Before you start, ask youself these questions.
If you ask youself a few questions and can answer them to your satisfaction, we will be able to have a better understanding of what you need in a website.
What is the purpose of your website and how does it fit in with your overall marketing strategy?
Don't lose sight of your purpose in the glitter of web technology. The design of your site should compliment and enhance your site purpose. If you have more than one purpose in creating your website, examine whether the purposes are compatible. If not, you may want to consider developing sub-sites or mini websites within a larger website. Throughout the creative process of designing your website and preparing content, every element of your site should be weighed against the purpose.
Who is your target audience?
Your target audience is the people you want to visit your website. Of course, you want everyone to visit your web site, but you can't be everything to everybody. So you need to target your message to people who will be most responsive to it. Knowing your audience helps you meet their needs, whether it's a need for information, products or services.
What types of web technology are accessible to your target audience?
Not all web technology is accessible to all website visitors. Some features require certain types of web browsers to view the page or additional plug-in software installed on the visitor's computer. Not everyone has the newest browser. Not everyone is willing or able to download plug-in software. Many times visitors are using the Internet at work and have to follow company policies regarding software downloads. Make sure that the web technologies you plan to employ on your website are compatible with your audience.
How will you entice visitors to keep returning?
To make your web site stand out from the competition, find a need in your target audience and provide a solution. Compared to other media, the costs of internet development are low.
How will you organize your information?
Categorizing the information on your website is often the most difficult decision. There should be some sort of table of contents, similar information should be grouped together, information should flow from simple to complex, and related topics should be cross-referenced. Map out your site structure by categorizing your content into top level categories and subcategories.
How will you measure success?
If you don't know what constitutes success for your website, you'll never know when you get there. Some of the information used to evaluate success, such as number of visitors or number of hits, will come from analyzing the server statistics for your website. You can also measure the success of your website by: the number of new visitors, the number of repeat visitors, the number of pages viewed , sales/marketing leads generated, actual sales of products or services, number of information requests, visitor feedback, reduced client support calls/expense, contest entries, etc.
Who will manage your website project?
Someone in your organization should have final authority over content and design of your website. Although you may have a web development team with different individuals having authority over different aspects of the website, someone needs to coordinate the overall development and ensure that project goals are being met. Have a plan for managing updates to content, analyzing usage for your website, and continually marketing your site.
Are there other websites that I like
for design or features (that would go well with the purpose of my site)?
What is my budget
for initial website development and what is my budget for ongoing maintenance and upkeep?