This document provides a comprehensive guide on how to design your own website, emphasizing the importance of defining the website's objectives and unique selling points. It outlines the process in several steps: researching design trends, choosing platforms, selecting templates, developing a branding strategy, optimizing content, and finally publishing and analyzing the website. The guide also notes the option of hiring professionals if the project complexity or impression is crucial.

1. HOW TO DESIGN YOUR OWN WEBSITE

2. • People are increasingly realising the advantages of creating their own online presence. We're not talking
about being active on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
• We're discussing website ownership!
• It makes no difference whether you're pursuing a passion project just for the sake of or creating a business
that you intend to grow into a multi-million-dollar empire.
• You need a webpage. But, there's more. However, you don't have to be a direct descendant to create your
own website. That is precisely what this short guide will assist you with.
• So put your creativity hat on and get designing!

3. Step 1: Define the Objective of Your Website
• Identifying the purpose of your website may sound like saying the obvious, but even before you jump right
into the creative stuff, you need to be clear about what you’re setting out to accomplish. Defining a path at
this early stage can help you stay on track and achieve your goals. As a result, this is critical. Firstly, one of the
easier things to decide about is structure, industry, and content strategy to implement for your website.
However, since all of these are things that each and every visitor expects to see, they won't be wowed simply
by watching you execute them well.
• But even so, settling on your Unique Selling Point (USP) is that you need that thinking cap of yours. People
will see right through a poor website created solely to drive traffic and increase revenues. They can simply
infer your objectives by comparing your efforts to those of a number of other well-known websites. If they
can’t see what’s unique regarding you, they won’t visit your site again. What you need to do is discover a way
to connect your overall branding strategy to the design of your website. That's the only way to come across
as authentic and interesting. Lets be clear about it, your visitors want to see explanations why you exist
beyond making a profit.

4. The Defining Question:
• When visitors come to your website, what actions do you want them to take?
• Once you have set up what and who you are as a brand, the next is to decide what action you want your visitors to take
after visiting your website. Some websites simply provide information, while others would encourage visitors to
purchase things, sign up for services, and so on. The look and feel of the website will be determined by establishing a
clear purpose and answering the key question. The landing page is an important part of any webpage. Which every top
website conversion rate expert believes should have one laser-focused CTA (call to action) accompanying it.

5. Step 2: Research Web Design Trends
• You may question why I need to look at what others are doing if I wish to be unique with my design.
• A valid question. However, you can be distinctive even if you follow the trends in your business or niche. The design
of a website is a crucial consideration. As a result, it's critical that you set aside enough time to at least observe and
learn from your competition.
• Websites in your industry or area will be developed in a given way or style, have similar components and methods,
and feel and look the same in general. As a result, you must determine whether your design blends in with the
norms in your industry or causes disruption.
• It’s good to research by industry rather than by age brackets or gender. Color theory, font usage, and layout style are
all things to understand about web design in your industry.
• It's fine if you desire something completely different from what your niche has to offer. There is, however, a clear
path if you pick industry uniformity.

6. Step 3: Choose A Platform
• Admit it: the very first thing that comes to most beginners’ minds when they hear top-notch web design is a
professional design agency. Yes, a best firm will undoubtedly perform well, but their fees can be prohibitively
high. Fortunately, using website builders and e-commerce platforms to develop your own website is an easier
and less expensive option.
• These web designers are DIY tools that allow full novices to design and customise their own websites without
knowing a single line of code. There are many options available, but we've done the research and compiled a list
of the top ones for you.

7. • Wix: Very popular and generally regarded as one of the best website builders on the market. It has a very
friendly editor and an easy-to-use drag and drop feature.
• Squarespace: Very classy website builder with a premium feel to it. It has a lot of templates to choose from
and can come across as very intuitive to creative persons.
• Weebly: Website platform that appeals most to small businesses. It has great templates options and a user-
friendly drag and drop feature.
• Shopify: Currently the best e-commerce platform out there. It has a very wide range of themes designed
specifically for different industries and businesses.

8. Step 4: Select aTheme/Template
• If you carefully analyse your options from steps 1 through 3, you'll have a good sense of which
template/theme will best suit your needs.
• A template, sometimes known as a theme, is the design of your website. Most platforms will provide you
with a number of templates to pick from, each with example content to help you see how your final design
will look.
• The templates will most likely be organised by categories or industries, with each category including pre-built
relevant material to save you time afterwards.
• Some of the likely industry-curated templates you’ll see include health, tech, news, and start-ups.

9. Step 5: Decide OnYour Branding Strategy
• If you've been wondering when you'll start putting all you've learned thus far into practise and designing your
website, the time has come.
• Consider every small detail you choose to add - or exclude as an opportunity to connect to and promote your
overall brand while developing your website. Every visual element matters, and your selections will
undoubtedly influence your visitors. The colour palette, font style, and artwork all contribute to the overall
story of your brand. As a result, be certain they're all sharing the same tale the brand's story.

10. Step 6: Add and OptimiseYour Content
• Another day, we'll talk about how to develop engaging content. However, positioning and optimization are two
crucial factors that help you offer your information to visitors in the best possible way.
• The positioning refers to the placement and arrangement of material on a page. According to studies,
individuals consume website content in a 'F-shape' pattern when it comes to design. As a result, many
websites have the navigation menu at the top, because it's the first thing most visitors look for when they land
on a page.
• Optimisation is a huge topic in and of itself, but Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is when you make
modifications to your website in order to improve its ranking when a user searches on Google or Bing.
• Metadata, images, texts, and speed are just a few of the key areas where website optimization is critical.

11. Step 7: PublishYourWebsite
• It's finally time to put your beautifully built website online. But keep in mind that first impressions are key, so
make sure everything from steps 1 through 6 is implemented correctly.
• Make sure your website is carefully vetted by others, such as family, friends, and co-workers, before going live.
They are the users, so listen to what they have to say and make the required modifications. There are also
several UX checklists available online that you may use to preview your site before launching it.
• Take your time and double-check that everything is in order. After that, publish!

12. Step 8: Analyse and ImproveYourWebsite
• If you’re here, congrats website builder! You're not there yet, though. It's now crucial to monitor the
progress of your brand-new website. Most platforms, thankfully, include built-in analytics or third-
party tools. You may also integrate Google Analytics into your website to track a variety of metrics
such as conversion rate, bounce rate, impressions, and clicks.
• The truth is that a website is never truly finished. You must keep track of your website's performance
and behavioural statistics on a frequent basis to keep it optimised and up to date. Otherwise, your
competition will leapfrog you.
• SHOULD You Design it Yourself?
• This process may appear excessively complicated depending on your ability level. Especially if it is
your first time developing a website.

13. • Should you, however, design your own website? That is determined by your budget and requirements. If your
site is complicated or you want to make a big impression, you should hire a professional web design firm.
• If that's you, and you'd rather we take care of the web design while you focus on something else, check out
Green Cardinal Design.

14. Green Cardinal Design is an independent branding agency that offers the very best
in Bespoke Website Design. Their team consists of visual specialists with
unrivalled expertise in branding and design foundations. They have years of
experience working on brands all across the world. Their portfolio demonstrates
their versatility and skill, and they're here to help you grow your business by
creating the greatest brand possible so you can stand out. Consult Web Design
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