It’s no secret… I believe that EVERY business owner and brand needs to have a website. 

After all, I’m a brand and web designer, so what kind of person would I be if that wasn’t my advice?!

But what if I told you there are actually a few things I want you to do FIRST? 👀

Wait what…

The girl who preaches the importance of websites over and over and even designs them for clients is telling you to do something else BEFORE you create your website?

Yep, you read that right. 

But I promise it’s for good reason.

Your website is a massive piece of your business and brand and serves a huge role, which means you want to do it RIGHT. 

And the only way you can do it right is to take a few preliminary steps first.

So, if you’re in the midst of wanting to create and launch a new website, stop what you’re doing and follow the list below to make sure it’s done thoughtfully and strategically.

9 Things To Do BEFORE You Build Your Website

Carve out LOTS of time ⏰

I don’t think you need me to tell you that creating and launching a website is a BIG task. It’s not something you can just whip up in a day, press “publish”, and celebrate with your feet kicked back.

Although sometimes I wishhhh it were that simple, a website built on STRATEGY is a website that will convert, which means it’s going to take you some time. 

From the copywriting, site map building, and then the actual creation (not to mention your launch plan), building your website is something you want to spend quality time on without rushing through it. 

So, before you sit down on a random Monday and proclaim it to be the day you finally mark “build website” off your to-do list, create a solid plan first!

I recommend working backwards by first choosing the date that you will ideally launch your website into the world. 

From there, you can craft an intentional website to-do list that allows plenty of time to mark off each task. One week you can work on copy, the next you can focus on your site map, and so on. 

Determine the Goals for Your Website 💻

When people think about building a website, they often think they need it solely because that’s where they’ll connect with potential customers or make sales. 

And while both of those things *can* be goals of your website, there are actually a lot of other things your website can do as well. 

Depending on the type of business you have and what you personally want to achieve, you will likely have various goals for what you want your website visitors to do when they visit.

For example, if you primarily sell in your emails, you may have the goal of building your email list. In that case, your website should be written and designed to help you achieve that. 

Someone else may have the primary goal of driving their audience to their blog. In that case, you would want to ensure that your blog is something that is consistently promoted throughout your website. 

It’s important to note that your goals for your website can also change over time. For example, if you’re launching a new offer and want that to be front and center for a time, you can do that!

Overall, keeping your website goal(s) in mind before you actually sit down to build it is key!

Conduct Competitive Research 🔍

When you’re planning to build your website, it’s nice to have an idea of what others in your industry are also doing. Now, competitive research is not something you want to do so that you copy or mimic someone else.

But instead, it can give you an idea of what’s working (or what’s not) in your niche, so that you can apply and implement your own unique strategy to some of those things as well. 

When creating websites for clients, I do competitive research to find out how others are finding them so that they can have a "leg up" on them and build their website with better searchability.

For example, if a client's competitor has specific individual services pages similar to your offerings, you better have them too if you want to compete with them in the rankings.

Over time, I’ve also found that looking outside of your own industry can be a great thing too! 

Some of my best ideas come from what I’ve seen others doing who aren’t directly involved in my field and creating a way to apply it to my own line of work. 

Create Your Site Map 🗺️ 

Earlier I mentioned a site map is a big part of the website creation process and this is actually something I encourage you to build before you ever even sit down to work on your website. 

Knowing your goals before creating your site map can also be helpful to ensure you craft an accurate journey for your website visitors. 

If you’re unfamiliar, a website site map is a diagram that outlines the structure of your website, showing the organization of its pages, content, and how they are linked together.

It’s essentially like a blueprint that helps both users and search engines navigate through the site more easily.

Here’s what a site map typically looks like:

To help you create your own, CLICK HERE for my free template!



Write Your Website Copy ✍🏼

In addition to your site map, the actual words you’ll include on your website is a HUGE component… like 90% of it!

Which is why you want to write your website copy and have it ready BEFORE you start designing your website. 

Oftentimes people will try to do both at the same time, but you’ll want allll of your copy written beforehand because the words will actually impact and drive the design. 

Need a roadmap for putting together your website content? Get my Free Website Content Planner!

Secure Your Domain 🌏

Next up, you’ll want to secure your domain.

I can tell you firsthand how frustrating it is to want to name your website one thing and then once you navigate to NameCheap or another domain platform, you find that it’s already taken.

Pretty annoying, huh?

To AVOID that scenario, make sure you secure your domain long before you ever start building your website. 

And if you aren’t sure what I mean by “domain,” it’s the human-readable address used to access a website on the internet. It's part of the URL that people type into their web browsers to visit a specific site.

A domain name consists of two main parts:

• Your domain name which is the unique identifier (Ex. studioa-designs in my website URL: (www.studioa-designs.com)

• Followed by the top-level domain (TLD) – the extension that follows the domain name, such as .com, .org, .net, .edu, .gov, etc.

Together, the domain name and the TLD form the complete website address.

Ultimately, the domain you choose plays a big part in your branding, making it easier for your audience to remember and access your website.

Need some guidance on how to choose the best website domain name for your brand? CLICK HERE for my top tips!

Before any other search results, this is what you see. And these are all examples of businesses who have active Google Business Listings. 

So why do you need this as a business owner or brand? So that Google recognizes YOU as a credible business. This is especially important for 

Even if you don’t yet have a website, you can create a Google Business Listing and start experiencing some major SEO benefits!

And then, when you *do* create and launch your website, you can add it to your listing and level up the search results even more.

Take Brand Photos 📸

IWhen building your website, you want to make sure your brand is infused throughout the entire thing and one great way to do that is by including brand photos throughout your site.

Your brand photos help your audience put a face to the name of the person behind a computer screen and add a little more personality to your website as a whole.

Ideally, you’ll have a few professional brand photos to use, but sometimes the investment needs to come later, which is totally fine. 

Either way, make sure to include a few photos of yourself throughout your site so your audience is served more than just words on a screen.

Choose Your Website Builder 🛠️

Finally, for your website to come to life, you of course have to have a place to build it, and lucky for you there are LOTS of options!

Some of the most popular website builders include: Wordpress, ShowIt, Squarespace and Wix. 

All of these can be great options, but if you’re DIY’ing your website, I encourage you to choose a builder that has easy templates to work from and doesn’t require code for design, such as Squarespace or Wix.

Another huge thing to consider is if the website builder you choose also supports in-house hosting. Many builders do, but some don’t! If you find that yours does not, you’ll want to buy your hosting elsewhere, such as Amazon Web Services..

Need a Hand?

If you’re ready to build a website, but you aren’t sure the DIY life is for you, that’s where I can come in!

Together we can work to not only check these tasks off your “website to-do list,” but ultimately launch your website into the world in record time.

With my website design service, you’ll receive:

• Personalized direct service and a project roadmap for the clearest communication
• Content and calls to action based on a conversion first (aka: money making) mindset 
• Customized, strategic (SEO driven) messaging and visuals to attract your specific audience
• Post launch support so you won't immediately feel alone after your big launch
• An aesthetically user-focused design to give your audience a first impression that will knock their socks off
• A simple user log-in to edit your website along with training video tutorials so you have the freedom to make updates anytime

CLICK HERE to connect to see if a website design project is a good fit for you!

Your designer friend always,