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.
