Build a Website, Step 1: What Are the Goals of Your New Website?

See my original post 7 Steps to a New Website for all the steps involved in building a new website.

You know you need a new site - there are all kinds of reasons for creative entrepreneurs and small businesses to build a website or update an existing site, but before you begin designing, it’s important to identify YOUR specific goals in building a new site.

Your goals may be more numerous than you realize, and it’s worth the time to think them through, and prioritize their importance. You wouldn’t build a house without thinking about what you want to do in that house - the same logic applies to a website.

Don’t just think about it while you’re doing something else. Take the time to sit, relax and think about your new website. Write your thoughts down. Planning the goals of your website is a primary foundation and thinking this through first will make every other subsequent task much easier.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• In one year after you launch your site, how will you know if it’s a success?

• What do you want your site to accomplish?

• What is your biggest complaint(s) about your current site (or other sites you visit)?

So, grab a notebook - or open a fresh online document — and let’s get started.

We’ll start with brainstorming - no holding back - with our first long list, and then prioritize and narrow it down to the top 3, with supporting secondary goals.

Here are some ideas to start your thinking - if any apply to you, add them your list:

• Provide contact information - phone, address, email, social media

• Display a professional image

• Help build my online presence generally

• Market/sell my services

• Sell physical products (jewelry, masks, etc.)

• Display my art - an online portfolio

• Provide online ordering capabilities for a brick and mortar store

• Online scheduling

• Online payments

• Sell my art directly or indirectly with links to other online or offline sites (Etsy, galleries, etc.)

• Collect emails for marketing/newsletters

• Share expertise via articles, videos, recipes or how-tos

And feel free to add anything else that’s unique to you and your business.

If you have an existing site, you should include all things you want to change. For example:

• Modern fresh design that I’m proud to share

• Easy to update

• Better images

Once you have a full list, leave it sit for awhile - a few hours or days. Think about it as you go about your life, and then come back to it, and add anything new - or remove things that you may not think are important anymore.

Research similar sites (other businesses similar to yours) for any additional ideas of what you want.

Now, let’s prioritize your top 3 short-term goals. Number them, 1, 2, 3 and write them down. Then, do the same with secondary goals - prioritize them, so you know what’s most important.

Now, think about how these goals will translate to action on your new site, and what types of pages and content you will need. You may want to sketch out the pages of your site.

If your main goals are

• Provide contact information - phone, address, email, social media

• Display a professional image

• Help build my online presence generally

Then, you have a fairly simple site: Home page, About, Contact and maybe a portfolio and/or blog

If you want to display your services, then you can add one or more services pages.

Keep these notes! Your next steps in building your new website will use this work as a foundation. Next up: Select a Website Platform.