Your company website: what it needs and how to choose who builds it

Most customers now look you up before they get in touch: they type your company name into Google, or open the link from your Facebook page, to check that you're a real business and that your work suits them. An outdated, slow or empty website sends a negative message even when your work is excellent. A clear, fast one answers half the customer's questions for you.

This guide is for business owners before they order a new website or rebuild the one they have.

Start with the goal, not the design

Before colours and photos, ask: what do I want the visitor to do? Call us? Ask for a quote? Buy directly? Apply for a job? Every page should serve that goal, and every button should lead to it. A website that tries to say everything ends up saying nothing.

Write a short list of the five questions customers ask most on the phone or on WhatsApp. The answers are your website's most important content.

The essential pages for any company

• Home: who you are, what you offer and for whom, in two clear sentences at the top, with a visible contact button.
• Services or products: a page for each main service, explaining the problem it solves and the result the customer gets, not just a list of specifications.
• Our work or clients: real examples, client logos used with permission, or short testimonials. Evidence convinces more than description.
• About us: experience, the team and a real address. Customers want to know there are reachable people behind the website.
• Contact: phone number, WhatsApp, email, a map and a short form that asks only for what's necessary.
• Privacy policy: if the site collects any data at all, even a name and phone number in a form.

Mobile first, speed before decoration

Most website visitors in Syria browse on their phones, many of them on weak or unreliable connections. So:

• Test the site on an ordinary phone with a slow connection, not only on the office screen.
• Images must be compressed and correctly sized. A single image of several megabytes is enough to slow the whole page down.
• Avoid background videos that autoplay, heavy animations and plugins you don't need.
• Keep a WhatsApp or call button always visible on mobile; it's how most customers prefer to reach you.

You can measure any page's speed for free with Google's PageSpeed Insights. A green score on mobile is a realistic target for a company website.

Showing up on Google from day one

A website nobody finds isn't much use. The basics of SEO (search engine optimisation) should be built in with the site, not added afterwards:

• A clear title and description for every page, using the words people actually search for.
• A real Arabic version written in natural Arabic, not machine translation, and, if you have English-speaking customers, an English version linked to it.
• Short, readable page addresses (URLs).
• Register the site in Google Search Console, and create a Google Business Profile with the same address and phone number as on the website.
• Useful articles that answer your customers' questions, like this one. Over time, they're what brings new visitors.

Who owns the website?

This question is often forgotten, and it causes the biggest problems later. Before starting, make sure:

• The domain is registered in your company's name, and you hold its login.
• The hosting account is in the company's name, or you have full access to it.
• The code, design and content are yours once paid for, and you can move the site to another company if you want.
• You have an admin panel to edit text and images yourself, without waiting for the developer for every small change.

What drives the cost of a website?

There's no single "website price", just as there's no single price for "a house". What really changes the cost:

• The number and kinds of pages: a five-page profile site is different from a site with fifty service pages and articles.
• Languages: every extra language means more content, proofreading and testing.
• Design: an adapted ready-made theme is cheaper and faster; a design made for your brand stands out more and takes longer.
• Special features: a shop, bookings, a client portal, or a link to an accounting system or Odoo.
• Content: will you write it, or do you need someone to write it and photograph the products?
• After launch: hosting, updates, security, backups and support. This is a yearly cost you should know from the start.

Two quotes at the same price can mean two completely different websites. Always ask for a written breakdown of what the quote includes and what it doesn't.

Questions to ask any web developer

• Can I see real websites you've built, and try them on my phone?
• Is the design made for us, or a ready-made theme?
• Who writes the content, and who puts it into the site?
• Will I be able to edit pages myself, and will you train us?
• What does the price include after launch, and who updates and protects the site?
• How long will it take, and at which stages do I review the work?
• Who owns the domain, the hosting and the code?

Mistakes we see often

• A home page full of sliding banners, and visitors still can't tell what the company does.
• Old phone numbers, or a contact form whose messages reach no one.
• A site that looks great on a computer and breaks on a phone.
• The last update years ago, with news about exhibitions long over.
• A site on a system that hasn't been updated since launch, an easy target for attackers. On that side, read 12 practical steps to protect a small business.

Before you start

Prepare three things before your first meeting with any developer: the website's goal in one sentence, the list of pages you expect, and two or three websites you like and why. That alone saves weeks of back and forth.

If you'd like our help from the start, from planning the content to design, development and hosting, that's what our web development service does. For choosing the right hosting, read our guide Shared hosting, VPS or cloud?, or contact us directly.