5 Important Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Website Project

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Weather you have just started a business or has been killing it for years, there comes a time when you realize that YOU NEED A WEBSITE! Before you call someone, here are 5 Important Questions to Ask Before Starting Your Website Project.

1 Why Do You Need a Website?

Know what you are selling

First things first, you absolutely need to know what you are selling. Even if you do not have any physical products, everyone is always selling something whether it is knowledge, yourself or jokes. Notable bloggers can earn thousands a month from ad placements alone.

It is best to know what you are selling so you designer can put it into a package that looks great for your potential buyers.

Know the Value a website brings to your business

Today we live in a time that we call the information age. Almost any information we would like to possess is right in the palm of our hands or within the reach of your voice with digital assistants.

Why wouldn’t you want your business to be so easily accessible? Accessibility is the reason why it is now vital to have a professional website. Because gone are the days of people ‘looking you up’ those 40-pound phone books. As Nicole Leinbach-Reyhle wrote for Forbes, “no website means losing business”.

Simply put, having a well-designed online business is priceless because you’ll end up making 10 fold what you paid for it, if it’s done right.

Remember to always hire someone who knows about user interface, user experience and search engine optimization to build your website (So you can be found in searches, and trusted when found). If you use a website builder and do it yourself or just hire someone inexperienced, you will be wasting your money.

2 Who’s Your Target?

Do you know your potential customer? Try to envision what they would look like. Do you know what he or she likes? Do you know your target audience? What age range are you targeting?

These questions are good to know when a designer is trying to build a website for them. That’s right! The website you want so badly isn’t actually for you, it’s for your potential customers.

Before you start the search for a web agency, one thing you should know, they’re all not created equally. Some are great at building eCommerce websites, others are more suited for building blogs.

You should already know exactly what you are trying to accomplish beforehand. Digital agencies and more so your pocketbook hate scope creep. Knowing your target goals will keep you from add more things after your design team has started building.

3 Are You Ready for a Website?

Yes, you should be asking yourself this question. Before calling that design agency there are few things you should have in place beforehand. Your company should have a professional high quality logo, color and style guide.

Sure design agencies can make these for you no problem. Some will do it free with your order, while others will charge an additional fee. If you do not have a style guide, the design agency will have to create one before they design your website to ensure brand cohesiveness.

Are you financially ready? Going the cheap or free route to get a website isn’t recommended, AT ALL. Sure, you can get a do it yourself website builder for next to nothing, but over time, you will see why they are free. You probably will not sell a thing.

Which defeats the whole purpose of a website in the first place. Save some money up and hire a professional. Do not let the price intimidate you, most agencies offer flexible payment plans. In addition, whatever you invest in your online business, you will get back.

4 Are You a Professional?

Okay don’t take this the wrong way. But I’m sure you consider yourself a pro at what you do. You may have went to college or studied for years to get to the point where you have enough knowledge to start your own business.

You may have done countless hours of research and now you’re considered a ‘go to’ person in your field. That is probably why you’re considering getting a website. You also should also understand that web designers and developers are also professionals.

For example, say you are the owner of a law firm and has been practicing for a number of years. You would not want someone who does not know a lick about the law to tell you how to be a lawyer.

If you hired a professional, chances are they put a lot of research into how to design your layout or color of a particular element. For best results, trust whatever professional you decided to hire and let the designers design. You will be glad you did in the long run.

5 Are You Ready for What Comes After?

Now you have a website and it is amazing! However, do not become complacent with your new work of art. Things are always changing in the technology field. For example, one month you may be getting thousands of visits from search engine referrals, then the next month nothing.

This is because every so often Google’s SEO ranking factors are updated. Those who do not keep up with their search engine optimization usually cannot be found in a Google search. This is why monthly maintenance (if not weekly) and upkeep is very important.

You should also come up with a plan to keep your website content fresh. Try connecting with social media and blogging about your expertise and over time, your search engine referral traffic will increase. As your traffic increase, you could even generate extra income from your blog by incorporating Google AdSense ads to your pages.

Now that you have asked yourself these questions, you should be prepared to deal with design agencies. I hope that this post would make the process a little less painful for you.