Sooner or later, every business needs a website. In reality, the sooner the better. But…where should you start?
Website projects can be daunting—especially if this is your first time. There are plenty of never-ending “best practices” from people you’ve never heard of and free opinions from everyone else.
Don’t worry—there’s a better way. You don’t need to “fake it till you make it.” All you need is a simple plan! Invest in these key steps to prep your website project beforehand, and you’ll avoid the stress of confusion and missed deadlines.
When designed well, it communicates your business and mission directly to the right customers. And, it leads them along the path of building a long-term relationship with you. Everything about your site must work in sync to reflect your brand accurately.
Graphics. Professional photos. Written content. UX structure. Fonts. Colors. Hosting. Site speed. Searchability. Automation. These aspects of website design work together to reflect your business online. That all sounds a little bit overwhelming.
Don’t despair! You don’t need all the answers right now. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you work through the right questions and create momentum behind your website project.
Here’s the quick list:
Here are 9 things you should prepare before kicking off your web design project:
1. Solidify your mission.
Always go back and re-focus on your mission. Why do you exist and what problem does your business solve for customers? What drives you to keep moving forward, showing up, improving your skills, and providing the solution you do?
Here’s a quick outline I recommend:
My product is for people who believe __________.
I will focus on people who want __________.
I promise that engaging with what I make will help you get __________.
Seth Godin (This is Marketing)
2. Clarify your ideal customer.
Create a basic outline of who your ideal customer is. A great way to do this quickly is to make a list of your top 10 favorite customers. Then, pick one (or two) and build a quick profile that will help your web designer and content writer communicate hit their targets.
- Demographics – gender, age range, location, career/job info, education level
- Communication – What are their preferred communication platforms? Do they prefer phone calls, texts, emails, social media, or online chat when they want to connect?
- Technology – How tech-savvy are they? What types of websites do they usually visit each week?
- Wants & needs – What problem do they have, that your offering promises to solve? What are their fears and dreams—at the root level? What pain points are they on a mission to avoid?
- Habits & assumptions – What does your ideal customer expect when they consider doing business with you? What do they love about your product or service now, that keeps them coming back? What built-in habits do they have that might connect with your product or service?
Get obsessive about understanding your ideal customer. Know what makes them tick and find out the best solutions you can provide for their problem.
The day you stop losing sleep about your own success and start losing sleep over your customers’ success is the day your business will start growing again.
Donald Miller (Marketing Made Simple)
3. Prioritize products and services.
Whether you sell hundreds of products or only provide one service, you want to be ready to communicate what you do and who it’s for quickly. Remember that simple marketing promise from Seth Godin? That will guide your steps here.
Your homepage and SEO rankings will thank you for your efforts at direct simplicity. Any web designer with some marketing ability will want to know your focused “elevator pitch”, or “simple marketing promise.” Are you a bike shop in Atlanta? There is no reason to discuss every type of apparel and component you sell on your homepage. Stay simple and focus on describing yourself in ways that communicate well with customers.
4. Map your customer journey.
What steps should your customers take, from first hearing about your offering to becoming loyal customers? What are the touchpoints? Make sure you know the holes in your marketing funnel and start working on some ideas to smooth out the transition.
Are people aware that they have the problem you solve?
Or, do you need to educate customers before they’re ready to buy?
Connect with your ideal customer by showing that you understand where they are. Using your website copy to create solidarity with potential customers is the superpower of effective small businesses.
…Pretty websites don’t sell things. Words sell things.
Donald Miller (Building a Storybrand)
5. Review your current marketing stats.
It’s important to know where you stand right now, so you can set the right goals moving forward. After all, your web designer should be able to show your ROI in ways that meet those goals.
Here are a few of the basic numbers you’ll want to have handy:
- Website stats (Google Analytics) – Number of visitors, returning visitors, bounce rate, and top pages will all be helpful for you.
- Sales & revenue stats – At the end of the day, sales keep the doors open. Marketing investments should eventually reflect a return here!
- Incoming leads – These are your leading indicators of new sales. Set up a basic spreadsheet and start tracking where your leads come from, and how many convert into paying customers. You won’t regret it!
6. Decide what measurables you will watch to meet your marketing goals.
What are your primary goals heading into this new website project? Are they SMART (specific, measurable, relevant, and time-based)?
- “What will success look like on the other side of this project?”
- “What would cause this project to be considered a failure?”
Make certain your big-picture goals are clear with all the key players in your business. Then, decide which measurable data points will best reveal the project’s success or failure. Know what you want success to look like!
Dig in and have these conversations with your team before approaching any web designers or agencies. Then, you’ll be able to start those conversations confident that you’re on the right track. And, your designer will better understand the goals you’re aiming for.
Establishing clear goals in the onset might be the number one step the best small businesses take to help their web design projects succeed.
7. Organize your technical log-in info.
Another effective step to set your website project up for success is to organize your info and enable clear communication. Bad (or slow) communication is often the biggest gripe from web design freelancers and agencies.
If you fall one day behind finding your WordPress log-in info, then expect it to knock an extra 2-3 days to the publishing deadline. Thankfully, this account information is probably easy to find (ahead of time). Even if you never hire a designer to help out, it will help you troubleshoot any issues that come up! At the very least, you’ll take the first step to save time by delegating the time-consuming technical stuff to someone else.
Gather and record your login for these accounts in a simple list. Your web designer will be impressed!
- Google Analytics
- Email marketing tool (ConvertKit, Mailchimp, etc.)
- Survey tool (Typeform, Survey Monkey, etc.)
- Hosting account (Flywheel, Bluehost, WP Engine, etc.)
- Current website platform (WordPress, etc.)
- Online payment tools you want to connect (Stripe, Paypal, Square, etc.)
- Product manufacturer accounts that might provide helpful resources, etc.
- Social Media accounts
8. Gather inspiration examples.
Do you ever feel like you and a web designer are talking on different wavelengths? That’s a normal situation, don’t apologize for it!
The best way to avoid confusion around design goals is to create a small folder of inspiration websites. Make a few bullet point notes on your favorite websites as a way to prepare for future discussions with your designer. Be ready to explain what you like, and why, about each one.
Are you wanting to build a new online store? Save links on three of your favorite examples. Looking to build up your blog and resource content? Grab two or three sites (in any industry) that reach and engage their audience well.
It’s okay to provide a website for inspiration even if you don’t love everything about it. Be ready to explain why you’re providing the example. Countless details need to work together to help your website resonate with your target audience. Website design, site flow, written content, photos, videos, colors, and unique technical features.
The goal for your site is to make all of these details work together and create a seamless experience for your ideal customer.
Some questions to consider:
- What are the current standards and trends in your industry?
- What types of sites are your people used to visiting?
- What are some examples of where you want your site to be in 3 years?
- What do you like about each site? What resonates with you and draws you in to engage their content?
9. Gather your content.
You and your business are overflowing with content—the problem is no one has trained you to nurture a mindset of capturing content on the fly.
There might not be a hundred blogs or videos on your MacBook, but you speak with customers every day. You know what stories and conversations light up their eyes in conversations about your offering. Write those on a simple document so you can pass it off to your content writer when the time comes.
You’ve got some valuable pieces of content your web designer will need. Set them up with content that reflects your brand promise, your product offering, and your target customer.
Prep a folder of these content assets below, and hand it off to your web designer and content writer when the right time comes.
- Photos
- Graphic design, colors, or fonts (if you’ve walked through a design process before).
- Product info
- List of products and services you provide
- Photos
- Any descriptions or detailed bullet points that might be helpful
- Pricing, payment, shipping info
- Testimonial quotes
- Questions, ideas, requests, feedback from customers
- Your story – History, mission, vision of where you’re headed with your customers, and how you plan to take them there.
- FAQs – Frequently asked questions (with answers) from customers and potential customers.
Don’t worry about refining all the details right now. Your goal is simply to organize your best content in a basic folder so that you can:
- Shave time off your web design project.
- Give your web designer enough info so that he or she can hit the right target.
Focus on the right questions.
Sometimes, asking the right questions is more important than having all the answers. It’s your job to ask yourself (and your team) the right questions.
These 9 steps will send you well on your way toward hitting a home run on your new website project. In a way, this is spring training to prepare you for the big game. Then, you’ll need to make sure your web designer can ask similar, marketing-driven questions. Make sure he or she knows you’re not just looking for some pretty wall paint on your website. That will get you nowhere—fast!
I hope you’ve found this article helpful. Please leave any ideas or questions you have in the comments below. I’d love to hear about your previous experiences or any upcoming projects in the works!
Click the link below to schedule a day for us to review your site together. You’ll finish the process with a video recording of the review, and a comprehensive document with a few quick-win recommendations.
