When you first start working on your website you'll have hundreds of great ideas and you'll be very excited to implement all of them.

You download a template from a website builder, start inserting a title, some text and a photo...

And then, you're stuck.

You are confused because you want to follow the template but it doesn't fit into what you had in mind.

After moving things around and reorganising it you find yourself more confused and you want to give up.

We've all been there.

You need to organise your thoughts before starting to build your website.

So, how do you do that?

First think about what your offering is and what makes you stand out from the competition.

How will you communicate that? Sub-divide your message into three to five titles.

Second, you need to build trust.

Who are you and why should people come to you?

Third, what is your call to action?

What do you want clients to do on your website? Do you want them to buy, ask you to get in touch, sign up to a newsletter or all of the above?

Once you have these element you need to organise them. That's when a wireframe comes in.

So, what is a wireframe?

It is a fancy word to describe a blueprint of a website, webpages or an app. Software designers use it to communicate ideas on how to build prototypes to their developer teams.

When it comes to websites it's a simple page layout. The great thing with wireframes is that you don't need fancy software to do it. Just use pen and paper.

Draw your home page.

From the first point above, what message do you want to convey as customers land on your website and what do you want them to feel?

Then, from there, what do you want them to do?

Do you want them to read about your services or about you? This is where your wireframe will link your first page to your next page and so on — creating a seamless navigation flow.

This exercise will help you focus on the message rather than the fancy buttons and colours. It doesn't need to be fancy. Don't overthink it and keep it simple.

A wireframe will also be very useful if you decide to have someone help you build your website. If you decide to use our done-for-you service for $599, our developers will welcome a wireframe. The wireframe will also speed up the build process massively.

If you want to try out Heroic and are interested in our done-for-you service, register now for your free trial.

Be Heroic!