How I Approach Building a Website for a New Business
When a new business comes to me for a website, I don't want to start by opening the code editor.
I want to understand the business first.
A website is going to represent that business online, so the better I understand it, the better decisions I can make during development.
First, I Understand the Business
I want to know what the business offers, who its customers are and what makes it different.
I also want to understand how customers currently find the business and what role the website is expected to play.
Then I Define the Goal
What should happen when someone visits the website?
Maybe the business wants phone calls. Maybe it wants leads. Maybe customers need to book appointments. Maybe the goal is to sell products.
There isn't one correct answer.
Then I Plan the Pages
Once the goal is clear, I can determine what pages are actually needed.
Not every business needs ten or fifteen pages. Sometimes five well-planned pages are better than fifteen pages filled with unnecessary content.
I Think About the User Journey
I try to imagine myself as someone who has never heard of the business.
What would I want to know? What questions would I have? What would convince me to take the next step?
Content Comes Before Perfection
A beautiful design can't compensate for poor content.
The website needs clear information about the business, services, products and contact options.
Then Development Begins
Once the direction is clear, development becomes much more straightforward.
At this stage I focus on making the website responsive, fast, maintainable and easy to use.
Final Thought
For me, a good website project starts with understanding, not development.
Understand the business → define the goal → plan → build → test → launch → improve.