Consider the questions below when planning your Web site project. While not all questions apply to every project, answering the relevant ones will help your project move along smoothly.
- Audience
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- Who is your target audience?
- Why will they be visiting your website and what will they expect to find?
- Are they worried about internet security?
- What special needs will your audience have? Consider:
- Do they use their device, or a public computer?
- Will they use desktop computers, mobile devices, or both?
- Will they have accessibility concerns (visual and mobility impairments)?
- What language and literacy concerns should be considered?
- Budget
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- What is your website budget?
- What percentage of your budget is for design and development? What percentage is for marketing? What percentage is for maintenance?
- Hosting
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- Do you have a web host?
- Do you have a domain name?
- Do you have the login information to access your hosting account?
- Marketing and SEO
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- Have you done market research on your product/service to get a list of the most popular relevant keywords?
- Do you have a budget for marketing your website, or will you be doing your own marketing?
- The Future of Your Site
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- How do you expect your site to grow and change in the future?
- How will your content change?
- If you plan to have frequent or extensive changes, will you make them yourself? If not, what is your budget for site maintenance and updates?
- Color
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- What colors do you like?
- What colors do you hate?
- What emotions would you like your site to evoke, and what colors do you think would create the effect you desire?
- Content
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- Do you have a logo, graphics, and/or photographs that you are authorized to use?
- Do you have text content written, proofread, and spellchecked?
- Have you tested your content on others to see if you are communicating your message effectively?
- Site Function, Features & Complexity
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- How important is being able to edit your site yourself?
- Do you need photo galleries? Animation? Audio? Video? Feeds?
- Do you need custom forms and database applications? Ecommerce?
- Make a list of the things you want visitors to be able to do on your site, and be aware that all of the features you list will most likely increase the cost of your project.
- Sample Sites
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- Are there sites you particularly like?
- What features have you seen on other websites that you particularly like or dislike?
- Are there sites or features that you find particularly easy or difficult to understand?
Icon: Art by Phonlaphat Thongsriphong from the Noun Project