When people ask us how long it will take for us to create a new website for them, the answer always varies. Depending on the complexities and features the website will have, a site could be up and running in as little as three months, or it could take years (that’s right, years) to see the finished product on the Web.
However, no matter the task at hand, there are a few bottlenecks you can avoid to help speed up the website development process when working with a web agency or on your own.
Uncover Your Objectives Before the Website
Nothing is worse than working on a website for months only to figure out what you’ve built is not in line with your company’s goals and objectives. Take the necessary time to uncover what you want your website to accomplish and what it needs to include. If you work with a web design agency, they should have a process in place to uncover your goals, but if you’re working on this internally, it needs to be crystal clear what you want this website to become.
Focus On Content
Of all the steps a website needs to complete, content has the be the most significant time consumer. If you’re not an experienced website content writer, your site’s content can take a very long time to complete. The reasons for this vary; from anxiety to making it the best website copy to represent your site to the simple task of writing about your company in your spare time, content writing is hard work. On average, it takes us between 8-16 hours (depending on the site’s size) to write page content, but for non-writers, the time can be much longer.
To avoid this bottleneck, you can do one of two things:
- Dedicate a portion of your day until the content is complete to write and allow a peer review once completed.
- Hire a skilled website copywriter to do the hard work for you.
If you choose to go with the second option, you’ll not only save time, but you’ll have content that you know was written for how people consume content online.
Collect All Your Visual Assets
Photos, graphics, and any other visual assets are what make your website unique. To speed up the development process, it’s important to collect these assets as soon as possible. These photos and graphics can play a significant role in how your web pages are wireframed and determine how much content is needed for these pages. If you don’t collect these images in a timely matter, development may be paused.
Open Communication is Key
Whether you’re working with your internal marketing team or a web design agency, the key to keeping the website process moving along is communication. Now is not the time to ignore questions and feedback from the people involved with this process, as their needs may need to be addressed to move onto the next step. A website redesign or build needs to become a priority during the duration of the project, so it needs to be treated like any other daily task you address at work.
Your completed website is entirely dependent on your commitment to getting it from concept to live on the Web. Keep these tips in mind with your next, and you’ll see a finished product in no time!
To learn more about website development or what we can do for your website needs, get in touch with the GreenMellen team today!
