How to Build a Website That Scales with You

When you want to build a website that saves you money, you have to think beyond the short-term.

One way to think about it is to imagine you’re in a job interview. Ask: What are your business plans for one…three…five years down the road? How will the website you build help you accomplish those goals?

The reason we ask these questions is to get a sense of your online needs as a business. What compatibilities, integrations or other functionalities will you need down the line?

To avoid having to start from scratch, ask about the future requirements for your website. Ask whether you may eventually…

  • Engage with affiliates
  • Sell products or services directly through your website
  • Offer a membership or subscription service
  • Deploy a recurring payment system
  • Invest in paid advertising
  • Publish blogs, podcasts, or video series
  • Test multiple lead capture pages

Since reworking a website is among the most costly web-related expenses, planning ahead will continue to deliver cost-savings well into development, and beyond.

In other words, if you set up the proper building blocks to prepare your website for future growth, you can easily make changes to your website while maintaining a low initial build cost for your website.

How to Build a Budget-Friendly Website | Website Design Checklist

On the topic of cost-savings – if you’re a business owner on a budget there are a few ways you can make sure your inner accountant stays happy.

Here’s a short website design checklist to help you get started on the right foot. It answers the question of what do you need for a website that performs AND sells.

First, you need to invest in the right tools. We recommend you avoid ultra-budget website building tools like Wix and Squarespace, as well as steer clear of fully-custom coded website options (like custom WordPress themes).

That’s because these options are particularly expensive to maintain.

We also suggest you stay away from programming languages that don’t have many developers available–since their specializations increase the labor cost. Examples off the top include Perl, Laravel, and even Craft CMS.

The best budget option? Choose WordPress, and pick out a popular theme.

The maintenance and development costs are spread out across a larger user base, and you can often reduce the need for custom code. There are also so many developers, you’ll be more likely to find one that suits your cost constraints.

The next step is to determine the functionality of your website–using the goals you set in mind before. What do you need your website to do? Write it down.

Then, determine what tools or plugins you will use to make those functionalities possible, and verify that it’s all compatible with your website builder or platform. This will ensure you don’t have to rework key elements of your website later in the project.

Finally, press pause on your largest ideas and determine your Minimum Viable Product. That is: what is the bare minimum you need in place to launch your website today?

Most websites can get by with ten or less pages in place to start, and often publish blog functionalities right out of the gate.

When Should I Start Building My Website?

One of the things to consider when building a website is WHEN?

Here, it helps to think of your website like a storefront. It is the centerpiece of your business’ digital presence, like a hub. It is where you can connect all of your social platforms and communication mediums in one place.

That’s why we suggest you start building your website as soon as you have a business.

We also recommend you have a proven offer when you start building your website, meaning that you have sales and can be fully confident that you’ll get a return on your website investment…otherwise you may have to scrap your website in the future.

Do I Need a Website Revamp?

Another scenario that comes up often is where business owners have outgrown their website.

And while you can learn more about website revamps in our article, Do You Need a Website Revamp? | How to Update your Website for More Sales, I do want to emphasize that revamping your website is OK.

Websites are an iterative process, and revamps can be part of the website development process checklist.

It’s when you require a revamp every other month that it becomes a problem!

“At The Digital Navigator, we do websites that take into account all future scenarios so clients never have to start from scratch. We’ve carefully designed a software solution that grows with your business…”

What Kinds of Websites Are There to Choose From?

Here are just seven website types you can choose from to better understand which website requirements you’ll need as you grow:

  • eCommerce/payment website. These websites are for offering physical or digital products and services which require payment transactions in return.
  • Course/membership website. These websites are centralized around a learning management system or LMS. They offer courses, content, videos, PDFs, and other educational material to interested visitors.
  • Blogging/media website. These sites provide a consistent feed of new articles, videos, podcasts, or other content with a focus on information.
  • Business website. These websites are a hub for a specific brand or business.
  • Photography website. Very image heavy, with gallery functionalities. Often require pages that include package information or purchase options for specific events.
  • Directory website. A basic website which acts as a hub for other website types.
  • Funnel-based website. These are used by content creators to navigate users through a set of pages until the funnel is ‘closed’.