwide. I founded Rhizomatic Arts to provide affordable professional consulting, training, and services to independent creatives and small companies. Rhizomatic Arts takes a holistic approach to creative sustainability, supporting the cultural eco-system on a grassroots, person-to-person level, empowering artists to take charge of their own careers within a supportive network of peers. Our Sustainability Network connects creatives with skills and resources to share, via a mutually-supportive gift economy. Our motto: "work independently, not alone."
http://rhizomaticarts.com
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