Website design may end up looking simple but a great deal of thought needs investing in it. Photo by Visual Design on Unsplash.

Kerrie Johns from Unicorn Web Design who knows more than a thing or two about web design and SEO

SEO may be only 3 points on Scrabble but it should be built into the foundations of your website and so are worth a whole lot more

Make sure your website is geared up for ecommerce if at all possible.

When it comes to designing a website it has to be right first time … so we’ve pulled together the 15 must-haves that a web designer must be able to provide you.

The top one is making sure it’s maximised for SEO which gives it the very best chance of rating high on Google.

AH! PR works closely with brilliant web designer Kerrie Johns from Unicorn Web Design (https://unicornwebsolutions.com/) who is spot on when it comes to SEO and all other things web design

So, before you appoint a professional web designer to build your new website make sure they, like Kerrie, can tick all these boxes.

1. Look at other websites the web designer has done to see their design styles, testimonials and if they are fully optimised for browsing on mobile phones.
2. The web designer needs to take a close look at your current website to be sure a new one is needed and to explain the improvements that can be made with a new one and how they will benefit you and your business.
3. Research is vital so the web designer needs to fully understand your business and customer psyche and what customers will want from visiting your website and ensure it meets their needs.
4. Be sure the web designer has the full range of skills needed to make your website special – or can bring in specialists such as a copywriter like me (https://ah-pr.com/) or people skilled at designing logos, graphics and editing videos.
5. Make sure you have a price before work starts and that will need to include extras such as web hosting and registering domain names. Make sure these are registered in your name.
6. Communication is key so make sure you have one person managing the project who is easy to contact and you need to oversee the website development every step of the way so revisions can be made quickly. Kerrie will do this for you.
7. The web designer will need to be clear on deadlines and let you know early on the information, photos, logos and videos that you’ll need to provide for the project. It would be good to draw up a timeline checklist and tick them off as you go along.
8. It’s crucial the content on your website is fully optimised for keywords and SEO so we would suggest using an expert or follow this advice (https://bit.ly/3u30nN2). If the website’s not well-written, it’s highly unlikely to rank well on Google.
9. Ideally all websites need a content management system so you can change words, images and videos instantly without the cost and time it takes to ask website designers to do that for you. Make sure you fully understand how it works, is easy to use and is future-proofed with room to expand by adding more pages. Confirm the web designer can train you how to do this or, if you want them to do the updates, agree an ongoing maintenance and support package.
10. Find out from the web designer if your website is custom-coded or from an existing template and that it is responsive to the different devices that are used to browse it such as mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop or tablet. The website layout will need to automatically adjust depending on the device’s screen size.
11. Ask your web designer to explain just how the new website will be fully geared up for search engine optimisation from its framework through to keyword research and tagging pictures to give it the very best chance to rank high on Google.
12. Your website is your shop so ask the web designer how it will convert website visitors into leads and generate more sales.
13. Check with the web designer if terms and conditions, privacy policy, cookie policy and any other landing pages are included in your build or will you be providing your own?
14. If it’s possible to sell your products online then you absolutely must so make sure your web designer can build a fully functional e-commerce content management system website that’s an online store which can take online payments. If you’re not quite ready then make sure an e-commerce website can be incorporated into your website in the future without having to construct an entirely new one. You need a website that can grow with your business.
15. Ensure the website is secure and protected against hackers and bugs with an SSL certificate to ensure the website is fully authenticated and enabled for encrypted connection.

To have a chat about updating your website content so it’s maximised with keywords and SEO or if you’re thinking of having a new website then contact me at andy@ah-pr.com or phone 07985 654822.