How to get an effective website

At Fresh Bread we spend time on planning a website before design and build. The detailed steps to create a successful website do vary from project to project. But in our experience the combination of three elements make a good website:

1. Planning & research
2. Distinctive visual design,
3. Creative content creation.

Of course, plans don’t always go as expected but we find if you want a website with longevity that you love, this general structure works best…

COMPLETE WEB AUDIT & OBJECTIVES DEFINED

Through discussions with you, first we define the site objectives. What do you want the new site to do? Who do you want it to talk to? If you have an existing site, do you want to use the content from that site? What type of look and feel are you looking at creating?

We complete a website audit looking at your existing site if you have one or your competitors if you don’t. We may also research other sites you like. Design analysis is a crucial element of this, but that alone won’t convert visitors. We use ranking software too. This will assess your current website SEO scores against competitors. It will help ensure we don’t lose any of your current rankings with the new site.

CONTENT

Creating content is often a stumbling block for clients. We either work with clients to develop new copy or the client supplies it. To be effective collaboration is crucial. The tone of the content must work within the design and support brand objectives. It must also meet the defined keyword rankings.

The content doesn’t have to be final but it needs to be outlined at this stage. It needs to include pictures. We define important key word rankings at this stage too.

SITE ARCHITECTURE

The content and objectives influence how we define the design of the site and the site architecture/ site map. There is no getting away from it - the site map is a lot of work but so worth it.

One way of looking at this is, if this was a physical house build. The site map forms part of the detailed plans, the ‘blueprint’ you sign off before the builders start work. The site maps includes content hierarchy and functionality expectations. We illustrate the type of materials and finish for fixtures and fittings in the home page design.

We will propose the layout and the look of your site with design ideas. We look at the home page design making sure it works with the site objectives defined in the brief.

This stage can involve a bit of back and forth. But it is so important to making sure we get the site that works for you now and helps you expand in the future.

DESIGN & SEO

On to the fun part! Our aim is to create a memorable significant experience for your customers. Purpose and function is crucial in successful design. Existing branding elements will influence the design process like choice of colours. We build front end mobile responsive templates that zing. We love this bit.

Our design process focuses on designing websites around SEO. Good visual content will increase clicks and engagement. Content that is well-written that is keyword-rich gets picked up by search engines. Keywords you want to rank for will be in the title tag — the closer to the beginning, the better. Keywords should also appear in the H1 tag, meta description, and body content.

We have up to two rounds of amends to finalise and finesse the website design. But two rounds are usually not necessary!

DEVELOPMENT & TESTING

We test that the website works across all browsers. Also ensure it works well as across devices.

We install the Content Management System (CMS). As part of this we create the database and custom fields that can will be editable. We populate with the content. We provide you with ‘how to’ training so you can add / edit content. This is important to keep your site fresh. Tracking tools are also added. We use google analytics and google search console and hosting is setup.

LAUNCH

Getting a new site ready to go live is a complex process that requires everything done in the right order. It’s also where all your website planning comes to fruition.

If you want a website that focuses on your target user, is easy to use, accessible and easy to find talk to us.