Most site projects fail before the first line of text. No for lack of tools, but because we open the editor without knowing what we expect from the result. Five Decisions, taken in this order, avoid this trap.
Decide what the site should cause
A site is not intended to exist. Its aim is to trigger something: a call, a message, making an appointment, an order, an application. Write this action on a leaf before everything else.
This single sentence then controls everything: the position of the button, the content of the home page, what you agree to discard. A site that pursues four objectives achieves none of them.
A concrete example: a plumber wants the phone to ring. A jewelry designer wants commands. A consultant wants qualified meeting requests. Three very different, while the basic job is the same: to convince.
Write for one person, not everyone
“My clients are everyone” is the answer that produces the blandest texts. Instead, choose the person you prefer to serve: the one who comes back, who pays without negotiate, who recommends you.
Note three things about it:
- what she fears before calling you (the price, the delay, making a mistake);
- what she tried before you and which didn’t work;
- what made her decide, last time, to choose your company.
These three answers provide half of the text on your site. You are not making them up: you've heard them on the phone before. Our sheet on the writing of the texts shows how the transform into pages, without jargon and without a blank page.
Gather the material before opening the editor
Nothing slows you down like looking for a photo while you're laying out a page. Gather first, in the same folder:
- Your exact contact details: address, opening hours, telephone number, area of intervention.
- The list of your services, with a description sentence for each and an order of price or range.
- Eight to ten photos of your achievements, your workshop, your team. The photos Generic atmospheres are obvious at first glance and do not reassure anyone.
- Three customer reviews, with first name and city. Ask for them: a satisfied customer says almost always yes.
In the photos
A recent phone is more than enough. Photograph during the day, near a window, framing tight on the work rather than the part. Ten decent photos of your real work are worth better than a perfect but interchangeable image bank.
Choose your address
The domain name is the only difficult decision to undo: it appears on your maps, your vehicles, your quotes. Take the time to go back and forth choosing the domain name before settling. Then check its availability and possible homonyms with the method to find out if a domain is available.
Remember the principle: short, pronounceable on the phone, close to the name of your company. You can publish to a temporary address first and then plug in your domain, without anything redo.
Publish incomplete, then correct
This is the decision that separates live sites from abandoned projects. A four-page site published tonight brings you customers tomorrow. The same “almost perfect” site awaiting a last rereading for six months brings you nothing at all.
Publish as soon as you have:
- a home page that says what you do and for whom;
- a page of services;
- a contact page with a form and your schedule;
- your legal notices.
The rest is added over time. This is also the right pace for Google, which prefers a living site to a frozen site. The details of what each of these pages must contain are in the essential pages of a showcase site, and how to get you found then in rank on Google near you.
And concretely, with what tool?
There are three routes, and the right choice depends above all on the time you want to spend there:
| Way | Starting cost | Deadline | Who corrects next? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom agency | High | Several weeks | The agency, often by invoicing |
| Single developer | Medium | A few weeks | Him, if he remains available |
| Online tool | Low or no | An evening | You, in two minutes |
To compare these routes with domain, hosting and maintenance fees, see the real cost of a professional website.
For a first showcase, the third way almost always wins: it is not the best site The best one that pays you is the one that is online and that you keep up to date. You will be able to always entrust a redesign to an agency the day your activity justifies it, with in hand content already written and already tested.
Our website follows this principle: you start from a model already completed for your job, you replace the texts, you publish. Hosting and certificate security are included, including in the free plan.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to create a showcase site?
One evening is enough for three or four pages if your texts and photos are ready. What takes time is never the tool, it’s deciding what to write. Prepare your content first, putting it online will follow quickly.
Should you have a website or just a page on social media?
Both meet different needs. A social network makes you exist among people who already follow you; a site allows you to be found by those who are looking for your job without knowing you. And the site belongs to you: no one can close access to it overnight.
Do I have to pay an agency to get started?
Not for a first showcase site. An agency is justified when you have a tailor-made need or a lot of content to rework. To present an activity and collect requests, a tool that you use yourself costs less and can be corrected in two minutes.
