A web presence is one of the most valuable things that a modern business can have. These days, the first thing people do when they run across a question, business, etc. that they want to know more about is search for it online. We could design visually stunning websites for our clients and call it a job done. But design on its own is not enough, and the days of brochure & business card websites are well behind us. The online space is a powerful one, and it can yield amazing results for businesses on many different fronts. But if your venture into online is not well thought through, planned and executed, and is based on luck and guesswork. Then it’s more likely to fail miserably than be a resounding success.
We’ve included 6 things that you MUST do if you’re about to undertake a website project.
1. Research
Before you do anything, you need to do your research. If you’re replacing or relaunching an existing website project or digital presence, why are you doing it? Has your business outgrown its current format, content and functionality? Has your business changed direction? What knowledge have you gained from your existing site about how visitors interact with it? Could this be improved or enhanced? What feedback have you received over the lifespan of the existing site, and how can this benefit your plan for the new one?
On the other hand, if this is your first venture into the online space, do you know how your site will be used, what your customers are looking for, what your competitors are doing, and how you can highlight your point of difference? What do you need the website to do? What parts of your business and systems could you automate and improve by utilising the web space? The more research and knowledge you can gather and assess, the better the process and outcome will be.
2. Planning
Next up, take that research and learning and put it to good use. Think about how you will achieve the results the website is intended for and what it will take to effectively deliver your message and evoke action in your site visitors (whatever that action might be). Work out who your target market is and how best to reach out to them.
Create a list of the content that needs to be delivered/developed and think about what else needs to accompany that, i.e., images, photos, and product information. Plan your approach. How much time do you have? Are you working to a timeline? What budget have you allocated for the project? Are you considering copywriting, photography, design & development costs? Understand your immediate objectives and long-term identity, then roll all of that into a well-organised plan. The benefit of this prep work means not only do you have a good idea about what you need, but you will be able to explain that easily to your developer. The result is likely to mean lower costs. more efficiency and better results. A little bit of planning can make all the difference between success and failure.
3. Content Development
Now I’m sure you have heard this before, but content really is king. After all, your entire website is made of content. It’s probably one of the single most important things on your site, but far too often we hear “Just design the site for me and I will add my content later.” I cringe whenever I hear this because it shows that you have likely missed the first two steps, as mentioned below. We don’t believe a successful website can be built without any content. The design is only the “wrapping” to deliver information; it is not your website. Content is not just your copy; content is everything that makes your site go beyond the ‘design” elements, including photos, images, banners, downloads, etc.
Content helps provide information, engage your visitors, and lead them along a path. Content also visually represents your brand and sets a tone. Good content is also vital for attracting visitors to your site. Search engines index content; it’s how they can quickly serve up results, and they love keyword-loaded content that clearly tells them what your site is all about. There is nothing more vital than developing rich, relevant content not only for your visitors, but for search engines as well.
4. Structure & Organisation
Ensuring your website and its content are well organised is an essential part of the process and should be considered thoroughly. Visitors to your site must understand your offering and find information quickly. Before you even think about design, you should develop a site map (a list of pages organised hierarchically), as well as some wireframes (a visual guide that represents the skeletal framework of the web page) for all, or at the very least, the essential pages of your website.
This might sound like a lot of work, but believe me, it is well worth it. Not only will you start to get a sense of how your site is going to look and how the content will “fit”, but you will likely save hours and alot of heartache when it actually comes time to design and build becuase its much easier to change your approach, trim back your content, or reorganise your layout now then it is once the design and development of the site has begun.
5. Brand & Visual Representation
Even before your site visitors read a single line of copy, they have probably already decided on your organisation or brand. The visual appeal of a website is the first thing most people notice and judge a website by. Whilst the site’s design is not the most critical part, it’s the part that gives the first impression and is essential to get it right.
The first thing to work on is to ensure that your website design matches the tone of your business, brand or products. Does the photography you are using mesh? Can your visitors/customers identify with it? Does it appeal? Secondly, you should ensure that the design does not dominate or distract the user from the content; often, getting too “creative” for creatives’ sake can lead to confusion for your visitors (as nice as that animated flashy thing might appeal to you). Finding the balance here is the key.
Your content should be laid out to make it easy for visitors to digest and understand, and invite them to browse and read on. Long paragraphs of unbroken text are typically avoided, considering the amount of time visitors usually spend on your site, so breaking it down into bite-sized pieces and breaking it up with some headlines or imagery is typically the way to go. Lastly, make sure the colour palette and typography selections not only fit with your brand but also work in the online space. Consider limiting these so that the pages of your site share some consistency.
6. Platform and Functionality
Often, the business owner does not consider the platform on which a website is built. Yet, we believe the platform is the ‘brain’ of a successful online business and should be carefully considered to ensure your shiny new site can be easily updated, provides the option for custom development and has the capacity and flexibility to grow as your online business does. A website should not be a static medium; it should constantly evolve. This ensures your online presence is always current, entices visitors to come back and see what’s going on and encourages search engines to visit to index your new content regularly.
Beyond the content side, a platform should provide a means to market your business, through email marketing, mailing list management, web2lead form builders, blogging tools, to name just a few. The online space is also powerful, and the technological advances it offers businesses to streamline and improve their processes are staggering. Everything from the basics like accepting online payments or taking event bookings, right through to Sales CRMs, customer databases and intranets.
Take a look at the way you currently run your business and ask yourself whether you could be doing it better, faster, easier. I’m guessing there is a huge scope of things that a powerful platform could be doing to save you time and money.
We go through the above steps with almost every website we build. We’ve developed a process and some great tools and tricks to ensure that there is a very clear path for the copywriters, designers, and development teams to follow. If you would like us to help out with your project, feel free to connect with us and let us know what you have in mind.
