Question

Topic: Strategy

Website Development - Where Do I Start?

Posted by Anonymous on 6/13/2009 at 6:34 PM ET 250 Points
We have two pitiful websites for our company that need to revitialise. Starting from scratch is the only option as they are so bad.

Ideally they cater to market groups, trade & architectual/specifier markets. An online ordering component is required. Product and information search component. There are thousands of products of various technical information that needs to be provided.

Where do i start? What resources can I use to gather what I need? How do I present this to management? How can I cost this out?

Links to resources would be highly appreciated.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 6/13/2009 at 9:36 PM Accepted
    The direction you take depends on the resources you have (money, time, web development, etc.). Management will care about the ROI of the effort. So I suggest starting by accumulating analytics about your traffic today (Google Analytics is one such free service). That'll help to inform your results (what % of your visitors convert to customers, etc.).

    If you plan to regularly update the site yourself, you'd probably want to investigate CMS (Content Management Systems). Basically you hire someone to build the framework of the website (including graphics, color scheme, layout, etc.), and you're responsible for filling the website's content. CMS systems (Joomla, etc.) have many add-on modules that can no doubt address your needs. The software itself is free, but there are technical trade offs to using one CMS system over another.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 6/14/2009 at 2:52 AM Member
    one option is to have a consultant put together a Visio site map as the basis for an RFP document. You will still need to go through the discovery process and make some decisions. But at least you will have an independent document to help compare web development vendors.

    https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/visio/default.aspx

    hope this helps,

    Steve
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 6/14/2009 at 6:31 AM Member
    Dear burnsie_the_great,

    Where do you begin? Oddly enough, at the end.

    Your website isn't for you, it's for your prospects, clients, customers, and people you want to turn into clients and customers.

    So concentrate on creating a great first impression, ease of use, great content, and a compelling experience.

    Click this link: www.calltoactionbook.com and buy a copy of the book you find there. You'll thank me for this one day.

    Read said book. Learn.

    This might also help you avoid making certain mistakes:

    www.webpagesthatsuck.com

    Your website needs to be functional and easy to use. Navigation here is key. Don't rush it. Test it. Refine it. Ask for feedback from users.

    Ask users what they want. Then give it to them.

    I hope this helps.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA

    Follow me at www.twitter.com/GaryBloomer
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