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Planning your site

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This is the big one….spend quality time developing and planning your site layout.

Here are some ideas to get you started but you may find it easier to work with a marketing specialist that has experience of developing marketing led websites. This assistance should result in a better website and not detract you from running your business.

Points to consider in the planning of your site:


What makes your business special?

Your business is special and your website should reflect the key elements that attract your customers. You should identify why they buy from you and then consider ways to communicate this information via your website to future customers. It is always helpful to identify your top selling products or services and make a feature of these on the site. Remember around 20% of your customers are likely to produce around 80% of your profit whether it’s by repeat purchasing or referrals.

Identify the needs of your top customers, and then develop a website that provides a great solution to their needs and a reason to buy. This will be a natural way to attract more people with similar needs to your existing customers.
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SWOT analysis

Many of you will have heard of a SWOT analysis. You need to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business to help you to understand how to reach your target market(s).

When you’ve completed a SWOT analysis on your business, the way you can apply this to the development of your website is to focus on the strengths and opportunities by conveying positive messages through text and imagery which relate to these points.
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Make a list of requirements

Before you brief your web designer or marketing consultant you should consider all the information that you wish to include in your website. One of the best ways to do this is to put yourself in the position of one of your prospective customers. What do they need to know, what benefit will they derive from selecting your business and how easy is it to buy your goods/services from the website?


If you fail to provide the information they need to make a buying decision, they have only two options. The first and easiest option is to find another business on the web or if they are really interested they’ll phone or email for further information so make sure your contact details are easy to find.
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Tourism businesses

If you’re a tourism business, consider how you’ll tap into the emotional triggers that will convert site visitors to book. You should ideally show emotive images providing a feel good factor and create a response similar to ‘that’s what I want to do’ or ‘that’s where I want to go’.

Then there’s online availability; by showing this to your prospective customers, they’ll know that their required dates are free. Many prospective customers also appreciate access to online booking; once again it streamlines the buying decision and makes their life easy.

You should also think about how you can demonstrate the quality of the accommodation that you offer. Official grading symbols and customer testimonials which can be linked to social networking sites, e.g. tripadvisor, reassure people that your accommodation will meet their requirements.

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Food & drink businesses

If you’re a food or drink business embarking on launching an online business, it’s important to undertake extensive research to determine the best possible layout for your site. Once again imagine what your prospective customer’s frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) are likely to be and ensure that your site has an answer.

Customers will not only need product and pricing information. They’ll require information on your delivery options, payment requirements, possibly delivery tracking, returns policy and it will all have to meet the distance selling regulations which are designed to protect customers buying goods and/or services over the Internet and telephone.

All businesses

An important point which is often missed by both clients and web designers is the legality of your site; you should ensure that your site is legally compliant. We’ve put together some legal guidelines (courtesy of Ashfords solicitors) to help you along the way but recommend that you take the appropriate professional legal advice for your business.

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Navigation

Your site navigation should instantly give your site viewers an idea of the content of your site and viewers should be able to access the information they require within two to three clicks of a mouse.

To achieve this there are some fundamental rules.

• Although there are many ways to present the navigation, it is often better to keep the navigation down the left hand side of the screen or along the top and bottom.
• The navigation is usually constructed through a number of layers, the primary navigation should be very clear and present the top line area that viewers will require. This will then break down into secondary navigation headings; categories to provide more detailed information.
• The main navigation should be visible on every page of the site to allow viewers who arrive deeper in the site to navigate back to the information they require.
• You should be providing details on copyright, privacy, terms and conditions etc. These are best kept at the foot of the website as they do not usually form part of the buying decision process.
• When you have text on a page which naturally links to content on another page you should link the pages together through the text. This encourages viewers to read more about the topic.

A few good tips on navigation
Always have a clear link back to your home page. There’s nothing worse than getting lost on a website and not being able to find where you started the search.

You can also use the main graphic on your site to link back to the home page.

Page jumps to text anchor points are very useful when you have a long page of information. Basically, headings at the top of a page which are within the text area can be clicked and link to relevant information lower down the page (the anchor point).

A site map not only shows your viewers the full structure of the site but it is also used by the search engines to index the site.

There’s a term called the ‘breadcrumb trail’ which tracks where viewers are on a website and how they arrived there. This can be really useful for large websites with many navigation levels as it puts the page in the context of the whole site.
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What your website designer will require from you


In short, your website designer will require a clear and concise brief before being able to supply an estimate for the work. The clearer and more detailed your communication of your site requirements and the web designers understanding of these requirements, the easier the working relationship will be.

Many relationships between a client and web designer break down through misunderstandings and poor communication.

Here are some points that the web designer will need to know:
  • The aims and objectives of the site
  • The proposed content and estimated number of pages
  • The type of website, e.g. content management or online shop etc
  • A rough idea of your budget. (Don’t expect a Lamborghini if you can only afford a small second hand motor).
  • Detailed information on who will be responsible for the overall design, supply of text, images and logos etc
  • Any detailed data base requirements relating to the site, i.e. collection of email addresses into a spreadsheet
  • Integration with any other software programmes, online booking, online shops, accounts, stock control etc
  • Links to other sites including social networking sites, e.g. facebook
  • Your requirements for site optimisation
  • Your expectations of a service level agreement, i.e. will the website designer provide a guarantee period or ongoing support?
  • Hosting arrangements. Many web designers will wish to host the site in order to provide a service level agreement.
Spend time working out what you want your site to do and make sure you discuss all the aspects with your supplier.
Expect a fairly detailed estimate from your supplier which clearly defines planned activities, number of budgeted amends to both the design and text and a guide on the development time.

Remember, most web designers are not marketers, copywriters, photographers or legal experts. A web designer usually takes supplied material and builds your site to meet the brief. Many people misunderstand the role of the web designer, thinking they are experts in all these areas – generally speaking, it is unlikely that they fully understand all the issues which can often result in conflict over the functionality and success of the website.
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