If you’re ever going to go to the trouble of starting a web project, you’re bound to want to get stuck into colours and fonts, layouts and graphics. Whilst those things have their place, they’re not the be-all and end-all. Read on to discover how to prepare for a website project in 10 simple steps.
Curb your enthusiasm
The biggest problem you’re going to have is curbing your enthusiasm. It’s far too easy to get carried away with the design aesthetics of web design and start with colour palettes and typography. The thing is that this usually comes at the expense of the really time-consuming work of planning and putting together all the content (text, images, audio and video, etc.). The time invested in planning and preparing the content always reaps dividends in the project build because it means your web developer is able to work with the actual content that will be used and you get to visualise the finished product, not a prototype or mockup.
The hidden cost
Your biggest burden when starting on the journey of putting together a new website is undoubtedly your budget. At least, that’s how most people see it. However, you’d be wrong. If you’re still seeing your website project as a cost, you’re not grasping its full value, for if your website isn’t delivering on your business and project goals (e.g. increasing leads or conversions, increasing online sales, etc.), then the money you’re investing isn’t delivering value to you or your business or organisation.
The hidden cost of your project isn’t usually measured in financial terms; it’s almost always time – your time in preparing and delivering the content to your developer on time, your time in reviewing designs, your time in providing feedback, your time in providing approvals. Never underestimate how long it will take you to do these things, especially if you’re self-employed, working for a small or medium business, or for a small team. They will take you away from your core business activities and add extra work to your already busy schedule.
You might think that you can simply delay things until the project starts, but you’d be wrong. Here’s why: your web designer or developer will not hang around, waiting for you to deliver the content when you’re ready. The average web designer or developer is working flat out to deliver projects, not wait for you, so they’ll move on to the next project if you’re delayed. As a result, you cannot expect them to pick up the loose threads when you’re ready to start again. They’ll have to work out resourcing and schedules, budgets and timing, so your project is likely to be even further delayed. It’s just not a good model for running any project.
Do it right
We always like to use frameworks. We have frameworks for content creation, frameworks for project management, even frameworks for budgeting our personal and business finances. Frameworks simplify how to do things because they’re tried and tested, honed to perfection with years of experience behind them to help you succeed without all the hard work.
Our website planning framework is detailed in our FREE 10 Step Website Planning Guide, the essentials of which are:
- Start brainstorming – check out competitor or similar sites and identify what you like and don’t like about them
- Define the mood of your site – think about what you want the “mood” of your site to be
- Think about your target audience – consider your website from the perspective of your audience, not your business or organisation
- Think about layout and navigation – think about how visitors will want to explore your site or contact you
- Plan the home page – work out what are the top 5 questions people ask you about your products or services and write a Unique Value Proposition
- Consider colours and graphics – remember that simple colour schemes and fewer graphical elements are easier to read
- Define work process and schedule – consider how to stay in contact with your web developer and how to provide site content
- Work out your target date for completion – let your web developer know well in advance
- If you’re doing ecommerce, think about products, categories, and order methods – also think about quantity or bulk pricing, shipping methods
- If you’re using a content managed site, think about what type and how much content you want to manage – piece together a content marketing plan and who will manage the content
Dos and Don’ts
- Do start planning your content early – the earlier, the better.
- Don’t go changing the project brief halfway through the project. (It almost always happens because someone has seen something they like elsewhere and want to include it after development has started.)
- Do think about SEO and how your site will be found once it is launched.
- Don’t forget social media integration.
Try this method for your next web project. You won’t regret it.
Edward Solomon has over 30 years’ experience in project management, technical education, computer networking, web design and development and is a Digital Business Consultant for PENNInk Productions Ltd.
