Have you ever started a new position and were given a project without a concise plan on how you should complete it? If you have, you know how much wasted time there was before you figured out how to streamline the process for the future.
Creating a process for solving a problem or completing a task is a guide to success. It clearly defines what steps to take and allows for efficiency and greater utilization of your time.
Having a website design process in place will help save your organization time and money. Below is our recommended process that you can begin to implement for your organization today.
Website Design Process
1. Setting your website goals
2. Mapping out your audience
3. Determining must-haves for the site
4. Reviewing your current website’s analytics (if available)
5. Wireframing your site mobile-first
6. Content, Content, Conten
Setting Your Website Goals
Setting a personal or professional goal establishes the long-term vision you hope to achieve and ignites the desire to find a way to make it happen. Developing a plan for your business website is equally important. It helps craft the vision of your website’s future and is the starting point for the planning process on how to get there.
Begin this process by creating a list of measurable website goals that you deem necessary for your site. Some of your goals might include increasing leads, decreasing bounce rates, and improving your search engine rankings. Once you have finalized your list, begin to focus on your top two or three goals.
Mapping Out Your Audience
Maximize your marketing efforts by having a clear understanding of your audience. You must identify your audience’s problem and decipher how your product is the solution. How do you decide whom you should target? You create a Buyer Persona! A Buyer Persona concisely identifies your ideal audiences’ details, such as their basic information, income level, spending habits, and interests. If you are unsure where to start, download our free Buyer Persona template to get started.
Determining Must-Haves for the Site
Earlier, you selected your top two to three measurable website goals that you wanted to focus on, and they will help shape the must-haves that you include in your site.
For example, if one of your goals included growing your email list, then a must-have might consist of a pop-up form generated when visitors land on the homepage that captures the visitor’s email address.
Reviewing Your Current Website’s Analytics (if Available)
Analyzing your website’s analytics helps create a clear understanding of which pages are high performing on your website and which pages to revamp. The data unlocks the key to discovering if your messaging and design are on point with your audience.
If you do not have website analytics currently running on your site and would like to start, you can easily install Google Analytics.
Site Map
A site map is an important part of the website planning process to understand the flow of traffic for your site visitors. As a good rule of thumb, you want to ensure that the visitor within three clicks can reach any desired path or call to action.
Wireframing Your Site Mobile-First
Wireframing is the architectural or backbone of your website that determines the website structure for each page.
Focus on creating a responsive mobile-first design that considers the limited screen space for mobile users. It ensures that you are putting features and sections on your website that are important to your users. Building a responsive site that responds to the user’s behavior helps your business connect with your audience and accelerates the conversion process.
Content, Content, Content
Bill Gates once said, “Content is King.” Great content engages your audience and reaches them at every stage of the buyer’s journey. The Buyer Persona that you created previously will determine your website’s messaging as it should identify the problem that your audience is facing and communicate how your product or service is the solution.
Building or revamping your website can be a daunting task, but implementing a process can make all the difference.
Utilizing the six steps outlined above will help your organization efficiently and effectively build a website that reaches your audience.
