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Web Site Design and Development - Getting Started
Relevant Considerations
There are 3 key factors to consider when you’re looking to have a web site designed and developed for your business:
Your business strategy and purpose for the web site
Your available budget
Your future plans for the web site
Your business strategy and purpose for the web site
What role do you see the web site playing in your business? Will you want to sell products online with it? Or do you only want to promote certain specials on the web site and have people visit the store? Perhaps all you want is for the web site to tell people what your business does? The web site must have its role in an integrated business strategy. It must work together with all other aspects of your business.
Without a shadow of a doubt, you need to know this before you even begin the process. If you need help on this, by all means contact us and let us discuss it with you to help make it clearer.
Doing this thinking will help you identify the kind of features and functionality that will be required on the web site. It will also help you identify the information and content that is to be used and this will help immensely in its preparation.
Your available budget
It’s best to be realistic and up front about this from the beginning. Your available budget will vary for different businesses and different circumstances but it’s important to know what it is.
If you’ve thought through the business strategy, then working out what the available budget is for the web site should be straightforward.
If there’s no budget available for the web site, you can put this project aside until the circumstances change.
Depending on the size of the budget available, it will also serve to keep expectations realistic in terms of the role you want the web site to play. For example, if the budget is on the small side, then it’s likely to be incompatible with wanting a really large web site with lots of features – either way it’s important to know.
Furthermore giving a clear budget expectation means we may still be able to work towards your goals even if that budget will not entirely cover everything you want. There are likely to be other ways to achieve your aims or compromises that can be made in order to do so.
Your future plans for the web site
Depending on the strategies pursued and the purpose the web site plays in your business, there may not be a real need for this. However, it’s always worth considering how the web site will impact your business once it’s up and running in light of the role it plays.
For example, if the web site was to be used to deliver up to date product and pricing information, you’ll need to make sure you have someone in charge of that in order to ensure that the web site will always have up to date information.
