68581 7 3 econsultancy_xml <p>To start with you need to create a well designed, useful, informative and optimised site – this sounds obvious but it’s in this area where most companies fail. </p> <p>The key is to <strong>think about the site's structure and search engine optimisation (SEO) before the designers and programmers get started</strong> rather than afterwards. </p> <p>So many companies build a site and then contact an SEO company for advice – it then tells them to redesign and alter most of the site, which adds time and cost to the project.</p> <p>If the SEO company is involved from the start, then it can create the site's structure and underlying code and then a designer can make it look amazing.</p> <p>Areas to consider are content management systems, which can be costly to optimise and customise, and blogs which need to be set up in an extremely user friendly manner. </p> <p>Lots of corporate blogs lack the easy to use subscription and commenting features that well designed Wordpress installations make use of and they suffer greatly as an example.</p> <p>Other features such as social media and user generated content should be integrated at the design stage rather than bolted on at a later date.</p> <p>When you come up with the idea for a new site it is very important to think about how the site will market itself. </p> <p>A commercial site needs to have user generated content and innovative features built in as well as the ability for users to bookmark content and share items with social networks.</p> <p>Marketing a site from scratch is very tough these days and without social features and the ability to publish remarkable content in a well presented manner the task is made much harder.</p> <p>As a general rule every new site should have the following features:</p> <ul> <li>Blog or news publishing system </li> <li>Optimised pages for each product </li> <li>A unique feature to help attract publicity </li> <li>An in depth marketing strategy </li> </ul> <p> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiru/2056331945/">Photo credit</a> </p> <p> <strong>Related stories:</strong> <br /> <a href="/blog/2217-how-to-launch-a-new-website-pre-launch">How to launch a new website - pre-launch</a> <br /> <a href="/blog/2218-how-to-launch-a-new-website-launch-week">How to launch a new website - launch week</a> <br /> <a href="/blog/2219-how-to-launch-a-new-website-post-launch">How to launch a new website - post-launch</a> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph>To start with you need to create a well designed, useful, informative and optimised site – this sounds obvious but it’s in this area where most companies fail. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>The key is to <Emphasis>think about the site's structure and search engine optimisation (SEO) before the designers and programmers get started</Emphasis> rather than afterwards. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>So many companies build a site and then contact an SEO company for advice – it then tells them to redesign and alter most of the site, which adds time and cost to the project.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>If the SEO company is involved from the start, then it can create the site's structure and underlying code and then a designer can make it look amazing.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Areas to consider are content management systems, which can be costly to optimise and customise, and blogs which need to be set up in an extremely user friendly manner. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>Lots of corporate blogs lack the easy to use subscription and commenting features that well designed Wordpress installations make use of and they suffer greatly as an example.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Other features such as social media and user generated content should be integrated at the design stage rather than bolted on at a later date.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>When you come up with the idea for a new site it is very important to think about how the site will market itself. </Paragraph> <Paragraph>A commercial site needs to have user generated content and innovative features built in as well as the ability for users to bookmark content and share items with social networks.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>Marketing a site from scratch is very tough these days and without social features and the ability to publish remarkable content in a well presented manner the task is made much harder.</Paragraph> <Paragraph>As a general rule every new site should have the following features:</Paragraph> <List Type="Disc"> <ListItem>Blog or news publishing system </ListItem> <ListItem>Optimised pages for each product </ListItem> <ListItem>A unique feature to help attract publicity </ListItem> <ListItem>An in depth marketing strategy </ListItem> </List> <Paragraph> <Link URL="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiru/2056331945/" Window="Self">Photo credit</Link> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Related stories:</Emphasis> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/2217-how-to-launch-a-new-website-pre-launch" Window="Self">How to launch a new website - pre-launch</Link> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/2218-how-to-launch-a-new-website-launch-week" Window="Self">How to launch a new website - launch week</Link> <LineBreak /> <Link URL="/blog/2219-how-to-launch-a-new-website-post-launch" Window="Self">How to launch a new website - post-launch</Link> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> 2008-02-28T12:16:00+00:00 2 1 econsultancy_xml <p> <strong>Launching a new website is a daunting prospect, so this week we have a four part series guiding you through the pitfalls and best practice strategies to make your new project a success.</strong> </p> <p> <img alt="Grow" src="http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/images/grow.jpg" /> </p> <FormattedContent xmlns="http://www.e-consultancy.com/schema/formattedContent/"> <Paragraph> <Emphasis>Launching a new website is a daunting prospect, so this week we have a four part series guiding you through the pitfalls and best practice strategies to make your new project a success.</Emphasis> </Paragraph> <Paragraph> <Image AlternateText="Grow" Source="http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/images/grow.jpg"> </Image> </Paragraph> </FormattedContent> false 2216 <p>Econsultancy has a wide range of documents to help you with designing websites from start to finish. Check out our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/effective-web-design-best-practice-guide">Effective Web Design Guide</a></strong> and our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/template-files-for-web-projects">Web Project Management Template Files</a></strong> for more information.</p> <p>Econsultancy has a wide range of documents to help you with designing websites from start to finish. Check out our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/effective-web-design-best-practice-guide">Effective Web Design Guide</a></strong> and our <strong><a href="http://econsultancy.com/reports/template-files-for-web-projects">Web Project Management Template Files</a></strong> for more information.</p> 365154 How to launch a new website - design & creation false 2008-03-03T09:00:00+00:00 how-to-launch-a-new-website-design-creation 2009-04-30T05:11:08+01:00 2009-10-13T09:32:37+01:00 2405