When creating a website, it's important to prepare certain elements to ensure its success. Here are the essentials you need to have in place before you start.

Start at the beginning

It can be intimidating to be faced with a new tool, without really knowing where to start. For example, if I start by going to a platform like Squarespace.com, I'm faced with a library of templates and have to make a choice when I still have no idea what I'm going to put in them.

You have to start at the beginning and ask yourself the right questions:
Who am I creating this website for? Who am I addressing? Why am I doing it? What do I want to develop? What do I want to monetize? What do I want to present?

Then, we translate these needs into pages, functionalities and call-to-action buttons by proposing a store, a newsletter sign-up, a discovery call to attract prospects, an online quote request form to speed up your processes, and so on.

By doing so, you already have a much clearer and more precise vision of why you're embarking on the creation of a website and what it's supposed to look like to achieve your goals.

As a web designer, when I create a custom website on Squarespace, I don't start with a template. I start with a blank page and create the custom website according to my customer's needs. What counts for me is to be able to convey my customer's identity, vision and uniqueness. A template is an excellent starting point for someone who isn't a web designer, but the aim is really to make it your own, not just to fill it in.

Steps to take before getting started:

1. Create your visual identity

Visual identity is your personality. It must convey your message, your values, your mission, address the right target and be in tune with your sector. It's a real job in itself, and must be done before creating your website. This identity must be reflected in all your communication media, not just your website, but also your business cards, social networks, letterheads, presentations, etc.

The stronger your identity, the more identifiable you are.

A few tips for defining your identity

Think about your design and tone

It's essential to go around and define your reference websites.

To make choices about the design of your site, you can analyze competing sites or simply sites you find attractive. It's important to know your own tastes and sensibilities when it comes to design. Tastes and colors aren't universal, and on some subjects there's no such thing as good or bad practice. For example, I love large full-screen images and headlines, while others prefer more discreet text and neutral backgrounds. Choose three sites that speak to you and ask yourself what you like and don't like. Analyze your competitors' navigation and user experience too, not for inspiration, but to differentiate yourself. Analyze how they address their audience. This will help you position yourself in the sector.

Define your navigation

Now that you have a vision of your design, it's time to tackle your user journey. Start by listing the pages you'll need.

Which ones will be in my main navigation?
Normally, there should be no more than five pages in your main navigation. If you have more pages, you'll need to arrange them in a sub-menu.
For example, my "About" page might include sub-pages such as "Our values", "Our team" and "Our history".

You can also create hidden pages that will only be accessible after clicking on a "Learn more" button.
For example, on the "Our offers" page, I present all my offers, then thanks to a "Learn more" button, I redirect the customer to a page dedicated to the offer he's interested in, but it won't be in my main navigation.

You can also place information or legal pages in your footer.

List your features

To list your functionalities, start by defining your needs.

Your website can help you speed up business processes, acquire new customers, build a database, communicate, create a community, monetize content, acquire international customers, develop subscription-based offers, and more.

Once I've drawn up my specifications, I can transform them into functionality.

Examples of features :

• Acquire new prospects: offer a free discovery call or an online quote form.

• Monetize content: I create a members' area accessible after paid registration, where I give access to exclusive content reserved for members.

• Communicate: create a newsletter registration form, write blog articles that are relayed via a newsletter and social networks.

Once I've defined my functionalities, I can place my call-to-action buttons on my different pages. For example, the newsletter form could be in the footer, the quote request button in the header, the appointment booking button on the contact page, and the member access button on the home page or the page dedicated to this offer.

In general, each page should have one main action to convert the customer, without too many distracting elements. A page with several call-to-action buttons can be counterproductive, taking customers out of the conversion tunnel by giving them too much information.

Create your content

Now that you've identified all the pages that will make up your site, you need to organize your content and list what you want to present on each page.

A well-structured home page will quickly inform the user. Try to write a concise description that is displayed as soon as it is opened, then list the other important information that can be consulted on the home page. Your home page should summarize your entire site.

You'll also need to gather all the images you can to illustrate your message. Whether it's images from image banks, photos of your achievements, your team, your premises, your products or icons to illustrate the "Services" section, remember to balance text and images to make your site more attractive and easy to read.

A few tips:

For each of your pages, start by making a list of the essential information before embarking on the final editing. This will help you prioritize. For each piece of information, it's important to have a title so that a customer browsing your site diagonally can get the main information.

It's important to have defined your visual identity before moving on to this stage, because all this content must reflect the uniqueness of your company. The tone in which you write your texts, the wording of your offers, the colorimetry of your images, the information you wish to accentuate with headlines - all this must be in line with your brand identity and target audience.

The same goes for your achievements. Your site should help you attract your ideal customer. Don't hesitate to show only those projects that are relevant to this target group.

Finally, choose your Template

And it's only now that the choice of template comes into play. Having gathered all this information, this step, which seemed like a headache, becomes child's play.