A Genuine Article

Planning a Website, Part 1: One Step at a Time

By Marc Carson · Monday September 20, 2010

So you’re ready to start. Where to go next?

In this article I’ll show you how to use a website planning document to take the first steps toward a great website.

A Website Planner

I wouldn’t be a very good web designer if I didn’t provide you with a way to get started from the comfort of your own computer. So, here it is: The Site Planner. Download it, skim it quickly, then start filling in the blanks.

Let’s start at the top.

Marketing and your Audience

A website alone isn’t a sure-fire way to bring in customers. You should start with an idea of the purpose(s) of your website and the audience you want to reach.

Here’s a good example:

MARCELLA’S BAKERY
Purpose: Communicate the Marcella’s brand and important bakery-related information to customers
Primary Audience: Women over 35 who live in the Upscalia neighborhood and shop in downtown Bakerton
Secondary Audience: Potential franchise owners in and around Baker County

Marcella knows what her website is for, and she knows the kind of visitors she wants to reach out to with her website.

You Can’t Make this Stuff Up

How did she arrive at those details? It’s not guesswork. Marcella has been watching her business grow and taking note of her best customers. She found that those with the best attitude toward her business were women from the Upscalia neighborhood who often journey downtown for shopping.

Marcella doesn’t have anything against women under 35, but her experience has shown that women under 35 typically visit the hip new bakery down the street, which seems to attract a younger group.

Marcella has also had several customers ask about franchising. She wants to be able to direct those people to her website, where she can continue the conversation that she may not have had time for in the store.

How this Helps your Website

That simple information will help Marcella:

• Pick an appropriate web designer
• Communicate with the web designer (i.e., “how does the color scheme you picked match my target audience?”)
• Decide if the web designer (or graphic designer) has created a look and feel for the website that matches the audience
• Do research on her audience, in order to reach them better
• Target advertising efforts in the future

That’s powerful stuff! All from a little bit of planning.

What Not To Do

Here’s a common example of what to avoid:

ERNESTO’S BAKERY
Purpose: Put a menu and prices online for our customers to look at
Primary Audience: Everybody
Secondary Audience: My family and friends

I see plans like this every once in a while. We can’t really blame Ernesto for not trying, but it’s almost certain that he won’t get a website as good as Marcella’s.

Right from the start, Ernesto is focusing on website features rather than website purpose. This is a common mistake.

Sure, it’s important to know that he wants a menu and prices online, but a more general purpose will help him keep an open mind. It will also help him discover other things his customers might want to see.

For example, Marcella (the first baker we discussed) actually discovered that her primary audience wanted her personal suggestions of what to eat rather than a long list of baked goods to choose from.

Baker to the World?

Ernesto’s planner also makes it clear that he wants everyone to be his target audience. He wants to make lots of money and be popular — who wouldn’t?

However, by focusing on too broad a group, he will find that his website design loses direction (read: sucks), he gets contradictory feedback from different customers, and he ends up competing with every other bakery in town, which frazzles his nerves and makes his dough taste funny.

Ernesto’s secondary audience (friends and family) is just there to fill in space. After all, who should his secondary audience be, if his primary audience is “everybody?”

What if I Mess Up?

OK, so I got a little critical of Ernesto there. But I want him to have a great website, and he’s headed for trouble!

Don’t try to create the perfect website plan from the start. When you email it to me, I will look it over and make suggestions. Fortunately I’ve seen enough plans to be able to spot common mistakes and, usually, show you how to make your competitors irrelevant.

Moving Right Along

Enough about marketing! Fascinating subject, though.
We’ll continue our overview of the website planner in my next article.