Website Planning Guide
The importance of website planning
You wouldn't build or renovate your house without a plan. The same should apply to your website. Like a house, a website's structure is even more important than its appearance. This is just one of the many aspects to consider when planning your website project.
A poorly planned website reflects badly on your business. Usually you only get one chance, as visitors won’t return to your website if their first impression isn’t a good one.
Making a good impression
We all know you can’t please everyone, but there is something all Internet users want. They all want to find information and perform tasks on a website quickly and easily.
Sound easy? Don’t be fooled. Often there is a conflict between meeting your objectives and pleasing your visitors.
Getting started with your website project
When planning a new website, or enhancements to an existing one, start by asking some fundamental questions, such as :- Who is the target audience?
- What are your main objectives for the site?
- What will site visitors be able to do?
- What information will they need to do it?
The answers to these questions should form part of your web strategy
Another good starting point is to research similar
or competitor websites and take note of features you like or dislike.
Also think about what extras you could provide that others aren't.
Don't limit your research to local sites. With the Internet at your
fingertips, you can explore the world without leaving your seat.
Involving the right people
Graphic Designers? Web Designers? Web Developers? Internet Providers?With the growth of the Internet, a huge number of website companies have emerged. Many specialise in one area (e.g. designing imagery, hosting your website, or developing web marketing strategies). As a result, it is often necessary to deal with several companies for one project. This can be time consuming and confusing.
Knowing who to involve in your website project and when, and speaking to them in terms they understand, can be difficult. If specialist services are required for your project, Sharp Thinking will liaise with these companies on your behalf, so you can leave the technical stuff to us and get on with running your business.
Avoiding common pitfalls
Using knowledge gained working with other website clients, Sharp Thinking will help you avoid common pitfalls, like :1. Trying to do it too cheaply
You may have seen ads for cheap websites, but have you seen the results? As with most things, you pay for quality. Your website is likely to become your most visible resource over time, so it is important that it distills a feeling of credibility in your organisation.
Good websites don't have to be expensive. There are usually several ways to achieve the same result, some of which are more costly than others.
Sharp Thinking can help you to analyse your options and recommend a suitable solution for your organisation and budget.
2. Making it too complicated
At the other end of the scale, are
websites which look stunning and seem to do everything except make
a cup of tea. Websites like these can be expensive to implement
and maintain.
In some cases, these extra features add little or no value to your
site visitors. In fact, some have a negative impact and only serve
to annoy your visitors or slow them down.
Don't get me wrong. A few extras like high quality photos, moving pictures or background sound can be quite effective, but they should be used with caution and only where appropriate.
3. Re-inventing the wheel
Unless you have been involved in previous
website design projects, you can waste a lot of time getting your project
off the ground. If you don't have a good understanding of the Internet
and common website terminology, it's also likely that you
will get frustrated and give up because it all seems too hard.
Knowing the right questions to ask and understanding what will and won't work for your website, are essential skills that Sharp Thinking can contribute to your project.
4. Isolating your website from your processes
To isolate your website from your
organisation's key processes is setting it up for failure. To gain
the maximum benefit from your website, think about how you can use
it to enhance your existing processes for :
- Marketing and selling your products or services
- Communicating with customers, suppliers and staff
- General administration duties
Planning for the future
Having a website involves a commitment on your part. In particular, there are two main areas of responsibility which need to be assigned to people in your organisation, as follows:
Website owner
The website owner is responsible for the funding
and strategic direction of the website, ensuring its continued success
by aligning it with the organisation's web strategy, and working
to promote the website at every opportunity.
Website administrator
The website administrator is responsible for
making sure the website continues to operate as it should.
Regular checks of the website's functionality and content are advised.
Be sure to check hyperlinks to other
websites regularly. If links become invalid, it makes your website
look bad.
Website statistics should also be checked
regularly to monitor the effect of promotional activities.
Answering queries originating from the website is another important
administration function. If people contact you via email, the expectation
is generally that you will respond within a few days.
Sharp Thinking can manage your website content updates, or provide you with tools, training and support so you can update your own website.
Contact us to discuss our website planning services