Your Website: Ask Better Questions for Better Outcomes

The most important step in developing a website is planning.  ‘We need a website because our competitor has just updated theirs’ simply won’t cut it, and will be a waste of your time and resources. 

You need to ask questions such as:

• How can my website help in the sales process?
• 
Can it decrease our lead time for product or service delivery?

• Can our existing database be linked to work with the website to reduce admin work?
• What role will the website play with 
our sales or marketing program?
• How can we reflect our brand values?
• 
Can our site work to gather and manage leads, and work in with our existing customer relationship management (CRM) software?

• How often will my website need to be updated, and who will execute this?

• What do I need in my 12 month content strategy to ensure my site remains relevant?

• Do I really know what information my customers need and want?

From asking better questions, you'll be able to make decisions that will help you deliver a useful tool that should be helping you to reduce costs, increase leads and build value.

You've probably heard the term 'web 2.0'.  Basically it's referring to a general shift in thinking around website creation and management. 

When you boil it down it means that companies are now focusing on what their audience wants from their website, not what the company thinks they should have. 

Essentially they're starting to ask better questions.

© Hamish Chadwick, Image Substation 2009