Enthusiasm does not replace a lack of preparation. The purpose, business model, target market and competitive strategies should be determined even before you draw the blueprint of your website.

Purpose: what is the site for?

• What are your business and personal objectives?

• What type of business model should you choose?

• Transactions
  • sell your own products
  • sell other business products (reseller)
• Information publishing
  • offer information to share knowledge
  • provide information to attract traffic and generate income through sponsorship, advertising, subscriptions, memberships, affiliates
• Directory, index
• Vanity site: online presence only
• Any combination of above models

Target market: who is it for?

• Who will be your visitors? Draw a profile (eg age, gender, lifestyle, culture).
• Will you attract new visitors or existing customers
• Will your audience be local or global?
• How competent are your potential visitors with online technology (ability to navigate)?
• Are you looking for qualified leads or the greatest number of visitors?

Competition: how do you compare?

• What differentiates you from the other million websites: originality, customer service, price, product?
• What does your competitor's website look like?
• Why would people buy from you? What's your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
• What are your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)?

Content: how will you communicate your message?

• What information and how much should you provide? How much does your audience knows about your business?
• How many sections? On what basis  (eg type of audience, product) will you categorise your information?
• How will your audience take action (eg enrolment, feedback, contact or order form)?
• Do you need visuals?

Other planning considerations

• Your budget
• Your type of products and services.
• Your human resources
• Traffic size expected
• Administrative implications.

Marketing Cues tip
It is much better to create a small, concise and focused site than a large one where web users can lose interest and purpose.

© 2003 Henriette Martel-Lawson

Henriette Martel-Lawson is a website strategist and author of 200 Marketing Ideas for Your Website. Receive a free ebook when you subscribe to WEBmarketingcues, a free and valuable newsletter with articles, reviews and resources to help you market your own website. http://www.marketingcues.com

--------------

You can reproduced this article in your magazine or newsletter so long as it is reprinted in full (no editing) to the above line. It should contain authorship and copyright information as well as the URL. Send me an email to let me know where it was reprinted.