It will give you a real sense of achievement and a feeling that your business is starting to take shape. You're on the way to living your dream. 

 

 

The first step you should take is study as many successful websites as you can. This is to identify colour schemes you like and don’t like. Page layouts you think work. How other publishers use images and fonts.

 

Our recommendation is to look at the following sites:

 

 

 

The leading websites in the world spend hundreds of thousands of pounds studying how their users navigate around their sites, what colours work and how to promote their products and services. You can benefit from this research simply by studying their websites.

 

To find the most visited sites, go to www.alexa.com . On the right hand side of the page you will see ‘Movers & Shakers’. Under this is the Top 500 Sites. Click the link that takes you to the complete list. Select sites that you think look interesting.

 

I recommend that you print a copy of the sites you particularly like.

 

 

 

First go to the big nationals including:

 

 

Then select a few other newspaper and magazine sites. Look for sites both in your industry and also for subjects that may have the same audience. For a list of magazine websites, use the directory on www.mediauk.com. Some of the sites are subscription websites, others are advertising driven. Most are simply promotion sites for their print magazine. Take a look at their designs.

 

 

 

In this website, we mention over 100 subscription websites, most of which are very successful. Take a look at these designs, colours layouts and features.

 

 

 

By looking at your competitors' websites, you will be able to decide whether you want to emulate what they do or try to design your website in completely different way. There is no right or wrong answer to this. You must decide what will work best for you.