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Website Development Know What You Want First
ant to waste thousands 1) Why do you need a website?
of dollars on your 2) What kind of website do you
website development? No?! need?
Then make sure you figure out 3) Who is your target audience?
exactly what you want BEFORE you 4) How do you plan to attract
approach a website development visitors to the site?
company. 5) What are some of the graphical
design considerations?
It may seem like obvious advice, 6) Will the site target both
but in reality, many people domestic and international
approach website development visitors?
companies without first 7) What is the visitor trying to
formulating a clear web strategy, achieve?
clarifying objectives and 8) How will your website support
expectations. This hasty sort of or integrate with the rest of
approach to website development your business?
invariably costs the customer a 9) What structural implications
lot of money – and they end up should you consider?
with a website that doesn't meet 10) How will you update the
their needs. content?
11) Who should you talk to about
So how do you get the website website development?
that meets your requirements 12) Who do you talk to about
within the budget you have? Plan, hosting your website?
plan, PLAN! 13) What is your website
development budget?
Some of the questions you need to
answer before embarking on your 1) WHY DO YOU NEED A WEBSITE?
website development: Websites are generally designed
to support one or more of the
following objectives: e-commerce and improving customer
service).
• provide information
• facilitate online transactions 2) WHAT KIND OF WEBSITE DO YOU
• drive visitors to a physical NEED
location Websites may be simply
• facilitate communication informational in nature or more
complex with transactional
Websites also support brand image e-commerce shopping
and awareness. In today’s functionality. They may even be
information-rich environment, designed to support Web 2.0
customers are becoming far more functionality such as BLOGs and
savvy and conduct thorough message boards, which can develop
research prior to making a community environment.
decisions. Having a good,
informative and accurate website But always remember, your website
could mean the difference between needs to serve the needs of the
winning the client and not. customers you're trying to
attract and retain. Before
Websites are also extremely committing to the feature set of
important for contact details as your website development, make
a lot of readers refer to website sure you can link every feature
as a quick reference. back to a customer need.
What's more, a website provides 3) WHO IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
24x7 access, so your customers Who is your typical reader? Think
and potential customers have about your readers; are they
access to the site outside of young or old, wealthy or poor,
normal business hours (ideal for male or female, computer techies
supporting promotions, general or novices? Are your readers just
researching or are they in pages containing enquiry forms,
buy-online mode? Are they local or would a single landing page
or international, or both? Will suffice? Will search
language be a barrier? Will font engine-driven traffic be
size be a consideration for those important to you? If so, you'll
with poorer eyesight? need to ensure that your website
is designed and developed in
Once you have ascertained who search engine-friendly way, and
your audience is, you need to that your web copy is optimised
design the website to suit that for search engines.
audience.
5) WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GRAPHICAL
4) HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ATTRACT DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS?
VISITORS TO YOUR WEBSITE? Many sites feature a large number
Marketing your site is critical. of animations and GIF images,
It can be marketed electronically which are distracting and poorly
using search engines such as designed (in terms of colour and
Google, Yahoo and MSN and/or fonts), and which add an
offline using traditional unnecessary overhead to the page
advertising and promotions (in terms of file size and speed
strategies. It's important that of loading). A good website has a
you think about the marketing balance of imagery and text. Try
strategy BEFORE website to be aware of things like font
development, as it will impact size and how it might impact your
the website development process readers. Colours, fonts and
and the technology of the final alignments should be consistent
product. For example, do you plan from one page to the next. The
to run Google AdWords or banner look and feel of a site needs to
ads? If so, will those ads need be simple and consistent.
to relate to specific landing
Similarly, background music, to deliver overseas?
popups and Flash can be gimmicky
and annoying to visitors. Only If you're going to target
include them if they are international readers, it's
appropriate to the needs of your important that you make your
audience. website global. Consider the
format of the information you
As previously mentioned, your display and request (e.g. zip
website needs to be more than code versus postcode, address
just a promotional tool; it formats and even phone number
should form part of your overall formats) and the style, tone,
marketing strategy. What looks word-choice and spelling of your
great in print may not look good copy. (See www.divinewrite.com
online. Perhaps more importantly, for more information on website
it may not be user-friendly copywriting.)
(functional). So make sure you
have a web designer involved in Another important consideration
the development. which is often overlooked in
website development is scheduled
6) WILL THE SITE TARGET BOTH maintenance. Scheduling
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL maintenance for midnight in your
VISITORS? home country may cripple your
Consider whether you have the website during peak business
infrastructure to support hours in another.
international readers and
clients. For example, if the site Make sure you investigate the
is transactional and you are needs of your international
selling a product, do you have market(s) and adapt your website
international banking or credit to suit those specific needs.
card facilities and the ability
7) WHAT IS THE VISITOR TRYING TO spotlighting your products with
ACHIEVE? extensive information and product
All website visitors want or need catalogues, emailing product
something. They may be information to opt-in recipients,
researching prior to purchasing a allowing links back to the
product, looking up company manufactures (if applicable),
details, or trying to pay an etc. You might also set up an FAQ
invoice. If you want to make your section on your website and
site easy for visitors to use and encourage your visitors to read
if you want those visitors to this area before contacting your
keep coming back, your website office. A feedback form might
development MUST accommodate the also reduce administration
tasks that those visitors are overhead by allowing your readers
attempting to perform. to contact you and request more
information, etc.
8) HOW WILL YOUR WEBSITE SUPPORT
OR INTEGRATE WITH THE REST OF 9) WHAT STRUCTURAL IMPLICATIONS
YOUR BUSINESS? SHOULD YOU CONSIDER?
Websites can often offer services With websites, less is more. The
to support and integrate with simpler the structure is, the
your business. For example, you more user-friendly it is. It all
might offer online shopping to comes down to navigation;
streamline the purchase, dispatch navigation is a website’s
and accounts process (including lifeblood. A poor navigation
payment gateways, stock/inventory structure can destroy a user’s
detailing, member or client experience, and damage your
information, etc.). Alternatively online image.
your website can increase the
effectiveness of your marketing Sections should be obviously
and product support, by grouped, both logically and
visually. This makes navigation information is useless and
intuitive. Create a draft site impacts on your credibility and
plan before website development professionalism. Conversely,
is commenced. Discuss it with regularly updated content tells
your designers and developers, your readers that you're a
work with them to evolve it, then proactive organisation (and it
leave it with them to guide them also contributes to your ranking
through the website development in the search engines).
process. This will ensure that
the visual and functional To reduce ongoing costs and
elements of your website flow and retain control of your website,
make sense. consider the benefits of building
it using a Content Management
Structure and navigation are System (CMS). A good CMS lets you
particularly important for larger easily manage all content
sites and e-commerce sites. With yourself, instead of paying your
so much competition around, your web developers to do it. (This
visitors will not be prepared to includes adding and editing copy
expend a great deal of energy to and images, adding and deleting
unravel the mysteries of a poorly pages, and adding and deleting
planned site. Similarly, visitors functionality.)
are unlikely to become buyers if
the purchase process is 11) WHO SHOULD YOU TALK TO ABOUT
confusing. WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT?
This depends what you want from
10) HOW WILL YOU UPDATE THE your website development and how
CONTENT? far your budget can stretch. Is
It is imperative that you update the site intended for the short
the content on your site on a or long term? Will content need
regular basis. Outdated to be updated? Do you need
e-commerce, email management / development company that you feel
e-newsletters, etc.? There are comfortable dealing with.
many people who build websites
and numerous approaches to take. 12) WHO DO YOU TALK TO ABOUT
HOSTING YOUR WEBSITE?
Important considerations when Your website development company
selecting a website development should be able to suggest a
company include: hosting company, but if not,
there are a multitude of
• Do they have proven website companies listed on the Internet
development experience? and in the Yellow Pages.
• Are they familiar with the
latest developments? When considering website hosting
• Do they have support networks companies, obviously you need to
or personnel should they run into ensure that they are appropriate
problems? for your budget. You need to know
• Are they qualified? that they have adequate security
• Can they provide ongoing both via the web (antispam,
website development support? antivirus, etc.) and in their
• Do they have access to graphic actual physical environment
designers? (locks, alarms, etc.). You need
to know that they use hardware
It's best to find an established and software that is modern and
website development company with appropriate for the job.
a solid infrastructure and
qualified staff, who can speak Do they have a proactive backup /
with you plain English, listen to business continuity / disaster
all your requirements and develop recovery strategy, and the
a plan that suits your needs. necessary software and hardware
Also remember to select a website to support it? And do they engage
in scheduled maintenance? You Think carefully before pursuing
need to know that they are this option, because you get what
operating an environment that is you pay for. You'd most likely be
designed to minimise the trading-off visual aesthetics,
likelihood of fire, flood, theft, reliability, stability, speed,
hardware failure, overheating, ease of use, search
etc. But, if the server hosting engine-friendliness, and ongoing
your site does, in fact fail (or technical support. When it comes
is stolen or destroyed), will to website development,
your website be unavailable? Some short-term cost-cutting does not
hosting providers offer uptime always equate to long-term
guarantees, which is great, but savings or return on investment.
don't assume this means that
nothing will ever go wrong and Having said that, you should
your website will never go down. always be realistic. Consider
what sort of return on investment
Also, consider bandwidth (how you require (and how quickly),
fast can they display your and set your budget accordingly.
website files). Few things are Then stick to your budget. If you
more frustrating to visitors than need to cut costs, start with the
slow-to-load pages, and your host 'bells and whistles' that may not
can play a big part in this. be necessary. Flash, for
instance, adds significant cost
13) WHAT IS YOUR WEBSITE to your website development, yet
DEVELOPMENT BUDGET? is considered annoying by many
Many businesses try to cut costs visitors and may reduce your
by engaging a student, search engine-friendliness.
unqualified staff employee or
friend to build their website.
About the Author:
Gerald is GM, Marketing of SDG Technology, providing IT Solutions, such as Website Development and Application Development. Contact gerald.chait@sdgtechnology.com.au or visit http://www.sdgtechnology.com.au.
Read more articles by: Gerald Chait
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