Planning Your Website Design

Choosing the best website design for your small business is essential to its long term success. A poorly designed site will only hinder the future growth of your business. Here are three simple steps to consider when getting started.

Completing our design questionnaire is extremely important and we encourage you to take the time to answer all questions with as much detail as possible. This will help us understand your needs and expectations and greatly speed up the building process.

Choosing a Domain Name

Choosing the right domain name for your website is crucial for your success. Making changes later will hurt your brand and search rankings. That’s why it’s extremely important that you choose the best domain name from the start.

Domain Name extensions

There are plenty of new domain name extensions available today, but we recommend you stick with the originals (.com, .co.nz, .org). When choosing, take into account your target audience. If your business has a New Zealand client base, then going with a .co.nz or .nz extension is advised.

Use keywords in your Domain Name

By using keywords in your domain name, you tell the search engines what your website is about. Together with quality content and good user experience, keywords in your domain can help you rank higher in Google.

Keep it unique and brandable

Brandable domain names are unique, catchy, and memorable and will help you stand out from your competitors.

Keep your Domain Name short

It’s better to have a domain name that’s short and memorable. We recommend keeping it under 15 characters as longer domains are harder for your users to remember.

Make your Domain Name easy to pronounce and spell

You should be able to easily share your domain name when spoken as well as written.

Avoid Hyphens in your Domain Name

Never create a domain name with hyphens as these can be associated with spam domains.

Branding & Colour Theory

Your brand is what connects people to the products and services you offer. If the look of your website matches your branding, then your business will feel even more engaging and authentic. And that’s why fusing brand consistency into your web design is so important. You’ll gain recognition with your consumers.

Everything from colours and fonts to the words and layout represents your brand. But those design elements don’t need to be noisy, cluttered or overdone to still draw attention and make a lasting impact.

Every colour combination you choose to display on your site will affect how people experience your brand because each one evokes its own emotional response and meaning. For example, most of your site visitors will already be programmed to identify red with passion or green with a feeling of calm and nature.

Here is a useful tool to help you decide on your colour scheme. Simply upload an image that appeals to extract its colour pallet.

Best Website Design - Colour Wheel

Site Structure

Structure and content is unmistakably the most important element of your site. Have a clear goal of what you want your website to accomplish and plot the path your visitors will take. A simple and logical structure can make the world of difference to your users, making their experience enjoyable and ensuring they stay engaged.

Website Design Questionnaire

This questionnaire will help us understand your needs and expectations when it comes to designing your website. Please take the time to complete with as much detail as possible.

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