Tuesday 5 March 2013

5 questions you should answer for a successful website!

Quite often busy business people ask me for a website without really thinking things through.  So when we sit down for a chat with them, before we start any project, clients often find there were many things about their website that had simply not crossed their mind.

To make things easier it is often best to start with a blank sheet of paper.

Literally. 

Write down the answers to a few basic questions,as follows:
  1. What do I want this website to do?
  2. How much do I want to spend?
  3. What should I call my website?
  4. Who will update my website?
  5. What happens if my business changes?
Let's look at these questions in more detail.

What do I want this website to do?

You need to be clear about what you need the website to do before you design it.  Will it sell items?  Will it promote a business?  Will it communicate with customers?  Only by having the aims of the website clearly in mind can the website designer recommend solutions.

How much do I want to spend?

Do you want a Ferrari or a Fiesta?  It's important to be realistic about what your budget is so that your designer can choose appropriate methods of implementing your website.  Sometimes its necessary to compromise to reach a budget figure, but it's a good idea how much that is.

What should I call my website?

The name of your company may not be the most beneficial name for your website, especially where there is a lot of competition.  Consider a domain name (website address) which contains your type of business, and the locality where you live.  For example "peterhead-taxis.co.uk" or "fraserburgh-fishandchips.co.uk".  These domains often rate quite well in Google,as long as the content of the website matches the domain name of course.

Who will update my website?

If you want to save money long term then speak to your designer about CMS or Content Management Systems.  This will allow you to change content, usually text and photos, yourself on your website.

To find out more about CMS take a look at http://www.enterprisedesign.co.uk/cms.html

Of course if you would prefer the designer to take responsibility for updating the website to give you more time to run your business then explain this to them, usually websites without CMS are cheaper than those with.

What happens if my business changes?

Change is the first rule of business. Consequently you need to know that your website design is flexible and adaptable.  Can pages be added?  Can new features be integrated?  It's important to find that out before the website is designed.

Contact me at graham@enterprisedesign.co.uk if you need more help.