Creating a Professional Website: Our Tips to Get Started

Ah, website creation! An exciting journey into the digital universe where each click can lead you to new horizons. But before diving headfirst into creation, let us guide you through 7 steps in building your website or e-commerce site. Hang tight, it's going to be a great ride!

Step 1: Know Your Goals and Your Customers' Needs: Become the Sherlock Holmes of the Web!

Imagine yourself in a big store with no signs or arrows to guide you. It's a bit like the same principle on a website: without a clear menu and a well-thought-out site plan, your visitors may get lost in the maze of your content. Why on earth do you want this website? What are your customers' needs? Like a good chef preparing ingredients before cooking, defining your goals and understanding your customers will help you design a menu and a site plan tailored to their needs.

Understanding Your Business Goals

Why on earth do you want this website? To sell products, to inform your customers, to collect leads? Clearly define your business goals to guide the design of your site.

Identifying Your Customers' Needs

Put yourself in your customers' shoes. What are they looking for on your site? How do they expect to interact with it? Understanding their needs will help you design a seamless user experience.

Step 2: Learn from Others and Draw Inspiration from Best Practices

In the web world, imitation is often a form of flattery. Take the time to examine other websites, especially those of your competitors, to discover what works well and what doesn't in terms of navigation and structure.

Analyzing Your Competitors' Websites

Look at what your competitors are doing. What elements of their menu and site plan work well? What could be improved? A little competitive espionage never hurts.

Identifying Best Practices

What are the golden rules of web design? Learn from the best and apply these lessons to creating your own website menu and plan.

Step 3: Design a Logical Structure for Your Site

Now that you have a clearer idea of what you want to achieve with your site, it's time to design a logical structure that will guide your visitors to the information they're looking for.

Defining the Major Content Categories

Imagine your site as a library. What are the major subjects you want to cover? Divide them into logical categories to facilitate navigation.

Organizing Categories Logically

Once you have your categories, arrange them so that navigation is intuitive for your visitors. Nobody likes to get lost in a maze of endless links.

Step 4: Create a Simple and Effective Navigation Menu

Your site's menu is like a restaurant menu: it should be clear, concise, and appetizing. Guide your visitors to the different parts of your site with a well-thought-out main menu.

Identifying Essential Menu Items

What are the items your visitors search for most often? Highlight them in your main menu for easy access.

Organizing Items Hierarchically

Just like a good meal, your menu should be organized logically and coherently. Classify your items in order of importance and relevance to your visitors.

Your website content should answer these questions:

Who are you? Are you a graphic designer, a clothing store, or a car dealership? Your site should clearly explain who you are and what you offer to your customers.

What? What are your products or services? What do you offer? What is the purpose of your site?

Where? If you have a physical storefront, your site should clearly indicate it. What is your physical location? Do you have multiple points of sale? If you don't have a physical location, this should be specified.

How? How can your products and services be used? What is the process for delivering your products? What are your opening hours?

Step 5: Create a Detailed Site Plan

Now that your menu is in place, it's time to create a detailed plan of all the pages and sections of your site. Like an architect drawing up plans for a house, this step will help you visualize the overall structure of your site.

Creating an Overview of Your Site

Take a step back and look at your site as a whole. What are the different parts that make it up? How are they connected to each other?

Organizing Elements by Relevance

Once you have all your pages in place, arrange them so that your visitors can find them easily. Nobody wants to spend hours searching for lost information on your site.

Step 6: Optimize for a Better User Experience and for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your site is almost ready, but before launching it, make sure it offers an optimal user experience and is well optimized for search engines.

Make Your Site User-Friendly

Test your site with real users to ensure it meets their needs and expectations. Nothing beats concrete feedback to improve your site.

Optimize Your Website for Search Engines (SEO)

Make sure your site is well ranked on search engines by using the right keywords and optimizing your content for natural referencing. This will help you attract more visitors and increase your online visibility.

Step 7: Test and Adjust Your Site

Your site is online, but the work isn't done. Conduct regular tests to assess its effectiveness and gather user feedback. Use this information to make continuous adjustments and improve the user experience.

Have your website tested by your circle There's nothing like the real-life feedback of people other than you. Test your site with them to get their opinion, identify any issues, and points to improve.

Collect and use user feedback Collect feedback from your users and use it to make adjustments to your site. After all, who better than your visitors to tell you what works and what doesn't?

On the road to your success

There you have it, you now have all the tools in hand to create a professional website menu and plan that will appeal to your visitors. Don't hesitate to put these tips into practice now and share your successes and challenges with us. Happy creating and success on the web!