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Website development - Know What you want, First!
Want to waste thousands of
dollars on your website development? No?! Then make sure you figure out exactly
what you want Before you approach a website development company.
It may
seem like obvious advice, but in reality, many people approach website
development companies without first formulating a clear web strategy, clarifying
objectives and expectations. This hasty sort of approach to website development
invariably costs the customer a lot of money - and they end up with a website
that doesn't meet their needs.Opencart website development
So how do you get the website that meets
your requirements within the budget you have? Plan, plan, PLAN!
Some of
the questions you need to answer before embarking on your website
development:
Why do you need a website?
What kind of website do you
need?
Who is your target audience?
How do you plan to attract visitors to
the site?
What are some of the graphical design considerations?
Will the
site target both domestic and international visitors?
What is the visitor
trying to achieve?
How will your website support or integrate with the rest
of your business?
What structural implications should you consider?
How
will you update the content?
Who should you talk to about website
development?
Who do you talk to about hosting your website?
What is your
website development budget?
1) WHY DO YOU NEED A WEBSITE?
Websites are
generally designed to support one or more of the following
objectives:
provide information
facilitate online
transactions
drive visitors to a physical location
facilitate
communication
Websites also support brand image and awareness. In today's
information-rich environment, customers are becoming far more savvy and conduct
thorough research prior to making decisions. Having a good, informative and
accurate website could mean the difference between winning the client and
not.
Websites are also extremely important for contact details as a lot
of readers refer to website as a quick reference.
What's more, a website
provides 24x7 access, so your customers and potential customers have access to
the site outside of normal business hours (ideal for supporting promotions,
general e-commerce and improving customer service).
2) WHAT KIND OF
WEBSITE DO YOU NEED
Websites may be simply informational in nature or
more complex with transactional e-commerce shopping functionality. They may even
be designed to support Web 2. 0 functionality such as Blogs and message boards,
which can develop a community environment.
But always remember, your
website needs to serve the needs of the customers you're trying to attract and
retain. Before committing to the feature set of your website development, make
sure you can link every feature back to a customer need.
3) WHO IS YOUR
TARGET AUDIENCE
Who is your typical reader? Think about your readers; are
they young or old, wealthy or poor, male or female, computer techies or novices?
Are your readers just researching or are they in buy-online mode? Are they local
or international, or both? Will language be a barrier? Will font size be a
consideration for those with poorer eyesight?
Once you have ascertained
who your audience is, you need to design the website to suit that
audience.
4) HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO YOUR
WEBSITE?
Marketing your site is critical. It can be marketed
electronically using search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN and/or offline
using traditional advertising and promotions strategies. It's important that you
think about the marketing strategy BEFORE website development, as it will impact
the website development process and the technology of the final product. For
example, do you plan to run Google AdWords or banner ads? If so, will those ads
need to relate to specific landing pages containing enquiry forms, or would a
single landing page suffice? Will search engine-driven traffic be important to
you? If so, you'll need to ensure that your website is designed and developed in
search engine-friendly way, and that your web copy is optimised for search
engines.
5) WHAT ARE SOME OF THE GRAPHICAL DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS?
Many sites feature a large number of animations and GIF
images, which are distracting and poorly designed (in terms of colour and
fonts), and which add an unnecessary overhead to the page (in terms of file size
and speed of loading). A good website has a balance of imagery and text. Try to
be aware of things like font size and how it might impact your readers. Colours,
fonts and alignments should be consistent from one page to the next. The look
and feel of a site needs to be simple and consistent.
Similarly,
background music, popups and Flash can be gimmicky and annoying to visitors.
Only include them if they are appropriate to the needs of your
audience.
As previously mentioned, your website needs to be more than
just a promotional tool; it should form part of your overall marketing strategy.
What looks great in print may not look good online. Perhaps more importantly, it
may not be user-friendly (functional). So make sure you have a web designer
involved in the development.
6) WILL THE SITE TARGET BOTH DOMESTIC AND
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS?
Consider whether you have the infrastructure to
support international readers and clients. For example, if the site is
transactional and you are selling a product, do you have international banking
or credit card facilities and the ability to deliver overseas?
If you're
going to target international readers, it's important that you make your website
global. Consider the format of the information you display and request (e. g.
zip code versus postcode, address formats and even phone number formats) and the
style, tone, word-choice and spelling of your copy. (See
http://www.divinewrite.com for more information on website copywriting.
)#)
Another important consideration which is often overlooked in website
development is scheduled maintenance. Scheduling maintenance for midnight in
your home country may cripple your website during peak business hours in
another.Magento website development
Make sure you investigate the needs of your international
market(s) and adapt your website to suit those specific needs.
7) WHAT IS
THE VISITOR TRYING TO ACHIEVE?
All website visitors want or need
something. They may be researching prior to purchasing a product, looking up
company details, or trying to pay an invoice. If you want to make your site easy
for visitors to use and if you want those visitors to keep coming back, your
website development MUST accommodate the tasks that those visitors are
attempting to perform.
8) HOW WILL YOUR WEBSITE SUPPORT OR INTEGRATE WITH
THE REST OF YOUR BUSINESS?
Websites can often offer services to support
and integrate with your business. For example, you might offer online shopping
to streamline the purchase, dispatch and accounts process (including payment
gateways, stock/inventory detailing, member or client information, etc. )#).
Alternatively your website can increase the effectiveness of your marketing and
product support, by spotlighting your products with extensive information and
product catalogues, emailing product information to opt-in recipients, allowing
links back to the manufactures (if applicable), etc. You might also set up an
FAQ section on your website and encourage your visitors to read this area before
contacting your office. A feedback form might also reduce administration
overhead by allowing your readers to contact you and request more information,
etc.
9) WHAT STRUCTURAL IMPLICATIONS SHOULD YOU CONSIDER?
With
websites, less is more. The simpler the structure is, the more user-friendly it
is. It all comes down to navigation; navigation is a website's lifeblood. A poor
navigation structure can destroy a user's experience, and damage your online
image.
Sections should be obviously grouped, both logically and visually.
This makes navigation intuitive. Create a draft site plan before website
development is commenced. Discuss it with your designers and developers, work
with them to evolve it, then leave it with them to guide them through the
website development process. This will ensure that the visual and functional
elements of your website flow and make sense.
Structure and navigation
are particularly important for larger sites and e-commerce sites. With so much
competition around, your visitors will not be prepared to expend a great deal of
energy to unravel the mysteries of a poorly planned site. Similarly, visitors
are unlikely to become buyers if the purchase process is confusing.
10)
HOW WILL YOU UPDATE THE CONTENT?
It is imperative that you update the
content on your site on a regular basis. Outdated information is useless and
impacts on your credibility and professionalism. Conversely, regularly updated
content tells your readers that you're a proactive organisation (and it also
contributes to your ranking in the search engines).
To reduce ongoing
costs and retain control of your website, consider the benefits of building it
using a Content Management System (CMS). A good CMS lets you easily manage all
content yourself, instead of paying your web developers to do it. (This includes
adding and editing copy and images, adding and deleting pages, and adding and
deleting functionality. )#)
11) WHO SHOULD YOU TALK TO ABOUT WEBSITE
DEVELOPMENT?
This depends what you want from your website development and
how far your budget can stretch. Is the site intended for the short or long
term? Will content need to be updated? Do you need e-commerce, email management
/ e-newsletters, etc.? There are many people who build websites and numerous
approaches to take.
Important considerations when selecting a website
development company include:
Do they have proven website development
experience?
Are they familiar with the latest developments?
Do they have
support networks or personnel should they run into problems?
Are they
qualified?
Can they provide ongoing website development support?
Do they
have access to graphic designers?
It's best to find an established website
development company with a solid infrastructure and qualified staff, who can
speak with you plain English, listen to all your requirements and develop a plan
that suits your needs. Also remember to select a website development company
that you feel comfortable dealing with.
12) WHO DO YOU TALK TO ABOUT
HOSTING YOUR WEBSITE?
Your website development company should be able to
suggest a hosting company, but if not, there are a multitude of companies listed
on the internet and in the Yellow Pages.
When considering website hosting
companies, obviously you need to ensure that they are appropriate for your
budget. You need to know that they have adequate security both via the web
(antispam, antivirus, etc. )#) and in their actual physical environment (locks,
alarms, etc. )#). You need to know that they use hardware and software that is
modern and appropriate for the job.
Do they have a proactive backup /
business continuity / disaster recovery strategy, and the necessary software and
hardware to support it? And do they engage in scheduled maintenance? You need to
know that they are operating an environment that is designed to minimise the
likelihood of fire, flood, theft, hardware failure, overheating, etc. But, if
the server hosting your site does, in fact fail (or is stolen or destroyed),
will your website be unavailable? Some hosting providers offer uptime
guarantees, which is great, but don't assume this means that nothing will ever
go wrong and your website will never go down.
Also, consider bandwidth
(how fast can they display your website files). Few things are more frustrating
to visitors than slow-to-load pages, and your host can play a big part in
this.
13) WHAT IS YOUR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT BUDGET?
Many businesses
try to cut costs by engaging a student, unqualified staff employee or friend to
build their website. Think carefully before pursuing this option, because you
get what you pay for. You'd most likely be trading-off visual aesthetics,
reliability, stability, speed, ease of use, search engine-friendliness, and
ongoing technical support. When it comes to website development, short-term
cost-cutting does not always equate to long-term savings or return on
investment.Zen Cart website development
Having said that, you should always be realistic. Consider
what sort of return on investment you require (and how quickly), and set your
budget accordingly. Then stick to your budget. If you need to cut costs, start
with the 'bells and whistles' that may not be necessary. Flash, for instance,
adds significant cost to your website development, yet is considered annoying by
many visitors and may reduce your search engine-friendliness. |
