Well, now that the initial meeting is finished and your web designer has had some time put some thoughts together, it’s time for the second meeting.

During the second meeting the initial design will be reviewed and will begin to be refined. Now that both of you have had some time to think about what was discussed, it’s time to start to think about things like the number of pages, navigation scheme, and color schemes. We will focus on the number of pages in this blog post.    

(c) Can Stock Photo / ronstik

Typical websites have a Home page, an About page, and a Contact page. This is the bare bones starting point. If your website is going to be a Blog, then you will need a Blog page. If you are a small business, you will want a Portfolio page to show you work. These will be the top level layout.  

As the layout begins to take focus consider if you need sub-pages showing additional information under each main page of the layout. For example, your About page may have categories of information you feel is important to make visitors aware of. A small business may have different services or products they offer attached to the Portfolio page. Non-profit organizations my want a Photos page showing pictures of different categories of events. The possibilities are open ended and just depends on the vision for the website. 

Getting started:

(c) Can Stock Photo / Gajus

Another thing to be discussed during the first meeting is the domain name. Every website needs a domain name such as www.yourbusiness.com.

If you do not already have a domain name, it will be your assignment to come up with a few ideas. Try to come up with a few variations of what you want since the first idea you have may already be in use. This can be an overwhelming task and I can help if needed. Here is a site to help with the process.

Here are a few websites that can help you with  the process of choosing a domain name: 

• 15 Best Domain Name Generators.
• How to choose a domain name for your website
• REdesigns.org Choosing domain names

Domain name prices vary but typically cost around $10 per year. This will be one of your yearly expenses. 

After this first meeting, the web designer will take the information you provide during the first meeting and generate the basic website layout, or wireframe model, of the preliminary website design.

Getting started:

   Building a website is a process. This process starts with a concept…your concept!

   You either have a small business or are a part of a non-profit organization that you want to promote on the Internet. These days the web seems to be the place where people turn to for information. No wonder the web is referred to as the Information Highway!

   Taking your idea and concepts and turning them into a website is what myself, and a host of website designers, are here for. A good designer will sit down and listen to your ideas and tune in to your vision. After all, as I’ve said, this is all about you and your organization.  

   So the first step after you decide who you would like to work with is to sit down with your designer and talk about your ideas and conceptually what you would like the website to look like. This if the “30,000 foot” view if you will. You may have ideas from websites that you like or you may just have your own ideas. There are no details at this point just blocks of information that you want to be conveyed.