Preparing a Website Development Plan—You have an excellent idea for a new website. So what’s next? Write a plan! You must prepare a summary with detailed requirements for your new website.
A written web development plan will help you find the best company that meets all your needs and budget. One of the most critical aspects of your Website Development Plan is to help you determine the development cost.
Without a well-defined plan and knowing key questions to ask, you may fall into the trap of having your web vendor overpromise and underdeliver. Here are some steps to create a solid plan and ensure your web designer clearly understands what needs to be done.
Summarize Your Website Concept
Describe what purpose your website serves.
1. Is it an eCommerce site, social networking site, web directory, business blog, or another type of website?
2. Summarize your idea/ For example: ‘This will be a new eCommerce website design that will provide designer umbrellas. My target demographic will be women aged 20 to 40 years.
Before you get too carried away, create a MUST-HAVE LIST of website items and a WISH LIST. Your ‘must-have list’ should contain the basic requirements for your new website.
Your ‘wish list’ will be all the bells and whistles you want as your budget allows or your website scales.
Describe How Your Website Works
Describe how your website works. Outline the functions of your website from a user’s point of view. Describe the flow as if someone is visiting your website for the first time. See some sample descriptions below.
Ecommerce Website Development
Shoppers will browse our website’s single main category for umbrellas. Initially, there will be ten different designer patterns, and we will provide photos for each of them. of them
On the detailed product page, users can select from different sizes and designs. A typical details page will contain the following:
(Main photo and gallery photos)
Product Name:
Description:
Size and Designer Pattern:
Cost:
Comment Area
Coupon Website Design
Explain how the website will work in detail.
1. Is it a digital coupon website?
2. Can the coupons be printed?
3. Who creates the coupon art?
4. Can you or the client change the coupon value?
5. When does the coupon expire?
6. Who uploads the coupon?
7. How is your website categorized for the coupons?
8. What cities, regions, or states will you serve?
Video-Sharing Site Design
Explain how the website will work in detail.
1. Who can upload a video on the website?
2. What is your maximum file size allowed?
3. Will you display videos on your website?
4. Can people comment on videos?
5. Can members upload or embed videos from 3rd party websites such as YouTube?
Real Estate Website Design
Explain how the website will work in detail. List out all the things you want to incorporate.
1. Do you want to have an advanced search function for properties?
2. Will you want to show Google Maps or other maps?
3. Will you want a BlackBerry, iPhone, or Android application that sends listing alerts to subscriber users?
4. Do you want to integrate your local MLS feed?
5. Do you have the developer information for your MLS data feed?
Association Website Design
Explain in detail how the association website will function, incorporating all the things you want to include.
1. Do you want to have an advanced planning calendar?
2. Do you want to share, post, and notification features for your calendar?
3. Will you want to have event sign-ups?
4. Will you take payments for events?
5. Do you want to post surveys or online tests for certifications?
6. Can a user stop in the middle of the testing application, log back in, and resume where they left off?
7. Will you want to track testing results?
8. Will you offer any printable certificates if they complete the testing?
NOTE: To outline your website in detail, it would be helpful to create a box diagram or PowerPoint presentation for each of your website pages.
Website Navigation
Consider the other pages you would like to include on your website and provide a rough outline for them—for example, “Our Company,” “Customer Inquiries,” “Shipping & Returns,” and “Terms of Use.” On the other hand, you may want to consider using a mega menu navigation.
Consider other websites for ideas on pages or navigation elements you may want to incorporate into your new website. If you have sub-pages or sub-navigation that are part of your global or main navigation, then create a bulleted list as follows:
Our Company
Meet the Executive Team
Our Core Values
Professional Certifications
Our Associates
E-commerce, Advertising, and Other Monetary Concerns
If you have an eCommerce website, you will profit from the products sold. But it would help if you also asked yourself these questions:
1. Will you advertise or display other ads, such as Google Ads?
2. If you have advertising, will you manage the advertising sign-ups manually, or will you want to automate this process?
3. If you automate advertising sign-up, how in-depth a sign-up and management process will you want to offer?
NOTE: For any website that processes credit card information or collects sensitive personal information, such as a loan application website, ensure your web hosting provider offers an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or HTTPS.
Processing Credit Cards Online
Merchant gateways are secure online systems that process credit cards, e-checks, and other transactions. Two popular merchant gateways are Authorize.net and PayPal Merchant, but there are many others.
The average cost for a merchant gateway is approximately $30.00 per month, regardless of the current percentage cost agreement with the major credit card companies. PayPal offers a no-monthly fee, cut-and-paste eCommerce solution for simple eCommerce websites for online product purchases.
Email Replies and Online Communication
Consider the complete process of selecting any sign-up or purchase features. Does a customer or member get any confirmation emails?
Consider how your emails will appear to your customers. If you have an advertising module, will you want to email advertisers 30 days, 15 days, or five days before their ads expire? Will you offer auto-renewal billed to their credit card?
Webmaster Administrative Control
The administrative part of your website is where you manage the various components of your website. If you allow comments, not everyone will play nicely with others.
Would you like to reserve the right to remove inappropriate language? Think about these types of functionalities you require as the top-level administrator of your website.
Search Engine Optimization
You will want to create a list of SEO search phrases for your website. For example, if you have a website selling extra-large cowboy boots for men, make a search phrase or ‘keyword list’.
– Extra-large cowboy boots for men
– X Large cowboy boots for men
– Big-size cowboy boots for men
– Cowboy boots for big men and so on.
If you were selling cakes locally, then you might create a keyword to include your state and city/county as follows:
– Wedding cakes, bridal cakes, Reno, NV
– Wedding shower cakes, Las Vegas, NV, and so on…
Logo and Domain Name
1. Do you have a logo?
2. Have you decided on a website domain name?
3. Have you decided on the look and feel of your new website?
4. It helps you browse the web and send any websites you like to your designer so they have a creative ‘jumping-off point.
Web Copy, Photography, and Video
Do you have website content, photos, or video? The most important of these is your website copy. Yes, people read content on websites. And if your copy reads like an 8th-grade summer report, it will reflect poorly on your business.
Even if you have mastered comma punctuation with conjunctive adverbs in simple sentences, you may not be able to capture the breadth and scope of your business as much as a professional copywriter can.
A skilled copywriter who understands websites can craft informative copy and help you achieve higher search engine rankings. Even if you are using ChatGPT for copy, be sure to perform a grammar check.
Nothing looked worse than a biography photo taken in the office, which often resembled a mug shot. The same goes for video. Most do-it-yourself videos have that grainy ‘bank security look.’
Buyer Beware
Your contractor should educate you on existing applications that can be customized to fit your needs. These include DotNetNuke, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, and Magento.
Sometimes, using third-party software applications in your website development makes perfect sense versus custom programming written from scratch. Depending on your programming needs, third-party applications can help reduce costs.
Doing Your Homework Pays Off
NOTE: Ask your web designer if they have experience programming multiple applications. If they sell you on one particular software, ask if they have the programming experience to modify or customize the software to fit your specific needs—case in point.
Joomla software has one super admin login. Let’s assume you are a business owner selling computers on your website. You want to give your employees login access to the website for customer inquiries, but not the entire website.
Plan, Plan, and Plan Some More
Even the best technical plan is going to miss some points. Our web developers will assist you with your requirements questions to help you fine-tune your planning precisely. Now, you can move forward with the confidence that you have performed your digital due diligence!
ABOUT VISIONEFX
VISIONEF is a professional web design agency that strives for excellence. Our best-in-class web development team crafts a complete online branding and a unique digital experience for your custom website.
Please take a moment to read our Google Reviews. See what our customers have to say about VISIONEFX.
For more information about our website services, please get in touch with us at 757-619-6456 or visit us online.
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