Don't Start Your Website Project Without These Answers

A good website combines business and technical ingredients into a tasty visual meal. Just as in cooking an actual meal, advance preparation is key to a smooth and easy process. Before you start your website project, you can prepare by answering the following questions:

1. Business Information

How would you describe your business to someone who doesn't have a clue what your business is about? What makes your business unique and/or different from your competitors?

2. Audience

What are the demographics of your target market? Can you describe your ideal visitor by age, sex, income, location, profession, or interests? When this visitor comes to your site, what actions would you like them to take? You might want them to request more information, call you, sign up for mailings, or ask for a free sample.

3. Marketing

What offline strategies do you use and how can they tie into your website? For example, if you attend networking events, you can put free content or discounts on your site and tell people how they can get them.

Do you have any strategies specific to online marketing? You might want to swap links with partner businesses to draw qualified traffic to your site or start a newsletter to keep in touch with your visitors.

No one should ignore the search engines to bring traffic to your site. What key search phrases do you think your target visitor would type into a search engine to find a business like yours?

4. Content

What materials do you already have that provide information about your business? Brochures, product information sheets, or samples can jumpstart your content.

How can you demonstrate that your products/services provide a good value to your customers? Examples, case studies, or testimonials all provide good "proof" for skeptical visitors.

Is there a reason people would go to your website even if they were not ready to buy? Related information, resources, or online tools can draw visitors. Maybe they will keep you in mind for future needs or recommend you to a friend.

Are there any special pages or features required for your site? A need for online forms, ecommerce, a members-only area, search functionality, or connections to your existing systems are important early considerations.

Who will write your content? It's a good idea to have someone versed in web writing at least edit your material. Most offline writing should be cut in half before placing it on a website.

5. Design

Do you have existing design elements that should be incorporated into your site, such as a logo, photos, colors, fonts, etc?

What three adjectives would best describe the site you want? It's helpful to think of opposites, like professional or fun, relaxing or energizing, hip or traditional.

Are there any websites or website features you particularly like or dislike?

6. Maintenance

How often will the website be updated and who will do the updates?

Do you want to use website statistics to guide future changes? Details such as the number of visitors, most frequently viewed pages, and search terms used to find your site can help you determine what visitors are looking for. If so, do you want to look up this information yourself or have it summarized for you?

7. Project Management

What are your business goals for the website? Are you looking for new prospects, moving prospects along in the sales process, or serving existing customers? How will you know if your website achieves these goals?

Are there any business timing issues coming up that would impact the website development schedule? For example, accountants tend to get busy around the tax season and don't have time for much else.

What is your budget for building the site? Obviously, the more features you incorporate into your site, the more expensive it will be. However, it is both possible and smart to start small and plan to add features later.

Quality business ingredients are vital to cooking up a great website. Preparing answers to the above questions is the first step in satisfying web visitors who are hungry for information about your business.