Planning a web site

So you have decided to have a web site built and you are all set to get moving. Even if you employ a professional to do the job you still need to do some planning.

What will it do?

The first questions to ask yourself is what do I want my web site to do. Of course web sites can do all kinds of things but you will be a little limited by your budget. You could use it to answer all of your customers basic questions or you could use it to promote your business or products. Will it find new clients for you?

What is my budget.

You really can spend a fortune building web sites (if you want to do this make sure you give me a call first). But I guess like most of us your resources are limited. Think about how much you want to spend, this will be controlled in part by what you want it to do.

What is the site's proposed content (type and quantity and relative importance).

You will need a great deal of text for your site. Somebody will need to write it all. It is often said that a picture can speak a thousand words and whilst this is true it is words that sell products. Be careful about what you say and how you say it.

Any preference on how the site will be organised (navigation).

Sit down with a piece of paper and try to work out a navigation system for the site. What will go where.

How often content will need to be updated

If the sites needs updating every day then you will need to think about how you will do this.

The desired look of the site

Should it be a modern young site or a classic old style site. Who are you aiming to attract?

The importance of speed-optimised site design

How important is speed. In my experience it is one of the most important but just occasionaly you will find people who are willing to wait for a site to load in if they are going to get something amazing.

Timescales for site completion (are there any deadlines to be worked to)

When should it be finished by? If you have a major deadline plan to have it up and running a couple of weeks before. This gives time to iron out a wrinkles.

Which computers and software the site must work on

Is this is PC only site or do you expect everyone to be able to see it. Very few sites can be designed to be restricted to one kind of computer.

Who is in charge of the website design within your company

Who will be making the final choices. Please don't give this final word to a committee because committees tend to design horrible web sites.

Just a few things to think about here.

Related Articles:

Do I need a web site?