There are two ways you can make good use of your attic space. The first is to convert it, put in a proper staircase and use it as a completely new room. The other way is to install a loft ladder and kit the attic out in a more basic way.
Obviously there will be occasions when a conversion will make more sense. But it should be noted that these are pretty expensive and involve a lot of mess and dust before they are completed. If you don’t use your attic space a lot and you don’t feel you would use the conversion a lot either, it can be an expensive way to gain permanent access to it.
Of course if you want to go up into the attic a lot you may not find a cheap loft ladder to be the best option. But you can get a more expensive and sturdier model that would be ideal for regular use. Since some of the more advanced models come with stair rails built in, you can see that everyone would be able to use them to get up into the attic whenever needed.
The other big advantage of getting a loft ladder is that you can retain all the space beneath it. You can even have a chair situated just to the side of the ladder or underneath the space where it folds down from the attic. When you have to get a proper flight of stairs put in you will lose some of the space beneath the attic room itself. This means reducing the size of one room beneath – and that may not be what you want to do.
This is why you need to consider all the options before you make your final decision on what to do. In many cases a good strong loft ladder is all that is needed to make the attic accessible and usable. You will certainly save a lot of money this way too, so think it over carefully if you are trying to decide what to do for the best.