Designing a website is fairly easy, as long as you keep a few simple 'rules' in mind...

'Rules' is probably a bit strong a word - perhaps guidelines is the best way of putting it.

However you look at it, the effectiveness of your website is determined by how easy it is for your customers to:

1. find your business

2. find the information they want

3. do business with you

In order to achieve this, here a few suggestions which will make designing your website a little easier for you...

Before you do anything, decide exactly how you want your customers to see you.

This is about branding... your image. As an example, imagine that you sell gold-plated chocolates and when a potential customer arrives at your website, they see images and words which create a feeling of a cheap, bargain-basement retail store. What do you think this potential customer is likely to do?

Decide on colour-scheme, theme, the 'look' and 'feel' of your website - and make sure that it matches all your other promotional materials (business cards, letterhead, signs, vouchers etc.), so that your customers are not confused by mixed messages.

But what about a domain-name? Choosing a domain-name (mywebsiteexample.com.au) which is meaningful and can be easily remembered is essential if you are to get maximum value for your investment. It really doesn't matter when you choose your domain-name; some people decide on it right at the beginning of this process, yet for others it's the very last thing.

Next, be clear about what it is your customers will be looking for when they arrive at your website.

Here we are talking about your website's navigation, its structure and your copy, the words and images you use. If you are selling gold-plated chocolates, it would be very frustrating for your customers if they could not find out about those beautiful items; what they look like, how much they cost, how they can purchase them etc. etc.

To map out your website's navigation, you might find it easier if you sit down with several sheets of paper and coloured pens, and design a rough outline of your website. Use one sheet of paper for each page of your website; write on it in a few words (less than 20 words is always a good way to keep focussed) describing what this page is about. Once you've worked out how many pages your website needs, then you can move them around on your table (or floor might be easier) to sort out the best ordering of them. This will help you to work out your website's navigation.

It is helpful to your customers if what they are looking for is no more than 3 clicks away from any one page in your website - so keep that in mind when designing your website's structure.

The next step is to actually write your website's content.

While it might be more exciting to start actually constructing your website, by sitting down and writing all your copy first your life will be a lot easier - and your website will have a more natural 'flow' to it.

Now - at last - build your website!

If you want a 'no-nonsense' website which is actually useful to your customers, contact the RetailGuru today. The RetailGuru is able to build your entire website from scratch, or if you prefer (and depending on the kind of website your business needs), act as a consultant to your professional web-developer.

It can be useful to start by creating a 'template' which you can then use as a foundation for each page as you create it. This will ensure that every page will have the same look and feel - remember, consistency throughout your whole website will make it easier for your customers.

Of course, the actual construction of your website is more technical than the steps outlined above... however, if you do this work first, the easier it will be for your web-designer (or you, if you're up for the challenge) to produce the website of your dreams. Obviously, there is a lot more to building a website than what I've written here, but hopefully this gives you a bit of an idea of where to start.

Once your website is done (and you've tested it to make sure all the links work, and checked your spelling etc.), you will need to arrange for it to be hosted on a server. In simple terms, a server is another computer which is set up to display your website to anyone who is looking for your domain-name.

A last point if I may; it is common (and very understandable) for businesses to set up their website and then 'forget' it. Yes, it is now 'out there' in cyberspace, however it is a good idea to review your website regularly - for example once a month. You may find that as time goes on that you have changed the focus of your business, or you've added (or removed) products or services and possibly even your promotions and special offers will have changed. These sorts of things can slip under the radar if you don't keep your website up-to-date with the rest of your business - and there'd be nothing worse than having to say to a customer that the promotion they found on-line simply doesn't exist anymore!