Your new website starts here
prep information and guides
What you will need
At a glance
- Domain name
- Email host
- Web host
- Content
When we start working together, I will need certain information from you. The more prepared you are, the faster and more smooth the whole process will be.
Domain name
Your domain name is what your visitors see and should represent your business or blog name as closely as possible. I build your new website on a staging site so if you have a site already on your domain, it can stay live until we're ready to launch the new one.
If you're buying a new domain name, I recommend Godaddy. They have ok prices and free, easy to manage DNS services, which is what we use to point the domain name to the new website and your emails. Some hosts charge extra for this.
The cheapest option is actually Cloudflare (they don't do .com.au domains though) but at this point you can only transfer your domain in from another host, so you can start with Godaddy and move over later.
When you sign up with Goddady, make sure you don't agree to any of the addons, you only want the domain name and nothing else.
Email host
For your domain based email I recommend G suite (Google). It works like Gmail so it will probably look and feel familiar to you if you've used Gmail for free email addresses in the past.
Keeping your email hosting separate from your web hosting is a great way to future proof your business. If you want to move to a different web host or platform at some point, your emails will be unaffected, you won't lose all your email threads and it will save you a massive headache.
Another reason to opt for a dedicated email host is that the email service bundled in with cheaper web hosts in inferior and used as a way to make it seem like you are getting more for your buck. Should your website go down (which happens frequently with cheaper hosts) your emails also go down, which can be disastrous for your business.
I help you set this up as part of the website package if you wish to use it.
Web Host
We recommend WP Engine and I offer a discounted rate on my account with them for my clients at AUD$35/month (reg $46).
I can't stress enough how important quality web hosting is for the daily running of your online business. With tech support charged at $80/hour it's easy to see that this option will pay for itself pretty fast.
WP Engine includes everything you need for your WordPress website, read more about the features by clicking below.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is a free service that hosts your DNS records, which points your domain name to your website and email.
It hides these records behind a proxy which keeps your website safer from hackers and cyber attacks. Cloudflare makes it easy to add any new records, verification with online services like Pinterest business for example.
They also host domain names and are the cheapest in the industry. I set Cloudflare up for you as standard.
Content
At a glance
Your pages
Decide what pages you need and what to call them.
The standard website pages are Home, About, Services and Contact, and Blog if you are prepared to blog regularly.
Images
Collect your images and share them with us via Dropbox. The larger images the better.
We offer stock image packs if you don't have quality images of your own to use.
Copy
Write the copy for your pages, making sure it's free of spelling mistakes and has correct grammar.
Using a copywriter is a great idea if your creative well is dry.
Functionality
Make a list of all custom functionality you need for your website.
Newsletter signups, eCommerce, connection to booking platforms etc.
Requirements for project takeoff
- Provide login to your domain name
- Provide login to your web host if you have an existing website
- Decide if you want to use premium WP Engine web hosting
- Decide if you want to use G suite email hosting
- Fill out the Design Questionnaire
- Collect your images and content in a Dropbox folder and share the folder with us
- Pay the 50% deposit
Ready to move forward?
"You not only read my mind about how I envisaged the website would look, you exceeded expectations! We're now rolling out more websites and again have entrusted you."
—Genya, MSM Milling
Resources
Want to learn more about creating a website? These guides will help you in DIYing your own, or preparing for a web designer.
Clarify your website messaging
