Whether you want to launch your first website or are rebuilding an existing
site, the potential cost is likely to be at the top of your mind. You want an
attractive site, but have to watch your budget, too. How should you proceed?
Whether you want a small site with just a few pages of text or something a lot
more complex, you can keep costs down and get your website up and running much
more quickly by defining the purpose and scope of the project before you look
for a web developer. Answering the questions that follow will help you
accomplish that first, critical step in your website project.
Who do you want to use the web site? (ie, retail customers,
distributors, clients for your service business or profession?)
What purpose(s) will the website serve? Do you simply want
prospects and customers to see your phone number and call you as a result?
Do you want to capture any leads (names, addresses, phone numbers online?
Will you sell any products or services directly from the website? Do you
need to deliver downloadable products? Write down everything you want to
accomplish, then arrange your list in order of priority.
What capabilities (ordering, database, audio, video, etc.)
will you need?
If you'll be selling products online, will you want the
shopping cart to have cross-sell and up-sell capabilities (to get people to
add to their orders or to buy a higher-priced item?)
How many different types of items will you sell in on your
ecommerce site?
Do you have a merchant account that will let you accept
credit cards online? (If you have a merchant account for your bricks and
mortar store, you need to check with the provider – you may need a different
account to sell online.)
Will items you sell come in various sizes and colors?
How often will you want to update the web site?
Who will do the updates?
Will the company that builds the website need to design it
as well as set up the pages on the web?
Do you have an existing logo that needs to be incorporated
into the website design? If so, do you have the original graphics you can
provide to the web developer?
Do you have color needs or preferences for the website?
What kinds of website design look attractive to you. (Make a
list of websites URLs you've visited and find appealing from a design point
of view)
Will you want to capture website visitors' names to send
them email in the future?
Who will write the words (copy) that appears on the pages on
your site?
Is the copy available now? If not, when will it be written
and approved?
What graphics (photos or drawings) will need to be on the
site?
Where will those graphics come from?
How will you market the website to get visitors to the
website?
Who will do the marketing?
What is your budget for marketing the web site?
What will it cost to update the site?
Will you have to hire employees before you can make the
website live? If so, when will those people be hired?
How will you measure the success of your website?
How much money are you budgeting for website development?
By what date do you want the website finished and turned
live on the web?
Write down the answers to all of these questions, being as specific as possible.
Doing so will help you see and schedule tasks you'll need to perform (such as
deciding what copy you want on the pages).
When you are ready to seek price quotes, incorporate the information into your request
for quotes. This will ensure you provide the same information to all developers,
so they're all bidding on the same thing and incorporating the same features in
the bids they prepare for you.
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