Before approaching a website designer with your new web project it is good to have thought about what you want. With the usual noise and distractions of running a small business it can be difficult. So... I thought it might be useful to share some points I think about when starting a new web project.
1. Decide on One Primary Goal
What is the one main aim for your website. The goal is often different for everyone although some common themes are:
- generating leads and new business
- streamlining information collection
- distributing information
- selling products or services
Pick one and make sure everyone involved in the project knows about it.
2. Find Inspiration
Spend some time searching the web looking for some inspiration. Below
are some links to get you started or simply type in 'great website
design' into google and browse the results.
Keep notes of the ones you like and what you like about them. This information will help your designer come up with something you like.
Another trick is to look closely at your competitors sites and down the
bottom you will often see the name of the design company who built the
website. Follow the link and have a look at their portfolio.
3. Think about your three most time consuming processes
Websites can now be much more than just digital brochures. Do a quick brainstorm of the annoying tasks that take time in your business. Make sure you take this to your web designer and get them to explain ways of dealing with these issues.
4. Examine the Competition
What do they do well? Can you tell what the Primary Goal of their site is?
If your competitions site is well maintained and up to date you can be sure that they are generating some good business from it.
5. Minimise the Risk & Start Today
The great things about websites are that they are easy to change. In
fact, you never need to consider your website 'finished'. Find a great value provider, get a few pages up quickly and then develop from there. You will gain confidence and knowledge as you go along. It is easy to get started with a template design on your website for free.
6. Beware the Knowledge Gap
Do you feel like you know nothing about websites? Well... this poses a problem. Many web designers will charge large fees for things that are actually really simple. You need to arm yourself with knowledge about what reasonable costs are so as to avoid spending thousands on a solution that does not meet your needs or is obsolete in a year.
Things to avoid
- Custom coding
- Paying for a CMS (Content Managment System)
- Complexity
- Open Source Software (more on this later)
Things to ask for
- Continuous support and upgrades
- Examples of previous work
- Easy to update yourself
- Transferability - if you relationship with this designer falls apart will another designer be able to use the system?
See the Resources section of this site for more information about the tools and people that I work with.
Hi, I'm Tom.
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