A Legit Article

Planning a Website, Part 2: Use Your Spying Eye

By Marc Carson · Thursday September 30, 2010

(Note:This is a continuation of part one).

Next up in the Site Planner are some questions that will help you develop a picture of your tastes.

First: Name some websites you like!

Web Designers: Out for Blood

As a web designer, I’m always looking for fresh ideas. A new website to like, even if it’s a bit random, is always a highlight of my day.

At one point in time, I even liked HorseGirl TV (they’ve since changed the design, and now it feels a tad sloppy). I just never know what corner of the Web I’ll need to explore for my next project.

You probably visit websites that your web designer hasn’t heard of before. You might even have an opinion on which ones stink and which are great. Your web designer needs to know if there are sites you visit that can help them understand your market.

Your Competitors are My Laboratory

We can take a competitor’s website, break it down, and analyze it to find out things like:

• How much traffic they get, and from where
• What they’re doing to reach their audience
• How successful their online efforts are
• What they’re secretly afraid of
• What their competitor (you) could do to grab market share or mind share

Pretty competitive stuff! Even if you don’t feel like there’s anybody out there worth competing with, it’s a good idea to get a feel for how others are approaching your market.

So: Take a few minutes, check out Google or browse some trade-related websites, and see what everyone else is doing.