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8 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Building a Website
A web developers perspective
A website can be a game-changer for your business, initiative or brand. It can attract new clients, drive sales, spark support for your cause, and deepen relationships with your most loyal customers. But if done incorrectly, it won’t achieve any of these goals, and could even wind up doing more harm than good. Whether you’re revamping an old site or starting from scratch, here are 8 questions you need to ask yourself before you get started.
8 Questions to Help Make Your Website Design Process Smooth
- What’s The Purpose of This Website?
Will your website be a place where customers browse and buy products? A knowledge center that establishes your expertise? A simple online presence that assures prospects that you are, in fact, a real company? Take the time to consider and clarify your “why.” Why are you creating this website and what purpose will it serve?
Armed with this knowledge, your web development team will be able to structure your site in a way that makes it easy for visitors to find exactly what they’re looking for, and take the action that you’re looking for.
- Who Are We?
Defining who you are and what you bring to the world is crucial not just for building your website, but your entire brand. So crucial, in fact, that we’ve developed an entire process, Managing Your Messaging, that helps organizations do just that. Even if you’re defining your brand identity on your own, strive for something that’s original (so it sets you apart in the market) and authentic (so you can live up to it every day).
In addition to your brand’s purpose, consider your brand’s personality. Are you bold and energetic? Traditional and trustworthy? Coming up with a few descriptive words will help you answer some key questions later.
- Who Are We Speaking To?
When you’re building a website, you need to know who you are talking to so you can tailor your content and design to appeal to your specific audience.
The best way to do this is by creating a persona of your target audience. Learn what they like and dislike, what motivates them and what will convert them into loyal customers. This will help guide the content creation process and give your audience a personalized experience.
- How Do We Want The Site to Look?
Once you’ve put some parameters around your brand personality, think about how your website can represent those ideas visually. A wide variety of elements contribute to the visual impact of a site—colors, fonts, photography style, videos, illustrations, etc. The clearer you are about your brand personality, the easier it will be for a designer to bring all the right pieces together. Since gathering specific assets, such as logos, photos and video, is one of the tasks that takes the longest, you might want to get a head start on this BEFORE you begin the design process.
- How Do We Want The Site To Sound?
Similar to the visuals, your brand voice is an expression of your brand personality.
What tone and language will you use on your website? Will you keep things buttoned-up? Or will you let loose and have a little fun with your words? In addition to the voice, consider the volume of content you want and need on your site. Are you trying to tell visitors everything they need to know about you? Or just enough to compel them to call for a deeper conversation? Whatever you choose, it has to feel true to you and your organization.
- What Services Do We Want To Be Found For?
Think about the services or products you offer and how you want to be discovered online. This will guide your content strategy and search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
If you want to be found for “Dog Grooming Services Orlando,” make sure your website reflects that. Knowing what services you want to be found for helps the person writing your site create copy that attracts the right business.
- What Information Do We Need To Include?
If you have an existing site, now’s the time to review your content and decide what to keep and what to get rid of based on your site’s purpose and goals.
While you’re cleaning things up, it’s important to remember that more information is not always better. Only bring over the information and assets that represent your brand accurately and align with the intended purpose of your site.
- Who’s Going To Take Care of This Website (Forever And Ever)?
It’s important to remember that a website is not a poster; it’s a living creature. While you don’t have to take it on walks and give it a name, you still need to keep it fresh, current and relevant.
Think about who will be in charge of handling updates, cybersecurity and SEO. Will there be a blog? Do you have a strategy for SEO? These are important questions to ask before you begin the process of building your site.
Building a successful website requires careful planning and consideration. By answering these essential questions, you can build a website that effectively represents your brand and helps you achieve your business goals.
Let’s Get to Work Building Your Website
There’s a lot of work to do, but you don’t have to do it alone. A professional web development team can help you answer these questions, refine your goals, assist you in gathering assets and support you every step of the way. That’s what we are here for, Think Integrated can help you develop a new site that can achieve your business goals. Check out our other marketing services, or give us a call today at 407-896-5757 to get started.