5 Key Questions to Ask Yourself Before Beginning Your Web Design
There are many different stages of the web design process, and the end product can often look very different from the original concept. You can save yourself time and potentially money though if you carefully consider what you want to achieve and what the best way of doing so is BEFORE the physical design and coding process is actually started. Here are five key questions to ask right at the start, to ensure that your site design proceeds along the right lines.
1 – Who are our core demographic and what do they like?
Whether it’s a print ad, a television advert or a website, every successful marketing campaign is begun with a specific audience in mind. It’s worth spending a little extra time getting to know your target demographic so you can really nail down what they like and how best to implement that into your website.
2 – What colours and visual styles best represent our brand?
If you’ve already developed your brand well in the ‘offline’ world then this question should already be answered for you (with perhaps a few modifications). If on the other hand you’re an online start-up then you should pay close attention to the visual styles and colours you employ and the way that these might affect how your brand is perceived.
3 – What is the overall purpose of the website?
A website is a doing thing, and so it should be designed with its purpose firmly in mind. If you’re selling physical products then what features can you utilise to make them easier to find and purchase? If your website is simply a showcase for your services in the real world, then what methods will best demonstrate these?
4 – What is our SEO strategy (now and for the future)?
Search engine optimisation is a process that involves both your actual website design and the content you put on it. It therefore makes sense to consider what your keywords and strategies are during the initial design process.
5 – What are our competitors doing with their web designs?
No website is an island, and it’s important to know what your direct competitors are doing. Firstly so you can avoid doing anything that appears to be too similar, and conversely so you can get an idea of what styles are currently in fashion and what is already working elsewhere.
