Basic design & setup of a new website may seem easy with so many user-friendly tools on the market, but caution is crucial for inexperienced individuals. Website builders like WordPress offer simplicity but lack expertise for a professional and effective site.
Inexperienced users may find the process overwhelming, risking pitfalls like poor structure, slow performance, or security issues. Though tutorials exist, website design complexity poses challenges. Essential components, including SEO, content structure, and security, may be overlooked without professional guidance.
In conclusion, basic website setup is more accessible, but inexperienced individuals should seek professional assistance for a polished online presence. Professional guidance ensures optimal function, adherence to best practices, and avoids common pitfalls in DIY attempts, leading to an effective online presence.
Below are some examples of considerations that experienced web developers know of and take time to address on behalf of their clients.
Platform and Hosting Considerations
Professional web developers handle the intricate aspects of platform and hosting considerations to ensure a seamless online experience. This involves decisions on dedicated or shared hosting, implementing robust backup and recovery systems, fortifying against malware and security threats, optimizing hardware specifications such as CPU and RAM, ensuring efficient data transport, and maintaining top-notch speed and performance. Load balancing, scalability, and flexibility are key considerations, providing the website with the capability to handle varying levels of traffic. Content Delivery Systems are also strategically integrated to enhance the distribution of content, catering to a global audience.
SEO Structure & Setup
Web developers play a vital role in optimizing websites for search engines. They meticulously handle SEO elements, including crafting concise and enticing meta tags, implementing image tagging for accessibility, and using H1-H6 tags to structure content logically. Template layouts are designed with SEO in mind, ensuring an intuitive structure. Developers strategically place relevant keywords and related keyphrases throughout the content for improved search visibility.
Attention to grammatical correctness, appropriate text lengths, and keyphrase distribution enhances user engagement and search engine favorability. Responsive designs are incorporated for optimal viewing across devices, recognizing the importance of the mobile user base. Developers also manage links for functionality and positive SEO impact. They handle the configuration of robots.txt and .htaccess files for effective search engine crawling and server optimization.
Analytics setup is integral for tracking website performance and user behavior. Additionally, developers leverage schema.org to enhance structured data, providing a shared framework for adding context to web content. In essence, the comprehensive approach to SEO undertaken by web developers aims at creating a user-friendly and informative online experience, contributing to the overall success and visibility of a website.
E-Commerce Catalog Setup
For e-commerce websites, web developers manage the comprehensive creation and maintenance of product databases. This involves tasks such as product creation, uploading, downloading, editing, formatting using schema.org for optimal search engine understanding, and meticulous catalog design and layout. Category and subcategory layouts are strategically organized for user-friendly navigation. Professionals configure payment setups, options, taxes, shipping details, and ensure compliance with privacy policies and terms & conditions. They also handle intricate details such as product options and related pricing, kits, bulk buying options, and the creation of purchase orders to streamline the e-commerce process.
Online Presence & Branding
Professional web developers responsible for the basic design & setup of a new website play a pivotal role in translating a brand’s identity into the digital realm. This involves handling graphic elements, designing color pallets that align with the brand, creating and placing logos strategically, and ensuring consistency in business messaging across the website. Developers also consider factors like customer service style, reflecting the company’s culture, and tailoring the website to resonate with the target audience. Through meticulous attention to branding elements, web developers contribute to building a strong and cohesive online brand presence.
Mobile Readiness Prep
As part of the basic design & setup of a new website, ensuring mobile readiness is a standard practice for professional web developers. This includes creating responsive designs that adapt seamlessly to various devices, optimizing performance and speed for mobile users, and tailoring content layouts for each device category. Developers focus on delivering a consistent and engaging user experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop platforms. This encompasses optimizing images and multimedia for mobile consumption, adapting content structures to different screen sizes, and implementing design elements that prioritize user-friendliness on smaller screens. Mobile readiness is a critical aspect of modern web development to cater to the increasing mobile user base.