Your website is a valuable investment in your business.

Have a website created is a commitment in time and money, and it can be hard to keep up the enthusiasm and momentum required to see a project through to completion in a timely manner.

What can I do to speed up a website project?

Website design and development can be a relatively quick process, sometimes happening in a matter of weeks, depending on the complexity of the project. But for this to happen your design agency will need good communication with you to keep the project moving.

Here are 5 tips to get you started and keep you moving forward in your website project, as well as how to get a head start so that you keep momentum going. Keep in mind it is much easier to jump into it and keep working on it regularly, than it is to stop and try to get back to it later.

Best Tips on Getting Your Website Project Started Efficiently

1.    Look at other websites in your Industry Your design agency have a lot of experience in knowing what design and functionality will suit your particular type of business. What will help you to have more input into your particular website project is to look at similar industry websites and see what else is out there. A little time spent researching what is already online in your industry and locality will empower you to have more input into the planning and development of your project.

2.    Take note of what it is about your favourite websites that you like We all have websites that we visit regularly, it may be of benefit for you to note down what you like about your favourite websites. It may be the way it's written, it may be the page names or the images on display, or even the colour scheme used. Knowing what you like will help you better communicate with your agency what you want for your own website.

3.    Start your content writing early You have decided to proceed with your site after talking with an agency, so you should now know what pages are initially being created for your website.

Keep in mind that with good CMS websites you should be able to easily and independently add or remove pages later, so for now you can concentrate on gathering content for the pages you know you have to start with.

Some of your initial website pages may be ; ◦    Home page - requiring an introduction ◦    About us page - with a bit more indepth info about you or the business ◦    History page - information on how your business got to where it is today ◦    How-to page - information on how your products / services work ◦    Team page - information on your team and their specialist skills ◦    Products / Services page - information specific to your products and services ◦    Gallery page - images of your products or services in action ◦    Contact page - contact information and a map to your premises

4.    Utilise the Agencys' Content Writing Services If your design agency has a content writing service, use their expertise to get your content written in a way that is targeted to the web.

Keep in mind that you can start on your own content, and then take what you have written to an experienced content writer, and get them to look it over and provide any advice or further content.

5.    Make a firm decision on each stage of your website that requires your approval. Once you have decided to go ahead with a website, there are several times when your Design Agency will be waiting on your go-ahead.

You would be well advised not to put off deciding whether you are ready to proceed to the next step, as a delay will result in a distancing from the project for both parties. A design agency waiting to hear from you for over a week may have no choice but to give other projects your slot for the next phase of development, ultimately extending the completion date of your own website project. I would encourage you to get in touch with your design agency if at any stage you are unsure of where your project is at, or how long things should optimally take. Good communication will make the difference between your website project taking weeks or months.

A good experience working with your chosen agency will build trust and peace of mind for dealing them in future if you choose to have them host your website and manage your domains as well as make any changes to your website that you may want to have done in future.

Contact us to discuss undertaking a website project for your company, and for a free quote on a site that is right for you.