Defining the Purpose of Your Website
If you can't think of a good purpose for your website, you should save your money. If you can think of lots of purposes, you should seriously consider building more than one website. The best websites are ones that focus on one objective. You can have many features and functions on your site but they should be working towards one end.
It is essential to define the purpose of the website as one of the first steps in the planning process. A purpose statement should show focus based on what the website will accomplish and what the users will get from it. A clearly defined purpose will help the rest of the planning process as the audience is identified and the content of the site is developed. Setting short and long term goals for the website will help make the purpose clear and plan for the future when expansion, modification, and improvement will take place. Also, goal-setting practices and measurable objectives should be identified to track the progress of the site and determine success.
Some common reasons to have a website:
- To Network
- To Make Business Information Available
- To Serve Your Customers
- To Release Time Sensitive Materials
- To Sell Things
- To make pictures, sound and film files available
- To Answer Frequently Asked questions
- To Stay In Contact With Salespeople
- To Open International Markets
- To Create a 24 Hour Service
- To Make Changing Information Available Quickly
- To Allow Feedback From Customers
- To Test Market New Services and Products
- To Reach The Specialized Market