Checklist: Planning your business website

There are many issues you need to consider when planning your website. The following checklist should give you a head start:

• Who is the website targeted at?
  • What are the particular characteristics of this group?
  • What content do you need to include to interest them?
  • How will the target audience affect the design and technical specification? (For example, corporate users may not be able to view Flash and people with sight problems may prefer you to use contrasting colours)
• What is the aim of the website?
  • Are you trying to get people to buy online, or do you want them to fill in your online enquiry form?
  • How can you encourage people to fulfill this aim?
• How are you going to get people to visit your site?
  • Have you decided on a marketing plan for the site?
  • Will your site be search engine friendly?
  • Are you going to implement a linking campaign?
• What content do you want to include in the website?
  • What content will you put on the home page to attract people to delve further into the site?
  • How often are you going to update your content?
  • What content could you include to ensure your visitors come back again and again?
• How should your website look?
  • How can you make your site visually attractive to your target audience?
  • How does your site fit with your offline marketing materials?
• How are people going to find their way around your site?
  • Do you have a consistent navigation scheme running throughout your site?
  • Have you included a site map and/or search facility?
  • Have you considered conducting a usability test?
• How are you going to measure the success of your website?
  • What are your targets in terms of visits / enquiries / conversions?
  • What information will you need in order to determine how successful you have been and where are you going to get this information?
• How will you ensure that you learn from experience?

By considering questions such of these you should be able to avoid many of the common pitfalls that marketers often encounter when planning websites.

If you need any help or advice on planning your website, Ascendancy Internet Marketing can help. Call 01952 288314 for more information or email info@ascendancyinternetmarketing.com.