Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, blogger or small business owner, maintaining a website is a must in today’s society. But walking blindly into the world of site creation can be a bit daunting. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. Fill out this worksheet ahead of time to easily lay the groundwork for building a website.
NewBase 25 March 2024 Energy News issue - 1710 by Khaled Al Awadi_compress...
Planning Your Website
1. 1Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, blogger or small business owner, maintaining a website is a must in today’s society.
But walking blindly into the world of site creation can be a bit daunting. Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. Fill out this worksheet
ahead of time to easily lay the groundwork for building a website.
Identify business goals
What do you want your website to accomplish? Is it strictly informational, or are you selling products? Are you looking to increase engagement with customers,
boost website traffic, or bolster year-end profits? Answer the following questions to establish your business goals and how they’ll affect your audience.
What kind of site will you build? (i.e., informational, eCommerce, etc.)
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What is your primary objective? (i.e., sell products, build authority, etc.)
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How will you accomplish that objective? (i.e., create product pages, run a blog, etc.)
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2. 2Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
Determine your audience
When it comes to establishing an online presence, casting a wide net does little to help with traffic. Think about your ideal customer and how you’re going
to target them.
Who is your ideal customer? (i.e., women in their 20s)
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Where does your ideal customer live? (i.e., Chicago)
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What kind of tone/language are you going to use? (i.e., humorous, professional, etc.)
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What do you want your customers to do when they land on your site? (i.e., purchase a product)
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3. 3Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
Define your unique selling proposition
Now that you’ve determined your goals and solidified your target audience, you can use that information to create a unique selling proposition to entice visitors
to act — whether that means purchasing a product, signing up for your newsletter, sharing on social media, and more.
Consider your customers’ motives. Why are they visiting your site? What pain point are you solving for? List possible solutions here.
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Take note of your competitors. What are they doing right? Wrong? What would you do differently to bring customers to your door instead of theirs?
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4. 4Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
What strengths do you bring to the table? List your skills as an entrepreneur/blogger/business owner. You’ll want to use this information to create
unique and compelling calls-to-action.
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Pro tip: Remember, unique selling propositions aren’t specific to eCommerce sites. If you’re a blogger, you’re likely “selling” information and want to
establish yourself as a thought leader. The above questions still apply — what are you doing to do to set yourself apart from the crowd?
Secure a domain name
When it comes to picking a domain, simpler is better. You want it to represent your brand, but not be too difficult to remember. Guidelines for a good
domain include:
Easy to spell
Easy to remember
Short
Contains keywords
Targets your location
Avoids hyphens and numbers
Specific to your brand
For more in-depth tips on choosing a domain name, check out this article. Then, head over to GoDaddy to register your domain.
Website address__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. 5Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
Pick a platform
With all your business information laid out and a domain in hand, it’s time to take a closer look at web design. Before you rush off to purchase the first platform in
sight, consider the following:
Do you want to interact with customers? Yes No I don’t know
Do you want to blog? Yes No I don’t know
Do you want to collect visitor information? Yes No I don’t know
Do you want to sell products or services? Yes No I don’t know
If so, will you accept electronic payment? Yes No I don’t know
Will you use a calendar or schedule appointments? Yes No I don’t know
Do you want to track inventory and shipping? Yes No I don’t know
Do you want total control over the site’s code? Yes No I don’t know
Do you prefer an easy-to-use builder? Yes No I don’t know
Are you going to hire a professional? Yes No I don’t know
Are you going to design on your own? Yes No I don’t know
These answers will help you determine the type of platform you need. If you find that you’re looking for more complicated asks, such as incorporating a blog or
overseeing back-end code, then you’ll likely need a content management system (CMS) like WordPress. If you prefer simpler, non-technical sites with little to no
learning curve, then a site builder might be in your best interest.
We recommend one of two options:
GoDaddy WordPress Websites. With thousands of plugins, widgets and themes, total customization is at your fingertips. Bonus, you don’t even have to learn
how to code. Our Quick Start Wizard makes building a site fast and easy — no coding or CSS knowledge required. It’s the perfect option for a more robust site,
and there is plenty of documentation if you ever need help (or if you’re not hiring a designer.)
6. 6Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
GoDaddy GoCentral Website Builder. If you’re short on time (or money) or simply don’t want to add “web design” to your already overflowing plate of tasks,
a site builder might be your best option. GoCentral Website Builder is cost-effective, doesn’t require technical know-how, and is incredibly easy to use. With
its swipe-to-style interface, hundreds of industry-specific themes, professionally selected photos and more, you’ll have everything you need to build a site — in
under an hour. Best part? You can try it first for free.
Once you’ve determined the type of platform you’re going to use, it’s time to research design elements.
Research design elements
Whether you elect to hire a professional or take on site building yourself, there are certain design elements you’ll want to consider. Successful websites
typically incorporate:
Easy-to-follow navigation
Seamless path for purchase (eCommerce)
Clean design and layout
Strong CTAs
Compelling text and images
Easy social sharing
Prominent customer testimonials
Always ask yourself — is my site easy to use? Does it solve for the pain points my customers are having? Is it engaging, clean and relevant? If you can answer
“yes” to all of these, then you’re on the right track.
Take a look at your competitors’ sites to see what they’re doing. What do you like? What don’t you like? List your thoughts here.
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7. 7Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
Note any colors, fonts or layouts you’d like to use for your site. (Hint: if you have a logo, your colors should match.)
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Pro tip: Creating a website from scratch doesn’t have to be hard. Check out our eBook, “How to start a website from A to Z,” to learn more.
Create content ahead of time
It pays to plan ahead with content. The best place to start is with your business’s story. Why are you starting this online venture? Was there a moment or event
that sparked your desire to bring your idea to the web? Take a moment to jot down your thoughts.
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8. 8Build a website in under an hour with GoDaddy GoCentral. Planning your website
Worksheet: Planning your website
You’ll want to incorporate your business story into your website, on either your Home or About Us page. For a standard website, you should have content
prepped for five key pages:
Home
About Us
Products/Services
Testimonials
Contact
You’ll want to incorporate relevant images and compelling text that inspires your readers to act. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our content creation
worksheet for an in-depth look at creating content across all five pages of your site.
Start building
With all of your materials compiled, you’re ready to start building. Either hand off your goods to a designer, or take a crack at creating your own website.
Since you’ve already done the necessary groundwork, you should be well on your way to establishing a solid online presence.