Five Steps to Successful Website Planning

Step 3 - Website Planning Checklist

Goals & Objectives

Without a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, it will be difficult to create a site that meets your needs. There are many factors to consider when setting goals and objectives and what specific goals must your website achieve. (e.g. Increase lead Generation, Increase sales, Increase brand awareness, Improve online customer service)

Branding

Branding is an important aspect of any business. It helps to create a recognizable image that can be associated with your company. Your website is one of the most important places to reflect your brand. It should be consistent in its look and feel, from the color palette to the typography. The tone of voice in the copy should also reflect your brand image. Branding is about more than just appearance, however. It's also about creating a unique and memorable experience for your customers. Your website should be engaging and relevant, providing timely and interesting content that will keep people coming back. By creating a strong brand, you can build loyalty and create a lasting impression on your customers.

Content Strategy

Content is the bread and butter of any website. Content strategy is the process of planning, creating, curating, and managing content to achieve specific business objectives. It's important because it ensures that all content is relevant, engaging, and aligned with the overall business goals. Without a content strategy, it would be difficult to maintain a consistent brand voice or create content that leads to conversions. A good content strategy will take into account the target audience, the tone of voice, and the overall business goals to create a roadmap for all content creation. By following a content strategy, businesses can ensure that all their content is working towards their bottom line.

Website Functionality

Website features are important to have a functional website. Some of the must-have features are lead generation forms, contact forms, discovery forms, a professional portfolio, a blog for content marketing, image galleries, videos, e-commerce solutions for selling products, collecting donations for fundraising, social media embedding, etc. All of these features are important for a website to run smoothly. Without these features, a website would not be able to function properly in achieving its goals.

Social Media Properties

Having social media properties for your business is important for several reasons. First, they provide an excellent platform for promoting your content. Second, they can help you to rank higher in search engine results. Third, they offer a great way to handle customer service inquiries. And fourth, your customers expect you to have them! In today's competitive business landscape, it's essential to have an active presence on social media. By having a well-thought-out social media strategy, you can ensure that your business stays ahead of the curve.

Website Essentials

There are a few key things you'll need to get started with your website. Firstly, you'll need a domain name. This is what people will type into their browsers to find your site. Once you've got your domain name, you'll need a hosting plan. This is where your website's files will be stored and served. We have an excellent resource covering these two items on our Getting Started Page. In addition, you'll also need an SSL certificate to encrypt your website and ensure it's secure. SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, and it's what turns your website from HTTP to HTTPS. This is an important step that shouldn't be overlooked. With these key Website Essentials in place, you'll be well on your way to getting your site up and running!