A web site plan is vital not only to ensure it will be an asset for your business, but to manage the process of who is doing what and in what order. Building a website without a plan is like going on a trip without a road map or a GPS. There is absolutely no guarantee where you will end up.
WHEN should you do your web site plan?
It should be the FIRST thing.
Most people create a web site first and then fit it to their business needs. They think of a web site as a 'stand alone' item - but it is anything but. You would not go and buy lounge furniture without considering how big your lounge is, what colour your walls/floor coverings are, and how many people you want it to seat.
Buying/building a website is no different. It must fit both your needs and the needs of your potential customers to be successful.
Whoever said 'Build it and they will come' was not talking about websites!
These are just some of the things you need to think about before you start.
1)Exactly what you want your web site to do. Do you just providing information, or do you want to sell something, or do you want to collect leads. Or a combination of the three? You need to consider how to integrate your website into their overall business strategy.
2)What you want and what you don't want. It is important that you have a "shopping list" of wants and needs before you even start looking at a building platform. If you start without this you can end up with an expensive disaster!
When you start make sure:
1)You have a plan that both you and your web builder understand. Lack of communication is one of the most common issues between customers and web builders. Web builder and business owners come from different points of view with different understandings and experience. Even if you are building the web site yourself you need a PLAN to avoid an EXPENSIVE DISASTER.
2)You understand how you are going to manage your web site build. Who is going to do what and by when?. What are the costs at each stage? Where are the critical points? Don"t risk an expensive and unpleasant surprise.
So why should YOU do your web site plan?
Only YOU know your business, and your web builder is not a mind reader.
And if you don"t? I GUARANTEE you will be changing your web site within weeks if not days. You will have thought of new and different things and you and your web builder will have stopped talking to each other.....