5 crucial things to consider before creating your company website
So, the company is up and running, the core business is established, the key messages and differentiators are in place and you need to shout to the online world that you are here. If you are a start-up, you need to choose very carefully how to present your digital image in the long run. If you are a company with tradition, think about renewing the website to keep up to speed with modern times.
But then, ask yourself at least these 5 questions before hiring the web development team.
1. What do I want to do with my website?
Your objective will completely change the website’s structure and design, so that should be the first thing to establish. If you simply want to advertise your business and expect to gain awareness, then you probably need a presentation website. But if you want to sell products or services, the mindset should be totally different. Will you have a company blog, do you plan on writing or providing clients with online content? Your design and coding team will want to know that. So make sure the brief includes these communication needs and as much detail as possible about the level of importance the content or the selling part has in your entire business economy.
2. Do I want to manage the website myself, or hire professionals?
The desire to manage your content means that programmers need to set up an online platform that makes it easy enough to publish content at a click. That setup needs to make sure the initial design stays the same, while offering you all the tools to be creative and optimize for search engines. It will have a direct effect on the budget, as more coding hours are necessary and more project management and training is involved. But most of all, you need to decide whether or not you are willing to have that hassle.
3. Should I ask for an original design, or a web template?
That will depend on the available budget and your objective. If you are a startup, it’s probably not a good idea to invest in an expensive website that requires a design made from scratch. You will most likely need the money to invest in logistics, people and PR tactics. A nice, simple and efficient story about your innovative idea can be easily done on a responsive template, at first. You’ll have plenty of time to improve it later.
If your business is already set up and you have some money to invest, then you need to dress to impress. Your image will project confidence to potential clients and you won’t need to redo the entire website too soon.
4. If I don’t have the budget now, how much will it cost to redo it in the near future?
Don’t even think about the costs of hiring new web developers and a creative team of copywriters and web designers. Think about the cost of time and the effort you will have to put in to reorganize all the existing content and rearrange it to best suit a new, modern website. Think about the hours you’ll spend to approve the corporate image use, all over again, with a new team who’s not familiar with your business. Do it right and professional the first time and you can cut your future expenses in half.
5. How do I get people to visit it, once it goes live?
There are so many times that clients spend all their communication budgets on creating the website, that they neglect the most important part that comes after that. “Built it and they will come” doesn’t work in the online marketing world. Unless you and your digital team plan ahead to promote the web presence, everyone will be frustrated that no one visits and appreciates the effort you put in.
So think about a SEO campaign, social media ads, content writing and any other tactic to get people online and if your budget doesn’t cover the entire plan, it’s probably best not to even start your new website.
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