Having a website can be a matter of course for many business owners. Many platforms have been created to allow everyone to make a website without having to write a single line of code. These tools are interesting for the creation or redesign of simple websites. However, for more ambitious web projects, there is also the possibility to develop a custom website. We detail this in our guide.
Today, when we talk about starting a business, we are quickly led to think "What will the website look like? What are we going to put on it?" And by the way, if you're on this page, it may be because you're asking yourself these types of questions too.
A company needs a website more and more these days, regardless of the sector of activity. Indeed, whether you are a florist, a mason, an engineer or a doctor, you need online visibility.
The first goal of a website is to allow a brand to be visible on the first place of research in the world: the search engines. A company will therefore create a website to :
Moreover, having a website will help the company in its present and future communication. Why is this? Well, because a website is scalable, the content will evolve with the company. The images and the text content will change from year to year in order to always follow the progress of the brand.
I draw your attention to an important point!
In 2022, more than two thirds of companies with less than 10 employees have a website. Do you know what the primary reason is? To inspire confidence in Internet users. Have you ever thought about this? If you're looking for information about a company and you can't find it on the web, what do you think? Do you trust them? Would you still want to contact them?
Today, a company that does not have a website inspires less confidence in Internet users.
These statistics were retrieved from the INSEE website.
of households have access to the Internet
of them use the internet daily
use the Internet on their mobiles
of French people have connected objects
per week of Internet browsing
per day of mobile browsing
Depending on the field of activity and what you want to present on your website, there are more or less appropriate websites. Here is a list of several types of websites with their description.
A showcase site is nothing more or less than your digital business card. It is mainly used to present an activity, products or services. You can therefore :
The showcase site is perfect for any type of company as long as it does not wish to make online sales.
Just like the baker who has his store down the street, you will have your store, but online. The e-commerce allows you to sell products on the web.
An e-commerce can be used alone or in addition to a physical store. Its advantage is that it costs less than a store where you have to pay rent, insurance, electricity or an employee. Also, you don't have the constraint of having to go to your store every day, it is the shop that comes to you whether you are in your sofa or on vacation on a sandy beach.
Finally, if your online store is profitable, you can think about developing it with a mobile application for example.
A web application is a software available from a browser. Not to be confused with a mobile application which is exclusively available from a cell phone or a tablet. To explain it simply, a web application is an online service like :
Be careful not to confuse a showcase site that will simply present a service and a web application that operates the service.
Think of a blog as a newspaper. Indeed, every day, a newspaper will publish a new edition where you can find the news of the day, the novelties, a portrait, a new store...
Well, a blog is the same thing, but on the web! Its advantage compared to a newspaper for example, is that a blog can collect opinions and comments from its readers. This allows others, to trust or not the content or to have additional information. A blog can have multiple topics, such as:
An intranet is an internal site of a company allowing all employees to do actions on it. Like for example a software so that employees can clock in and out of work. An intranet also allows everyone to have a private user space.
There are several solutions to create a website, the three most common are the use of a classic CMS or a custom CMS or the development of a custom website. In the table below, we detail the advantages and disadvantages of each.
First of all, what is a CMS? It is an online tool that allows you to create a website by yourself, whether it is a showcase site, an e-commerce or a blog. The advantage of a CMS is that anyone can use it to create a website, no computer knowledge is required. Whether you use it alone or in a team, the CMS adapts. Indeed, it allows you to manage and work in team at the same time and on the same website.
CMS are no-code tools. That is to say tools with which you can create a website without writing a single line of code.
What does "custom" mean in the creation of custom website? Well, quite simply that the website is designed and developed exclusively to meet the needs of a brand. The customization of the website is done graphically with the help of a graphic designer but also technically by working with a developer.
Choosing a custom website is very wise when you need uncommon features that do not offer current tools such as CMS. Or simply when you think big and you need a website that will evolve a lot technically. When launching a web application, custom development is necessary to meet all the needs and all the evolutions of the application.
In this kind of custom web development, the elaboration of a specification is recommended in order to list all the elements to create or develop.
Here we are talking about 100% customizable CMS : theme, features, tools, layout ...
| 100% customized website (colors, texts, buttons) | Yes |
|---|---|
| Editing the content of the pages by yourself | Yes |
| Create, modify and move pages easily by yourself | Yes |
| Adding many images or videos by yourself | Yes |
| Management of the multilingual site | Yes |
| Regular updating of content by yourself | Yes |
| Monthly maintenance package | Yes |
Here we are talking about common and classic CMS, very popular but where adding custom features is complex.
| 100% customized website (colors, texts, buttons) | No |
|---|---|
| Editing the content of the pages by yourself | Yes |
| Create, modify and move pages easily by yourself | Yes |
| Adding many images or videos by yourself | Yes |
| Management of the multilingual site | Depending on the chosen CMS. |
| Regular updating of content by yourself | Yes |
| Monthly maintenance package | No |
Here we are talking about a website made from scratch and entirely tailored to the needs of a brand.
| 100% customized website (colors, texts, buttons) | Yes |
|---|---|
| Editing the content of the pages by yourself | No |
| Create, modify and move pages easily by yourself | No |
| Adding many images or videos by yourself | No |
| Management of the multilingual site | Yes |
| Regular updating of content by yourself | No |
| Monthly maintenance package | Yes |
| Custom CMS | Classic CMS | Customized website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type of website | Here we are talking about 100% customizable CMS : theme, features, tools, layout ... | Here we are talking about common and classic CMS, very popular but where adding custom features is complex. | Here we are talking about a website made from scratch and entirely tailored to the needs of a brand. |
| USE | |||
| 100% customized website (colors, texts, buttons) | Yes | No | Yes |
| Editing the content of the pages by yourself | Yes | Yes | No |
| Create, modify and move pages easily by yourself | Yes | Yes | No |
| Adding many images or videos by yourself | Yes | Yes | No |
| Management of the multilingual site | Yes | Depending on the chosen CMS. | Yes |
| Regular updating of content by yourself | Yes | Yes | No |
| Monthly maintenance package | Yes | No | Yes |
| Choose your plan | |||
The functional specification will gather information about the brand, the objective of the website and the target. But not only! It also includes an inventory of fixtures:
The technical specifications will detail the technical aspect of the site, in other words, the web development. It details the technical demands and constraints but also :
This part includes a presentation of the company, the reasons for the creation of the website, the potential competitors and finally a description of the target. | ||
What is the purpose of the website? Is it to find new customers, promote a new product or just to make yourself known? | ||
What is the target audience looking for on the site and how do they get it? | ||
What are the constraints related to the creation of the website? Is it technical, graphic, budgetary, temporal, human or geographical constraints? | ||
Do you already have a logo and a graphic charter? If you don't have one, it is important to indicate it so that the future provider can take it into account. | ||
Here, it is a question of knowing if the text and visual content of the website is to be created or if you already have it. | ||
As mentioned above, here we will detail which languages and technologies are required in the project. | ||
Last step, but not the easiest, is to define a schedule and a price list. |
The price of the creation of a website will depend on the amount of work to be done to get the site online. You are aware of it, a showcase site of two pages will cost less than a blog of 20 articles or a web application requiring 100 hours of development.
To have the price of a website, we call on providers such as web agency or freelance provider. Thanks to the specifications detailed above, the provider will know the scope of the project and the extent of the work to be done. He will then be able to make an estimate by detailing each step of the creation of a website. To know :
Thanks to this list, you will be able to understand all the lines of your provider's quote.
Here is a price range for the steps mentioned above:
These rates are indications and must be submitted to a quote request from a provider.
Custom CMS • Classic CMS • Custom website
Depending on the type of website you want and with which technology it is developed, the price of the creation varies.
Ergonomics • Optimization • SEO
Working on the ergonomics of a website and the SEO requires knowledge and know-how. A qualified provider is necessary.
CRM • Calendar • Mailing
Not all CMS offer a connection to all marketing or management tools. Custom development is required.
Multilingual • Multiple currency
Creating a site in several languages and/or with several currencies is not available on all CMS. It is necessary to do custom development.
You surely know it but, an estimate is a document gathering the services and their respective prices that a provider will propose to his customer. And this, in any sector of activity.
When you want to create a website and not go through no-code platforms, it is necessary to ask for quotes to different providers, such as web agencies or freelancers. But once the quotes are received, how to choose? How to know which provider to turn to? What should guide you in your choice is the relevance of the quote, you must realize if the provider has well identified your need or if he just made a copy and paste of a quote for another client.
Here is an exhaustive list of the elements that must be included in a website quote:
With the new website creation platforms, it may seem simple to create a website. But it is not always the case, it is not enough to put texts and images next to each other to form a nice page. Creating a website requires a lot of thought and several steps.
This document is essential to list the graphic and technical needs of the website to create. It is not mandatory but recommended.
RECOMMENDED FOR AMBITIOUS WEB PROJECTS
Buying a domain name with the brand name or the main keyword of the website will help the referencing.
CHOICE OF THE HOST ACCORDING TO THE PROJECT
Depending on the tool used, it is to choose a pre-made template or to create models with a web designer while respecting the identity.
RESPECT OF THE GRAPHIC CHARTER OF THE BRAND
Development according to the specifications and the models. Specific development for some features.
CODE OPTIMIZATION AND PAGE USABILITY
Creation of the content of the pages: texts and visuals optimized for SEO. Then adding the content to the pages of the website.
OPTIMAL IMAGE WEIGHT AND WELL-CRAFTED TEXTS
Multiple tests are done to verify the health of the site before going online: user, functional, performance and compliance tests.
PERFORMANCE, OPTIMIZATION AND SEO
The web designer is responsible for working on all the interfaces, connections and interactions between the pages of a website. His role is to highlight the content of the pages through colors, typography and illustrations while respecting the rules of web design. The web designer will therefore work on :
A web template has a function: to visualize the final rendering of a web page or an entire website. Indeed, depending on the type of website chosen, the template will be used in different ways.
The template is neither more nor less than your future website. You will, among hundreds of models, choose a template that you like. Once chosen, and depending on the CMS you are on, you will only have to add your images and your text.
The template is created by the web designer according to the brand, its values and the content to display. The template is worked on so that the user, once on the site can easily find what he is looking for.
Bring out the dark side of your website to satisfy even more users.
Nowadays, the dark mode has become very trendy. So much so that social networks and even Google offer a dark mode on their applications and websites. But why go to the dark side?
I apologize to the light mode fans, but dark mode offers many benefits:
on a web page and thus rest the eyes
largely dominant on the light mode and thus make the texts more readable.
because the content is more attractive
because the dark mode reduces the battery consumption so no need to recharge all the time
And if we go back to the first question, how to have a dark mode on a website? There are two ways to do it. The first one is to make the color change automatic based on the user's preferences. Indeed, if the user has set his device or only his browser to dark mode, then the site will be displayed in dark. It's as simple as that!
Simple for the user, a little less for the developer 😉
The second way is to let the user choose to browse the site in light or dark mode. The idea is to place a button at the top, often in the site's menu, allowing to make this switch.
During the development phase of the website, the developer will follow to the letter the instructions of the specifications and integrate the web interfaces of the web designer. He will then know how to build the website and all the logic. He will then be able to start the development of all the "invisible" part of the website also called back-end. After that, he will move to the front-end, the visible part of the website. It is from there that the developer will follow the instructions of the web designer to :
The most visible optimization on a website is the reduction of page loading time. There are several points of optimization that the developer can do during the development phase. Here are some of them.
To explain simply, static pages are pages generated and loaded from a file and not from a database.
Code coverage consists in reducing the code that is used during loading and essential to the display of a page, such as Javascript for example.
Lazy loading consists in displaying the right elements on the screen at the right time. If an image is displayed at the bottom of the page, it will only be loaded when the user arrives at the bottom of the page. This prevents the page from taking too long to load when it is opened.
This involvesoptimizing images in formats such as webP or reducing the size of any file in Gzip
Maintenance is divided into four parts:
Both security updates, languages, features and any external module to the site.
They can be automatic and scheduled every day, week or month or they can be done manually.
To check at any time the proper functioning of the website.
For major bugs, an additional billing may be requested by the developer.
To explain it simply, the monitoring of a website allows, according to an established frequency, to follow if the website is slow, fast, online, offline or still functional. Monitoring is used more and more these days, because it allows you to follow the performance of a website on a daily basis. And these data are essential to make improvements, especially on the user experience.
There are two monitoring methods:
Google has developed and made available many tools to test a website, but also to analyze it and follow its evolution.
The Search Console allows you to visualize the search expressions that users use to arrive on the site. It also allows you to inspect the page urls to detect errors or simply to know if it has been indexed by Google. In addition, it allows you to manage the urls.
Google Analytics allows to analyze a website and to see in real time the number of users and what they do on the site. Indeed, Analytics allows to know the number and the origin of the users, on which page of the site they navigated and finally if they left or continue their stroll on the site.
Lighthouse allows a person with or without technical knowledge to do a quick technical audit of the website. Indeed, Lighthouse scans the website to find out its performance, its accessibility, its SEO score and finally if it respects the best web practices.
This tool is very useful to test if a website is compatible for mobile browsing. If the score is negative, then Google informs us of improvements to be made.
In addition to the others, this tool allows you to check if the structured data of a page is correct. Remember that structured data can help SEO of a site.
There are several reasons to redesign a website, such as a decrease in visibility, a low conversion rate, a change in visual identity or simply wanting a more modern website. Nevertheless, before doing a redesign, it is interesting to make an audit of the website in order to bring out all the points of improvement, but also those which work and which should not be changed.
We must not forget that nowadays, web technologies and web design rules evolve very quickly. A website can therefore be very quickly outdated.
The graphic redesign generally concerns the creation of a new logo and thus a new graphic charter, with new colors, a new typography and new graphic forms to represent the brand. It also concerns the creation of new models of the website and this, by keeping the current graphic charter.
Here is a list of elements that are reworked during a redesign:
As its name indicates, the technical redesign concerns all the technical aspect of the website. All the points that concern the technical redesign are related to the optimizations to be made to a website, namely
Find in detail all the things to know about the creation and redesign of website.
