Before You Build or Rebuild That Website

by Janet Attard

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?

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