4 Key Questions to Ask yourself when Developing your Website Design
Website design is a great opportunity to express your brand, what it stands for, and to embed consumer behaviour-based strategies. Sometimes, you may end up with a website design that you’re not happy with and/or that’s not performing up to standard. For those that already have a website or are in the process of developing their first, there are some strong questions you want to ask yourself. So any time you’re designing a new website or re-designing an existing one, it’s important to set some objectives for what you want to accomplish.
Identifying Basic, Background Information
Ask yourself to identify background information prior to jumping in. Identify the target audience, the purpose of your website, what your company’s core values are, what makes you different from the competition, why consumers should choose you over the competition, if you have any visual colors or typography you want to use, if there are other marketing materials that your website will need to match, and if there are any designs related or unrelated that you enjoy.
Defining the Specifications of your Website
There are numerous specification questions that need to be answered when designing a website, including getting a host provider, whether you will need an SSL certificate, how your website will announce a site’s use of cookies, if there will be planning in place to handle any traffic spikes, how many pages you want your site to be, when you will have content for the website ready, who will format that content, and what type of content you hope to publish on the site.
Deciding on what Features and Functionality you want
Every website comes with a basic set of features users might expect to find. Deciding on what features and what kind of functionality you want for your website is dependent upon many things. Just some of the questions you may want to ask yourself is if you require live chat, if there are special accessibility needs, multi-language translation, if you need a shopping cart for eCommerce, if you want a blog or forum, if you want comments on your blog posts, if you’ll need users to log in, and how many forms you want to embed into the design of your site.
Analytics
The last set of questions you want to contemplate is how you will measure your website’s success. Think about what and how many Analytics accounts you want, what specific KPIs you’ll be measuring, and what types of data you want to review and when (i.e. weekly, monthly, annually). Though these questions are not in direct association with your website design, they’re going to influence it over time and be able to tell you if your design is effective towards your goals.
Take the time to review these questions and be sure to provide clear answers about the requirements. Prior to any website launch, you want to know as much as you can about what you’re selling and the purpose of your website. Doing so will save you time and money in the long run, and ensure you put your absolute best foot forward towards seeing the success you deserve.
For more information about web design, digital marketing, and how to maximize your website’s success, please speak with a representative at Unlimited Exposure today. Before moving ahead on a website, we can help in advising on key project elements ensuring your site is built for long-term profitability.
