Before you jump into spending countless hours on designing and publishing your website, or spending money on having it done by anyone else you should plan out your full design (or structure). This is very important so that when it comes time to do this long-lasting project you will be well prepared.

Layout the Structure of your website. The basics to getting your website going is to know what type of pages your going to have on your website. These pages can be more complex than you think. Say for example your going to have a homepage, contact page, and a about page. Write these three links out, and branch off other links below them. Like on your contact page you'll maybe have a link to go to a contact form, and/or a link to go to your forums/community. And for your about page you could have information about you, info on your company, info on how you became started, frequently asked questions, and maybe even a reference or how-to guide on how you started your business.

As you can see deciding how many links you will have can be a very time consuming job. But it is always better to have all of this planned out and done before you start designing your webpage, or having someone do it for you. The more info you can provide yourself, or your webmaster will benefit you greatly.

Say for example your webmaster charges you by the hour... If he/she has to spend time thinking of your linking structure you could be paying this person more than you really need to.

Here are some things you should think about before you get started on building your layout structure:

What's the topic of your website going to be based on?

Cars... Web Design... Your Company... Who are your visitors/clients going to be? Little Kids? Adults? Teenagers? What do you need to gear your advertising towards?

How can you make all of your pages easy to access? Does your website have a easy linking structure? Are your pages search engine friendly? Example: (book_spider_man.html) Who are your competitors? Are they going to be serious competition? Could they be possible affiliates? Gather content and important information for your website. After you have your linking structure all setup you will want to start looking around your house, computer, work, or wherever and gather up information about your website's main topic. You will need content to fill up your homepage, contact information for your contact page, and anything and everything else to fill your website with content.

Content will be the number one key to the success of your website. If your content isn't updated regularly, or isn't 100% complete than you will loose visitors and even potential clients/product purchasers.

Try to avoid having links to pages that don't work. This will cause visitors to not click on those links again, or even not come back to your website again. Try to at least throw a page up with Under Construction, and have some content on there for them to go through.

Back to the point... Be Creative before you Purchase or Create a Website. Don't jump straight into something Without knowing anything about it. Ask your self, would you buy a brand new car with no engine knowing you have to use it to get to work the next day? Planning out your website structure is on the same lines as purchasing a car without a engine. You need the content and structure built up before you can get it to run.

Before You Build Your Website:
8 Common Misconceptions

If you're feeling pressure to create an Internet site for your company, you’re not alone. Even if you don't want to sell your products or services directly over the Internet, simply maintaining a professional-looking, well-functioning Internet site can help a new company seem more established. (Conversely, having an unappealing, poorly functioning site hurts.) Before you get started on that online component to your business, though, consider the following common misconceptions:

1. "If I build it, they will come". Marketing your site may not be as easy as it seems. You'll need economical ways to direct traffic to your site on a national (or international) level. Perhaps the most obvious way is to advertise on search engines like Google and Overture, but this can get expensive. Unfortunately, it can take months or even years for your URL to turn up near the top of organic searches. Investigate other ways to get eyes to your site, like affiliate programs, e-mail newsletters, and partnering.
   
   
2. Online, the more you offer, the more you'll sell (generalization vs. specialization). Trying to be all things to all people rarely works. It may seem logical that the more you have to offer, the more people you'll attract. However, even if you attract them, will they buy? The "general" aspect of your offering will communicate that the value of your product/service is equal to that of others – so price becomes the only issue, and branding becomes difficult. In today's marketplace, there’s a powerful demand for specialized products and services. The point is to differentiate your company from your competitors. Determine your niche and stick to it.
    
3. The best way to generate sales is to copy the competition – in everything from marketing strategies and positioning to sales offers and design choices. Remember the adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? This means that when you imitate, you're not just reminding your audience about your competition – you're suggesting they're better! Certainly you can learn things from what your competition does, but blaze your own trail if you're serious about branding your company.
    
4. Your Home page should explain everything about your business, or you'll lose visitors. You've got about 3 seconds to hook visitors – not bore them with visually overwhelming text. Grab their attention by being clear, concise and compelling.
    
5. Once I get my site up, sales will skyrocket.  Yes, your potential customer pool has grown exponentially – but so has your competition. How will you stand out? How will you locate the people most likely to buy your product/service?
   
   
6. Websites should be slick, with lots of bells and whistles. On the Internet, functionality is king. High-tech gimmicks may look great, but load slow. Of course, it's best to find a good balance between form and function.
   
   
7. Building a website is easy – I’ll just buy a how-to book. Whether or not you can do-it-yourself depends on the type of site you want and your own experience and skills. For example, will you require shopping cart functionality or database programming? Building a website is deceptively complex and requires a variety of skill sets, from HTML savvy to good artistic taste.
   
   
8. Everybody else has a site, so I should too. Thinking through the real purpose of your site is crucial. Is it to sell your product? Increase awareness? Provide information to drive local sales? Add credibility? Despite what some critics say, creating an "online brochure" is a legitimate reason to build a site. However, it is a very different purpose than selling directly over the Internet.