Creating a startup website: key elements to consider

When you create a startup, you typically need a strong digital presence. Digital channels allow you to precisely reach your target audience and automate many tasks to save time and cut costs. A digital presence can involve managing your social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), running ad campaigns, email marketing, but most importantly, creating a website.

Your startup’s website should serve as the perfect showcase: it must highlight your value proposition, products or services, and core values, while reassuring customers. So, how do you create a startup website? Scroll provides you with a checklist of the steps to follow and the key elements to consider. Also, discover our favorite tools to make the process easier!

Creating a startup website in 5 steps

A startup website can be built in a few weeks, or even days. Generally, the number of pages is limited, and the information is concise. The workload is therefore less intensive than for large e-commerce sites offering thousands of products for sale.

However, there are several key steps you shouldn’t overlook. Your startup’s website must reflect your company’s values and expertise while attracting users and generating business. How can you achieve all of this? With 5 simple yet crucial steps.

The visual identity: a reflection of your brand

The first step is to define your startup’s visual identity. If you haven’t already, know that this is an essential marketing element: your logo, colors, and fonts must be easily and quickly recognizable, allowing users to identify and familiarize themselves with your brand.

You have several options: you can design your visual identity to highlight your expertise, give it a tech-focused look to emphasize your skills, or orient it toward human values, support, and proximity. The choice depends on your target audience and offering.

At Scroll, we’ve supported several startups in building their websites and refining or defining their visual identities. One of them, Remoters helps freelancers find accommodations worldwide.

Together, we defined a visual identity centered on humanity. Cartoon illustrations of human figures, a calming blue that inspires trust, and themes of travel, discovery, and connection were the cornerstones of this project.

Remoters’ visual identity is human-centric. What will yours be for your startup?

A strong visual identity should include at least three elements:

• Logo
• Colors
• Fonts

You can also add other elements, such as key terms to serve as inspiration or guidelines, or mood boards to convey the impression or feeling you’re trying to create.

Your visual identity will help you build your startup’s website. It will also assist in producing all business-related materials: products, ads, communications… It’s a foundational element that you should define at the start of your project!

Your website’s pages: balancing SEO and user experience

Most startup websites have around ten pages. That’s more than enough to cover essential information: who you are, what you sell or do, your team, and a few client case studies. Some also include a blog, and for SaaS solutions, deeper pages that link to the web app. We’ll revisit this specific case later.

Given the limited size of startup websites, it’s crucial to carefully select the pages you want to create, keeping three key factors in mind:

• SEO
• The user journey
• Advertising

When it comes to SEO, every important page on your company’s website should indeed be designed to attract users through organic search. Optimize your pages for SEO: target the key and strategic terms for your business, and optimize your meta tags and content to rank for these keywords.

The user journey must not suffer: your menu and site structure should remain clear for all visitors already on your site. The goal: in fewer than three clicks, your user should have found all the information they need and be able to reach out to you. So, don’t forget to regularly include CTAs (Call-to-Action) on your pages.

Finally, consider advertising. Whether you want to run ads on Facebook, Google, or any other platform, your landing pages should give users the feeling that they’ve arrived exactly where they should be. Having multiple pages allows you to vary your messages and targets in your ads, guiding prospects to different destinations.

Once you’ve internalized these principles, you need to decide which pages to create for your startup’s website. This is a tricky question, and there’s obviously no single right answer: every startup is different and will have its own unique pages. However, always make sure to include:

• A homepage that summarizes your business and value proposition
• Pages for all your products or services
• Legal pages: Terms and Conditions, Terms of Use, etc.

Other pages can be added, which are particularly useful for startups:

• References and client case studies: as a startup, you often lack brand recognition. Showcasing what you’ve implemented for clients and demonstrating your references reassures prospects. You’ve already done great work and clearly have a strong portfolio of satisfied clients: they can trust you.
• Team introduction: startups are often judged by their team size. By showcasing your team to prospects, you also highlight your expertise and the specialties you master. A great way to build credibility!
• A blog: a blog can serve multiple purposes. By regularly publishing articles about your core business, you establish your expertise and improve your organic search rankings. A highly effective acquisition and activation strategy!

Finally, the last point regarding your startup’s website pages: they must be designed for conversion. Their goal is to turn a visitor into a lead, or even a customer. Discover how to create an effective landing page!

Web applications: a special case

Some startups will want to implement web applications on their website. In a nutshell, a web application is a tool that can be used directly from a website. Google, for example, is an application (a search engine) that sorts and presents the best results based on your search query.

Startups that use web applications are often SaaS companies: for a subscription fee, users get access to the application, which helps them solve specific problems.

Hosting and going live

Once your startup’s website is ready, you’ll need to publish it. To do this, you’ll need to consider hosting. Many hosting providers exist: OVH, Webflow, O2Switch… Compare their offers to find the one that best suits your needs.

Webflow, for example, is a tool particularly favored by startups: the solution offers you, for a reasonable subscription, the ability to create, edit, and host your website, all in no-code. A valuable saving of time, money, and skills in a startup environment!

Promoting your website

Finally, the last step—and not the least—is promoting your website. Which channels will you use to get noticed? We’ve already discussed organic SEO and advertising, but even then, you’ll need to make choices. Will you opt for advertising on Facebook, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other platforms?

The choice is yours and will obviously depend on your target audience and product. Our advice, however: don’t close any doors, and test as much as possible. Based on the results you obtain, you can then decide whether to explore certain channels further or to drop others.

Tools for creating your startup’s website

Startups often face similar challenges: lack of time, lack of money, lack of skills. To address these needs, there are many tools that will allow you to develop your website faster, more easily, and at a lower cost.

Webflow: create, host, and edit a website

Webflow has established itself in just a few years as the perfect CMS for startups. A single tool that lets you create a fully customized website without coding, host it, and edit it at will. A simple and elegant solution that we use daily with our clients.

Bubble and Airtable: building web applications

Need to create a web application? Bubble and Airtable will help you do it! These tools require some learning, but they remain far more accessible than building apps from scratch. A definite time-saver!

Google Analytics: analyzing your website’s audience

A must-have, whether you're a startup or not! Google Analytics lets you see how users navigate your site, how they find it, and how they use it. Extremely useful for making improvements or measuring the impact of your actions!

Scroll, an agency specializing in website creation

Scroll is an agency specializing in website creation for startups and SMEs. We support our clients at every stage, from defining your needs to their implementation.

We also create no-code tools and applications such as CRMs, forms, or other custom solutions.

Have a need, an idea, or want to discuss it? Don’t hesitate to contact us: a project manager will respond to provide a solution tailored to your challenge, alongside you!

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