Step 4: The look

Chapter 10: Designing a website

Once you have decided on the basics — name, domain, hosting service and software — it’s time to turn your attention to the look of your website. Over the next two chapters we will focus on how to achieve the look you want.

Design is probably the element people notice most when they first encounter our business online. Although we often underestimate the importance of design, it is also an aspect of the online presence that can paralyse a new business for months, as the owners quibble over the many fonts, colours and layouts available.

In the days of print we were locked into design decisions for months or even years until we ran out of business cards or saved enough money to spend on another ...

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