Website Strategy
One of the most important planning stages when it comes to creating the website for your business is strategy. After all, if you don't know what you want to achieve, then how are you going to go about achieving it?
Having a clear and defined website strategy is integral to achieving success online. It's possible to do well without it, but if you have a roadmap leading from A (start) to B (achievement of goals) it will be easier than following the more random path of trial and error.
For many businesses, there is a clear strategy that will be very similar for the offline strategy for the business. However, depending on the nature of your business there may be a very different strategy online and offline. For instance, if you offer a service based product then it is likely that the main strategy of your website will be two fold:
- Providing information about your services to potential customers
- Lead generation: getting enquiries and warm leads through the site
If your business is selling a product of some sort (whether indeed a physical, tangible product or something electronic like an e-book), then the major strategy of your site will be simply to sell as much of your product as possible.
Take the time to work out what it is that you want your website to achieve. If someone who knew nothing about your business came and asked you "What do you want your website to achieve?" then work out what your answer to that question would be.
If you are not sure and unclear on what your answer would be, take the time to work out a clear strategy for the website and it will pay dividends down the line. Remember that you want the return on the investment for your new website to be positive - that is, you want the website to make you more money over an acceptable period of time than you spend developing it (through leads turning to business, product sales and so on), and having a clear strategy will both help you achieve this and measure success down the line.
Once you have done the research, know you have the appetite to build this site, and have a clear idea of your site strategy, it's time to start putting pen to paper, and developing your Website Structure.
This guide to building a business ecommerce site is by Clarity Media Ltd
Quick Links
Researching the opportunity... Site strategy... Site structure... Interactivity... Ecommerce... Future proofing and updating... Creating content... Choosing images... Site build... Launch... Measuring success... Building traffic: free methods... Building traffic: paid methods... Onwards and upwards
Home page: building a business website guide
Quick Links
Researching the opportunity... Site strategy... Site structure... Interactivity... Ecommerce... Future proofing and updating... Creating content... Choosing images... Site build... Launch... Measuring success... Building traffic: free methods... Building traffic: paid methods... Onwards and upwards
Home page: building a business website guide
