Normally when a potential client tells a web site designer “I need a web site”, the web designer jumps in the air and does a little dance. At Idea15 Web Design, I do things a little differently. I say: “You need a web site? Are you sure?” And here’s why.
The things you associate with web sites – codes and graphics and search engines – are only part of a web site project. Strong web sites are not built on designs or colour schemes; they are built in the planning phase. Web designers cannot make companies set clear goals and objectives, determine lines of communication, and plan for the future, but we certainly feel the brunt of it when they skip those steps. I have been on the receiving end of web site design projects that were being made up as the client went along – both as a business owner and, in my past career, as an employee – and it is an exercise in futility which no business can afford.
So on your business’s side, there are a number of questions which you must answer about your web site before a single colour is chosen. Call it due diligence, call it building a business case, call it hitting all the bases – whatever you choose to call it, experience has shown time and again that skipping the business case will turn the best-intentioned web site project into a white elephant. Take heart – it’s a mistake made by huge companies as well as small organisations.
It is simply not enough to say “we want a web site because we want a web site.” If you do not determine what your web site will mean to your customers, how it will stand amongst your competitors, how it will take up your time and budget, how it will fit into your wider marketing strategy, and most importantly, whose responsibility the web site is, you will be looking for someone to else blame in a year’s time after your web site has devoured your marketing budget, damaged your public image, and burnt out your best staff.
Sit down with everyone in your company who has a say in your web site project, including the boss and the boss’ boss. Give these questions some thought, get some answers down on paper, and discuss your answers. If your understanding of the web site project differs from your colleagues, discuss why. But don’t even think of proceeding until every question has an answer which has been discussed and agreed upon by everyone involved.
Investing a few hours of your time now will save you from losing weeks of time, money, and frustrated staff later on. Pour yourself a strong cuppa and let’s go. And then when I say “you need a web site? Are you sure?” You can reply: “Absolutely! And here’s why…”
Site Need
- Why do we need this web site?
- Why do we want this web site?
- Do our customers need this web site?
- Do our customers want this web site?
- What do we want from our customers on this web site?
- What are the goals of this web site?
- How do we reach those goals, and how do we measure our progress towards them?
- What do we do if our web site doesn’t reach its goals?
- What happens if we do not make this web site?
- If we have a web site already, what are the metrics from it? Are our customers using it? What is the conversion rate? Are we tracking this information at all?
Marketing Strategy
- Where does this site fit in to our marketing strategy?
- What percentage of our marketing will be web-based?
- How will this web site supplement “offline” marketing?
- How will our “offline” marketing supplement the web site?
- How will we market this web site?
- What is our SEO strategy? Do we plan to use paid advertising (such as Google Adwords?)
- Do we plan to use social media, and have we created a strategy for it?
Site Ownership
- Who makes the decisions about web sites within the company?
- Who does the actual work related to web sites within the company?
- Who is allowed to contribute material to the web site?
- Who has the final say on what material goes on the web?
- Who is responsible for putting material on the web?
- Who inherits the web site workload if a team member leaves the company?
- If we have a web site already, what ownership issues have been identified with the current site? (If you are not comfortable discussing this within your company, it’s not the web site which is the source of the problem.)
Our Competition
- What sort of web sites do our competitors have?
- Are their web sites successful or not?
- What are they doing better?
- Why will our web site be better than theirs?
Time and Money
- How much money do we have to spend on a web site?
- How many customers we expect to get from the web site?
- Divide the first number by the second – is each potential customer worth that much to us?
- What’s the source of our web site budget?
- How will changes in our web site budget be communicated to us? To the web designer?
- Have we budgeted for ongoing maintenance with the web designer?
- How long do we expect this web site to “last”? What happens then?
If this list has challenged you, congratulations! You are on your way to becoming a savvy web site owner.
Idea15 Web Design is a professional web site design firm and internet marketing consultancy based in Glasgow, Scotland. Idea15 Web Design’s services include web site design, web site promotion, including e-newsletters, and web consultancy. Get in touch for a no-obligation chat and estimate on 0790 577 8255 or heather@idea15webdesign.com.
©2008 Idea15 Web Design
