4.2 Things to Remember

We are finally here at the end of this series on building a highly converting website and you're almost ready to leave the nest and start your journey. Before you go, though, we wanted to leave you with a few final thoughts as you get into the world of web development.

4 really important things for you to keep in mind.

First, don’t skip the initial part of getting to know the business.

It’s really tempting to straightaway get into building the website without understanding the business and its people. 

We took a significant amount of time in the beginning of the course to help you understand just that. We know that without the necessary context and understanding, you're gonna end up building websites that don’t really bring in results. At the end of the day, for you to be successful as a web developer, you shouldn't just be building websites that look good, but websites that actually serve your client. Take the time to understand their business model, history, audience, what's selling and why, and generally what the website is meant to do.

And on the basis of that, you get started. This will also set you apart in the industry since very few web designers or developers follow any of these best practices.

Second, do your research. ‍

Once you've really gotten the context from the client about their business and audience, we recommend a second step before you go and pick a template, which is to go and look at other websites in the space.

Look at what your business' competition is doing and what other similar websites have been up to. Try to understand what they're seeing, how they're communicating, what kind of visuals they're using and so on. Get an idea of the industry for yourself before you go and start building things.

Next, stick to brand guidelines.‍

Now, we understand that each template comes with its own specific look and feel, and you may have your preferences too when it comes to branding and design. But your goal is to build a website that reflects the personality of the business.

If the business has brand guidelines like particular colours, fonts, logos and so on, try and stick to or adapt your template to that as much as possible. If the client does not have these guidelines, as you talk to them about the business and their audience, try and gauge the personality of the brand, and the look and feel that they want to go for. And then make informed decisions based on that. 

Remember, always put the company and its goals first.

Finally, act the expert. ‍

The last thing we want you to leave you with is this –trust yourself. Especially as you do more projects, you will become more confident of your capabilities and your unique perspective. When working with a client, remember, you’re the expert. You’re meant to advise them, counsel them, guide them and even correct them when you see something wrong.

So, treat yourself like an expert. Trust your gut, but also back yourself up when making a well-educated decision. And that brings us to the end of this episode. We do have one final episode to go and it's an important one so I'll see you there.