Webmaster Knows all

Building your website correctly the first time, will save you a lot of time, money and energy and it all starts with a good plan.

So, what do you need to think about when planning your new site, or a site reconstruction? Here are my thoughts:

1. What is my message? - This is critical. If you are not clear on the message your site needs to convey, it will not be clear to your visitors either.
2. Who is my target audience? - Knowing your target audience will give you a huge advantage as you begin to create content for your site, and plan the structure and features of it.
3. What is/are the main goal/goals of my website? - The goal of your website will determine how it is built. Is your website strictly a lead generation tool? Is the goal to sell something directly from the site? Maybe the main goal of your site is just to give you a place to post your personal thoughts and experiences. Whatever it is, figure it out and write it down. You will want to refer to the main goals throughout the entire process of your websites creation to make sure you are staying in line with your goals.
4. What action(s) must a visitor to my site take for me to consider their visit a success? - This could be a purchase, a subscription to a newsletter, filling out an information request form, viewing an online demo, downloading a free report, etc. This will be tracked so that you know if your site is performing.
5. How will we generate traffic to my site? - This is something many people don't think about. They want to get their site up thinking that all of a sudden they will be selling online. Without a clear plan of how you will get visitors to your site, you may be in for disappointing surprise. Will you pay for traffic (PPC/Ads)? Will you blog? Will you write articles for other sites, submit press releases, host a podcast? All of these are pieces of a larger picture.
6. What special features do I want on my site? - Websites can do amazing things. Do you want a blog, a forum, live help for your clients, knowledge base, crm, podcast, analytics, etc.
7. What resources do I currently have for maintaining my site once it is built? - Many people do not realize that once a website is built, it still takes time and energy to maintain the site. Unfortunately, there are people out there who make a game of hacking websites, you need to make sure that you are backing up your files and data, and that you have recovery procedures in place just in case. You need someone who understands the Internet and web hosting to make sure things keep running smoothly.
8. What is our budget for a website? - I included this question, because you can spend anywhere from $199 - $199,000 on a website. Most of our clients can't afford (and do not need) a website that costs a fortune. figure out what you need and what will be effective for your business, and then do the best you can with what you have.
9. Who will create the content? - Will you be creating all of your sites content yourself. Believe it or not, this is not as easy as you think. Creating compelling content that will sell is an art. We have professional writers who know how to write specifically for the web.
10. What will having a website do for us? (What will it give us that we don't already have?) - And finally, what is the point of having a website just to have a website. List some reasons why having a website is important to you. What will it help you do or achieve that you couldn't do (at least not as easily) without it.