9 points to consider BEFORE you start your new website

1. Introduction

2. Why?

3. The Purpose

4. The Budget

5. Aesthetic

6. Content Assets

7. Timeline

8. Involvement

9. The Scope

10. BONUS: Measuring Success

Introduction

DH Solutions has worked on website projects for two decades. I started out overseeing site builds for friends and employers. I had experience doing Art Direction for print media and experience working with designers and photographers. When I started to oversee website build-outs, I thought the web designers would know what to do, understood what I wanted, and would do right by me. So I let them control the process. Big mistake. BIG. And one I made several times, leading to overspending on sub-par websites.

To avoid repeating early mistakes, I learned that there are core questions to consider before you embark on building a new website or doing an overhaul on an existing one. Below, I list these core questions as well as additional ones to help you flesh out the detail.

Take the time to consider and develop a response for each point. It's ok if you don't have all the answers. But, at least know that you don't know so when you meet with the people you will hire, they can help you find the answers.

Having a clear understanding of what you want and what you expect will help you to:

• stay on track toward your goals,

• give direction to those doing the work,

• make the workflow more efficient,

• select the right tools to meet your needs, and

• keep the project on time and on budget.

If you want an outside opinion to help answer these questions, hit me up.

The 9 points to consider when you start planning a new website

Part One: The Nitty Gritty

Why are you doing this?

• What caused you to want to get a website or overhaul your current website?

• Is a new website actually necessary? Would it be easier to fix your current website?

• Are you ready for a website - the key marketing strategy for your business or project - or is it too soon and it would it be best to wait until after other things are achieved?

• Identify the specific things that are lacking with your current situation and why you need/want to change that.

What is the purpose of your website?

• What business goals will this website help you achieve?

• Who is it for?

  • Who is your current customer?

  • What new customers do you want to attract?

• What do you want visitors to do when they are on your website?

  • Contact you?

  • Purchase something?

  • Learn?

  • Connect with others?

  • Sign up for a class / Book an appointment?

  • Show off your work?

• 
  

What is your budget?

• Does your budget include:

  • domain registration?

  • site hosting / the right Wix plan to meet your needs?

  • self-design or hiring a designer/developer?

  • transferring data from your current site?

  • on-going maintenance?

  • SEO / online marketing?

  • graphic design?

  • content writing?

  • photography?

• Are expectations for functionality aligned with your budget? Caviar dreams on a McD’s budget?

Part Two: The Fun Stuff

What look and feel are you going for?

• Do you have examples of websites that have a design style that you like or specific functionality you would like to see on your site?

• Is there a general aesthetic 

• What feelings do you want your site to evoke? Is there a specific mood you are looking to achieve?

• Do you have a Brand Design or Brand Voice? Are there branding guidelines that must be followed? 

What existing content do you have?

• Do you have a strategic plan that can help guide the planning process?

• Do you need ideas about what your audience might consider compelling content?

• Do you have graphics you want to incorporate?

• Do you have high resolution images) (These must be yours or you must have a license for use.) 

• Are your photos formatted to the correct size, compressed, and named for SEO?

• Do you have written copy you want to integrate into the new site?

• What are the most important messages you want visitors to see?

• If you have multiple calls to action, can you prioritize them?

• Has SEO keyword research been done? Can you come up with a list of phrases someone might use in a Google search?

Part Three: Your Expectations

What’s your timeline?

• Is there a specific launch date that must be met?

• If so, what are the reasons for selecting this date? (If there is a rush, be prepared to explain the urgency.)

• When choosing a timeline, did you account for the time needed to create all of the features you want to include?

How much involvement do you want to have?

• Do you want to be involved in the creative process?

• Do you want to have final approval for each major step or do you want a full draft to review and make edits to?

• Are there any steps in the process that you will do, such as content writing?

• Are there others on your team that will be directly involved? In what capacity?

• Do you know exactly what you want and would prefer the end result not deviate from that? Or do you have a general idea and want a web designer who can present new ideas?

• If you want to be involved throughout the process, can you list the specific ways you will help at each stage? 

• Who gives final approval?

After you have some of those details finalized, can you articulate what the scope of work is for the project?

• Who will be involved in the project and in what capacity?

• What are the goals, objectives, and key benchmarks for the project and how do they support your business goals?

How will you measure success?

• What criteria will you use to decide how the project went?

• Once the site is live, how will you decide if the new site is successfully doing what you want it to do?

Create S.M.A.R.T. goals for the website build and for the functioning website. These goals are something you should develop or refine with guidance from the people you hire to work on the project. 

SPECIFIC

Provide details on who will be involved and in what capacity, what the look and feel will be with examples. which business goals this will be working towards, etc.

MEASURABLE

Have a general idea for how many site visitors you want the site to attract, what the acceptable bounce rate might be, how many leads you want to generate, etc.

ATTAINABLE

Be realistic about what can be accomplished with the resources you have (budget, people, time).

RELEVANT

Always keep your goals in mind. Don’t go beyond the scope and don't have expectations that are beyond what the plan/budget can accomplish. 

TIMELY

Set timeframes for each phase of the project. Know when you want the site to launch. Include dates when deciding objectives and benchmarks. Factor in holidays and ancillary projects, such as your marketing plan, press releases, event dates, product launch dates, etc.

• Make sure the first thing your visitors see is attention-grabbing. People decide within fractions of a second if they will stay on a site or not.

• Think like your customer - What questions are they asking? What are they looking for? What do they need? Don’t make your visitors work or think too hard to navigate your site or find what they seek..

• Your site visitor should be able to ascertain the answers to these 5 questions immediately - or at least quickly find where the info is located:

  • Who are you?

  • What do you do and who do you serve?

  • What kind of info  is on your site?

  • What sets you apart from the competition?What makes your work special?

  • What action do you want your visitors to take?

Good luck and have fun!

Alexis Brown at DH Solutions is a creative strategist who specializes in professional Wix website design, content creation, and business consulting for small businesses, start ups, nonprofits, and artists.

Let's get started! I'm ready to transform your vision into a stunning website that not only looks great but also generates results and helps you achieve your goals.