This guide outlines a proven 7-step web design process developed by Brainstorm Force: 1) Goal-setting, 2) Branding, 3) Website copy, 4) Website structure, 5) Mockup, 6) Design and develop, and 7) Go live. Consider the Astra theme, which offers tools to build websites quickly and effectively.

STEP 1: Goal-setting

This might sound like a cliché kind of statement, but please bear with me; what I’m about to say really does work:

Set a goal

You must set a goal for your websites.

Yes, goals do work. A couple of reasons for that:

(a) A goal keeps the focus clear.

It’s all too easy to go out chasing the next shiny thing when you’re building a website. You can always add this one more effect, that one more picture, this one more slider, or that one more feature … but should you?

If you’re not solid on what the primary goal of the site is then you can’t make a reliable decision on whether you should include something on the site or not.

With good goals in place, you can always evaluate if this or that feature is going to fit the site.

(b) A goal helps you decide if the design is a success.

If you don’t know what you want to achieve, then how will you know if and when you’ve achieved it?

Once you set a concrete, understandable goal, you will be able to tell if the final site brings you closer to it.

(c) When you have a goal, you can plan the steps to get to it.

Starting with a blank screen is tough. You can go in all sorts of different directions, and you have no way of knowing which is the right one. Or do you?

Setting a goal gives you a very clear road sign that’s pointing you exactly where you need to go from start to finish.

So, how to set that one main goal for your website?

Please notice me emphasizing the word “one” – as in, your website should have just one main goal. Not multiple goals.

Think of it this way: what is the main thing that you want your website to do?

• Do you want it to sell a product?
• Do you want it to build your brand?
• Do you want to raise awareness for a cause?
• Are you running for office?

Whatever that might be, pick one thing, put it in a sentence and phrase it in a way that the goal can be later evaluated and measured.

For example:

“The goal for the site is to grow my sales from X / month to twice that.”

From that point on, you can start evaluating all decisions about your website by answering the question of, “Does this help me 2x my sales?”

Look at websites you like

Your competition is always the best source of inspiration you can get. Start by looking at websites you like in your niche, as well as outside of it.

Take notes relating to what you like about those sites specifically.

• Use screenshot tools like Lightshot to capture specific areas of the site and annotate those screenshots.
• Make those notes relate to your goals. Only take note of things that can likely help you reach your goals.

List your must-have pages

Some pages should find their place on most types of websites. These are the pages that make your goal possible.

List those pages in written form.

Why written? It’s going to be much easier to keep track of those pages when they’re written down, and you can also treat that list as a checklist during development.

Further, go a bit deeper and list the individual sub-goals for each page, plus how the page is going to achieve it. For example:

“About page. Meant to build my brand, get the user familiar with it, build authority and then drive people to the product pages. The page needs social proof elements such as testimonials and brand logos to help achieve this. Also, a clear listing of the top products at the bottom.”