9 key questions when developing your new website

– Positioning can tell you a lot about all aspects of your website. We always frame positioning as a story, and this story narrates how you interact with your customers and relations, and thus, about your website too! We recently wrote about: The meaning and definitions of positioning & Distinctive positioning in 7 steps.

2. Purpose – Are you looking to sell through a webshop, attract new prospects, or engage with your current customers? Perhaps you aim to solely inform? These questions largely dictate what your website will look like. Our advice is to clearly determine, possibly with your sales department, what role the website should play in the sales process.

3. CMS / Programming Language – In the past, websites were designed and then made ‘web-ready’. Nowadays, nearly all websites operate from a database, and the same data could be used for two totally different-looking websites. The system in between is called a Content Management System (CMS). We strongly recommend using one of the more popular CMS systems, making you less dependent on your provider, as only a few websites in the world need custom-made systems. We, for instance, prefer WordPress.

4. Design – You can think of the design as the shell of your website. A shell that wraps around your database and CMS. The design ensures that your visitors view all data in a recognizable and clear manner. Essential in design is recognizability. Leave radical expressions to the designer; they only confuse your visitors. Use a clear navigation structure and ensure that all essential information is accessible within 2 clicks. Choosing a good CMS allows you to easily (and for significantly lower costs) change designs without having to redo everything else.

5. Lifespan – How long should the website last? If you chose a good CMS, the question is rather how long your design will last, as the database will still be excellently usable in the CMS version 5 years from now.

6. License (Costs) – Ensure that you won’t have to pay expensive licensing fees for the CMS or used software after a year. Open-source software often provides a (better!) alternative in almost all cases.

7. Accessibility and Learning Curve for Maintenance – How easy is it to make adjustments in the CMS yourself? How simple is it for the receptionist to add a contact person? If you take this into account from the start, development might cost a bit more, but you can be sure to avoid unnecessary and costly maintenance bills.

8. Target Audience – Who will be your visitor? Often, these are your customers or prospects, so take the time to research what characterizes them, how they use sites and applications. Then tailor everything you do to this group. Companies often get fixated on visitor numbers and forget the primary purpose their website must serve; assisting with sales!

9. Expansion Possibilities – Facebook wasn’t larger than Hyves until less than 2 years ago, so the chance that a new website or application becomes hot in 3 years is 100%! Therefore, ensure you won’t have to dig deep into your pockets to use this new application. Within open-source systems, these services are often integrated first, but a commercial CMS might have very different interests!

While there are many more considerations, addressing these 9 topics ensures your website will have the functionality and lifespan you desire.