Developing or updating a website should be taken as an opportunity to provide for those people you are aiming to attract to the site.
We’ve recently helped two clients review their websites before an upgrade. We worked with the Rural Housing Network to research and develop a brief – you can visit the website here.
This article summarises what should be considered when planning a new website or an upgrade.
Websites have four main components:
a. Functionality: how users interact with a website
b. Structure: navigation and logic, the way pages link
c. Design: colors, image/brand, page layout
d. Content: words, images, video, audio
Understanding how your stakeholders use your website, what information they are looking for and how they like to consume that information, should be your starting point.
If you have an existing website, then Google Analytics data will reveal the answers to these and many more questions, such as:
What are the key words your customers use to find your site?
Which pages are the most popular and how do visitors move through the site?
What sort of device are they using to access your site?
If you are building your first website, we advise you to consult your key stakeholder groups on the above questions. Find out as much as you can about them.
A good place to start is by asking those people who interact with your customers every day – your staff.
They will know the answers to question like:
What do your stakeholders want to do on your website?
What are their skill levels?
Do they use social media?
This information can be compiled into a brief for a web developer.
It will help shape not only the site logic but also the page layout and key design elements.
The content is also informed by this research and while there is a move away from lots of information on pages, there needs to be sufficient, meaningful text on each page for you to take advantage of organic search engine rankings.
If you would like help reviewing your website, give us a call.
(The Rural Housing Network website was designed and developed by WWWART Design Services.)