10 Tips to Save You Time and Money When Planning
Your Professional Website
The most important part of the web design process is the first step, preparation and planning. Reviewing these 10 tips will help you better communicate your goals and ideas to a web design firm to ensure a successful web site project.
1. Develop your site goals and measures of success
What is the purpose of your site? Is it to showcase the services of
your company, attract new employees to your firm, or to reinforce your
current marketing campaign? Determine how you will measure the success
of your web site. For example, it could be by the number of new leads
generated through an online contact form, or the amount of applicants
that apply through your career section.
2. Identify your target market(s)
Who is your site intended for? Are they customers looking for information
about your company, or are they potential employees looking to find
the latest job postings? Once you have identified each target market,
try to think about the primary “action” they should take
when coming to your site (search for information, review your services,
submit a resume, fill out a contact form etc.).
3. Make a list of sites you like /dislike
Trying to design a web site is like trying to design a custom home for
a client, the more you know the client’s likes and dislikes, the
easier the process. Pick out 5 web sites that you like and a few that
you dislike, providing reasons for both. Please note that they do not
all have to be within your industry.
4. Evaluate your competitor’s websites
To get a better idea of what your competitors are offering their customers,
evaluate 5 competitor’s web sites and list features that you like,
and features that you think you could improve upon.
5. Put together a list of possible categories/sections
Based on your evaluation of your competition, put together a “wish
list” of content and categories you would like to add to the new
site. Examples include About Us, Services/Products, Careers, Resources
and Contact Us etc. While it may not be practical due to time and cost
restraints to implement all of these with the first site design, they
may be added on a phased approach over the next 6 months to a year.
6. Identify areas that will be updated on a regular basis
To take full advantage of your new site, an ongoing maintenance plan
should be established with your web design firm to keep your site up
to date. Possible sections to update include company news, service offerings
as well as new career opportunities.
7. Collect your current marketing materials
To help your web design firm create a custom site that integrates into
your marketing material, they will need to see all of your current and
future marketing materials (stationary, brochures, and direct mail pieces)
to pick out colors, fonts and images for the overall design of your
site.
8. Convert all materials (photos, bios, company background)
to digital format
All of the content on your web site will be need to be in a digital
format to be used by your web design firm. For text, this can be a word
processing program such as Microsoft Word. For images, these all need
to be saved as jpegs or TIFs. If your images are not in a digital format,
you can either scan the images yourself or pay an additional fee to
your web design firm.
9. Develop a project budget and timeline
Depending on the size and scope of your web site, the project budget
can be a substantial investment. Many projects are priced based on the
size of the site and the technical requirements. You should also start
thinking about a launch date for your web site, especially if you would
like to tie the site launch into a new marketing campaign.
10. Assign a project manager
As with any large project, a single point of contact for the web design
firm can simplify the entire development process. This person will be
responsible for all final approvals, creative reviews and for collecting
all of the necessary content for the web site.
Congratulations! By following these 10 tips, you have given yourself a head start on the planning process and are now prepared to speak with a web design firm about your new web site project.
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Founder and principal of jajopa Web Design, James Palmer specializes in designing professional web sites that help companies generate more business. Some of James' clients include The Philadelphia Gas Works, Asher & Company, Ltd, and the Philadelphia Sport, Travel & Outdoor Show. Learn more about jajopa Web Design at www.jajopa.com.