3rdPlanet graphic design ~ our website design services

website design

5steps to creating your website.

Step #1 - Choose a domain name

A domain name is the address people will type to get to your website (for instance, “yahoo.com” or “ebay.com”). There are several types of addresses. The basic breakdown goes like this: “.COM” is for companies, “.ORG” is for organizations, and “.NET” is for anyone.

It can be difficult to find the right web address. In many cases, someone may already own the address you want. We understand the WWW landscape and can help you find your ideal web address, one that is short, unique, and directly reflects your company identity. If you want to do some preliminary name searches, go to networksolutions.com.

Step #2 - Choose a hosting package

A hosting service stores your website on their servers so people on the internet can access it. Quality Host Online has provided us with top notch service for years. They have excellent tech support, very affordable hosting packages, and an extensive set of tools.

When choosing a hosting package, it’s important to understand how much bandwidth you will need (will you be hosting videos?) and what kind of PHP applications you might run (like message boards, e-commerce, or Wordpress). We can sit down with you and help pick a package that is best suited to meet your needs.

Step #3 - Design

At this point we will need to discuss what look you may have in mind for your site. It doesn’t matter if you have a lot of ideas or none at all; we can help.

In today’s world, your image is everything. Online, people will judge your professionalism and trustworthiness in seconds, based on how your site looks. It’s important to know that you have an informed design team working for you, who understand current web design trends.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is a term for the current design trend on the web today. Designers have put the old, complex and often clunky web styles behind them and moved on to clean and simple. For a more in-depth explanation, read this excellent article on Web 2.0 design.

Step #4 - Publish

This overlaps with design in that your content is not only uploaded, but carefully integrated into the design of the entire site. Content includes pictures, forms, product information, etc.

Surprisingly, web designers often overlook this aspect of building a website. We’ve seen countless examples of web design companies who create decent looking websites but skimp on content. When potential clients visit a site like that, it is unlikely they will stay. Content is, after all, the reason a website exists.

It’s important to provide visitors to your website with as much material as possible. You are trying to be helpful, after all, and this will establish your site as credible and useful.

Step #5 - Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

This is arguably the most crucial part of designing a website, and yet, it is often overlooked by inexperienced web designers. No matter how nice a website is or how great its content, if people can’t find it, then it’s all a waste. And how do people find anything online? That’s right, search engines. Search Engine Optimization is taking a website and configuring it so that search engines can easily search and index the site.