3 Steps to Planning a New Website [VIDEO]

How to stop stalling (and start building) a unique, memorable, and engaging brand experience online

In my 20 years as a web designer, I can tell you without a doubt that the majority of website builds get held up in the approach… not the approval process, not the actual time it takes to code or design pages… but in Step ZERO: the stuff you need before you can even begin to begin.

Stuff like…

• page writing & gathering testimonials
• having the right logo on hand, and
• knowing what actions you want your website visitors to take

Whether you are using one of the many online website tools to DIY a website, or are in search of a reliable website design company to take this time-consuming responsibility off your plate, there are three steps necessary in the planning phase of every website that will make your building project less overwhelming and allow for the website to become a marketing tool – not just a “never finished” business card.

The 3-steps to planning a website are:

1. Prepping your Brand Assets
2. Creating a Content Outline
3. Selecting Call to Actions

These are the exact asset that I gather and/or create for every single one of my new website builds, regardless of size or budget. I can’t start without them.

The problem with traditional website design

Traditionally, website developers follow a rigid process for redesigns and new builds. Unfortunately, the formal “website design process” throttles creativity, creates unnecessary work, and in the end – doesn’t allow for marketing to be in a place of consistent growth.

What is the traditional website design process?

The traditional website design process that most agencies have been using since… well… the internet got real for so many of us… starts with a discovery phase, where the marketing professional gathers information about the customer’s business, goals, and target audience. From there, the process is usually handed off to a developer and/or designer, who then plans out the architecture of the website. This includes deciding on what type of CMS (content management system) will be used… like, WordPress vs Wix… how many pages need to be built, and which functionalities are required. A designer or developer/designer creates a look and feel – creating mockups or wireframes that show how each page should look. Once these have been approved by the customer, it’s time for development – coding up all the designs and making sure they work properly across different browsers and platforms. Finally, once everything is working correctly in terms of functionality and aesthetics, the website is launched.

And that’s it! The website is launched onto a live domain and then sits there for like 2 years until the technology is outdated, and has to be redesigned …ALL OVER AGAIN…

The process may sound reasonable, but it’s actually a recipe for a very expensive failure. Here’s why:

• There are no steps for testing or optimizing the user’s experience until after the work is done and paid for
• There are no plans for attribution or conversation testing, so its like throwing spaghetti at a half-wet wall
• The process and official wireframes become the priority over creativity or true strategy
• The project is going to lack cohesion if their are too many cooks in the kitchen… the marketer, developer and designer are going to need a really well-defined process to communicate properly and make the project sing
• the project timeline gets bloated and drawn out by meetings about meetings, back-and-forth emails and procrastinated or delayed approvals

All the work, none of the testing

This conventional website process reminds me of the waterfall method of project management. (#killmenow #amiright?) Which is a zero-learning environment. Like any project, creativity needs breathing room to be successful: 1) get air to live, and 2) learn and make changes quickly. Not to go down this rabbit hole, but that’s why the scrum method is so effective for so many bootstrappers, startups and even multi-billion dollar entrepreneurs.

So, in the voice of Pedro Pascal…

This is the way:

1. make micro-goals
2. start lean
3. test quickly
4. start over with micro-goals

There is a reason why “goal-sprint-sprint-goal” is superior to “goal-marathon-end.”

One offers a 50/50% chance of failure. The other allows for micro-wins over time until the goal is achieved.

#HaveIConvincedYouYet?

Ok, good. Let’s get started.

• Part One: Prepping Your Brand Assets
• Part Two: Creating a Content Outline
• Part Three: Selecting Call to Actions (coming shortly)