Checklist for planning your website

Purpose: what is the site for?

• What are your business and personal objectives?

• What type of business model should you choose?

• Transactions
  • sell your own products
  • sell other business products (reseller)
• Information publishing
  • offer information to share knowledge
  • provide information to attract traffic and generate income through sponsorship, advertising, subscriptions, memberships, affiliates
• Directory, index
• Vanity site: online presence only
• Any combination of above models

Target market: who is it for?

• Who will be your visitors? Draw a profile (eg age, gender, lifestyle, culture).
• Will you attract new visitors or existing customers
• Will your audience be local or global?
• How competent are your potential visitors with online technology (ability to navigate)?
• Are you looking for qualified leads or the greatest number of visitors?

Competition: how do you compare?

• What differentiates you from the other million websites: originality, customer service, price, product?
• What does your competitor's website look like?
• Why would people buy from you? What's your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
• What are your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)?

Content: how will you communicate your message?

• What information and how much should you provide? How much does your audience knows about your business?
• How many sections? On what basis  (eg type of audience, product) will you categorise your information?
• How will your audience take action (eg enrolment, feedback, contact or order form)?
• Do you need visuals?

Other planning considerations

• Your budget
• Your type of products and services.
• Your human resources
• Traffic size expected
• Administrative implications.

Marketing Cues tip
It is much better to create a small, concise and focused site than a large one where web users can lose interest and purpose.