Website Revamp/Creation: Some Important Strategic Questions

Very often when I get approached by the marketing or IT departments (personally, I do not think the IT department should front projects with marketing objectives to meet) of companies to revamp their >2 year old websites, their reason for this need - "it looks dated".

I'm pretty sure most people would be able to tell apart a website developed in 2003 from one developed in 2009. And it is true that having a more "modern" looking website with web 2.0 features would give the company a better image online.

However, while the aesthetic appeal of a website is important, your main reasons behind the initiative should not be just about looks. There are a lot of things that need to be thought out in detail before setting aside a budget to execute the revamp or the development of a brand new website.

Below is a list of some important questions to ask before you take the next step. Those I feel are more important are in bold.

Extract from Seth's Blog on "Things to ask before you redo your website"

• What is the goal of the site?
• In other words, when it's working great, what specific outcomes will occur?
• Who are we trying to please? If it's the boss, what does she want? Is impressing a certain kind of person important? Which kind?
• How many people on your team have to be involved? At what level?
• Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Our customers? A certain kind of prospect?
• What are the sites that this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with?
• Are we trying to close sales?
• Are we telling a story?
• Are we earning permission to follow up?
• Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
• Do we need people to spread the word using various social media tools?
• Are we building a tribe of people who will use the site to connect with each other?
• Do people find the site via word of mouth? Are they looking to answer a specific question?
• Is there ongoing news and updates that need to be presented to people?
• Is the site part of a larger suite of places online where people can find out about us, or is this our one sign post?
• Is that information high in bandwidth or just little bits of data?
• Do we want people to call us?
• How many times a month would we like people to come by? For how long?
• Who needs to update this site? How often?
• How often can we afford to overhaul this site?
• Does showing up in the search engines matter? If so, for what terms? At what cost? Will we be willing to compromise any of the things above in order to achieve this goal?
• Will the site need to be universally accessible? Do issues of disability or language or browser come into it?
• How much money do we have to spend? How much time?
• Does the organization understand that 'everything' is not an option?

Original blog post here.

After going through these questions with your team, you'd be able to provide your agency a more accurate set of requirements to meet, save time on unnecessary proposal revisions and finally, execute with a strategy with measurable results.