Planning a website can be an extensive process… that’s for sure! But the good news is that every step of planning and research that takes place ahead of time in an organized fashion prevents a problem from arising down the road. Better websites start with better planning.
Here’s a helpful pre-design checklist of questions that are intended to be introspective and reveal goals and concepts for your new website. The more questions you can answer, and the more thorough the answers, the better!
- What is your budget for your new website?
- Does your budget allow for ongoing development & maintenance after the initial design is done?
- Do you have a domain name registered already?
- Do you have a company logo or slogan that will be included on the site?
- Any company colors or other design themes you’d like to be incorporated?
- If you have one, what is your organization’s slogan or tagline?
- What will the purpose of your site be (a few common options include selling thorough E-Commerce, drawing in new and potential customers via search, maintaining a brochure style site for your existing customers, etc.)?
- Where do you intend the majority of your website’s traffic to come from (word of mouth, SEO, Pay-Per-Click advertising, social media, etc.)?
- What is the marketing plan for your site?
- What will your desired customer conversion be (common options might include getting a visitor to submit their email address, achieving an online sale from visitors, having a visitor call one of your sales reps, etc.)?
- Who is your desired visitor base or audience?
- What niches do you participate in or intend to participate in?
- Is your site aiming to attract traffic from your local or regional area? Nationally? Internationally? All of the above?
- What goals would you like to achieve with your new website?
- Do you have any specific metrics or figures defined as part of your site goals?
- Are there any specific keywords or searches you’d like to show up for in the search engines?
- Do you have written copy developed already? If so, can you share it with us in advance? If not, do you plan to develop the written copy or will you be outsourcing it to us or another party?
- Any specific graphics or pictures in mind that you’d like to include in your web design?
- Who are your top 5 competitors and what are their website addresses?
- Please take some time to identify 5 websites that you really like design-wise. What do you like most about these sites and what components could you visualize fitting well with your own new website?
- Now please do the same for 5 websites that you don’t like very much. Why?
- Are there any other sites you can share that exemplify specific features or anything else you have in mind regarding your new website?
- What are the pages you’d like to include on your website?
- Have you given thought to including a blog in your site?
- What about using a content management system (CMS) so you can easily make updates and changes in the future?
- Do you have an existing website hosting company? If so, do they also host your email or any other business functions?
Again, answering these questions as completely as possible allows us to develop a better perspective of what you want your site to look like and what you want it to achieve. It also helps us give you much more accurate quotes and timelines!
Until Next Time.
George Chaney
President/CEO
SEO King, Inc.
