List out your business objectives—sales, lead generation, bookings—and the features you’ll need to support them. Research platform options: Webflow offers design freedom without coding, WordPress excels for content-heavy sites, Shopify is great for e-commerce, and custom code offers maximum flexibility. Weigh each against factors like scalability, security, integration options, and ease of maintenance. Also consider who will manage the platform—your team’s skills should match the platform’s complexity. Finally, calculate long-term costs including hosting, plugins, updates, and potential rebuilds.