You Are The Expert!

Web designers are the experts when it comes to your website.  You are the expert when it comes to your business.  This makes teamwork an essential part of your online success.  Before you turn over the web design process to the designer, you need to do some homework and have some important information ready for them.

A good place to start is determining the purpose of your website. You must have some type of goal in mind to get results.  Do you want an informational site to tell people about your products or services?  Do you want to sell something, or get sales leads?  There are many possibilities, write them down and prioritize them.  Knowing your goals will help the designer build the correct functionality into your website to get the results you need.

You also need to write a solid description of your products or services.  Be specific and include all of the details that describe your products or services.  Highlight what sets you apart from other businesses.  When appropriate, include prices.  This will help insure that your website represents you properly.



It is also important to determine what type of information visitors will be looking for when they visit your site.  Think of questions they may have and answer them.  Determine what information will be most important.  Make a list and prioritize your information.  The designer can use this list to determine which information needs to be on the home page and what will fit better on another page.

Like other marketing plans, you need to know your target market.  "Everyone" would be great, but narrow it down to a few specific groups.  Who are they?  What are their demographics? Write down as much information as you can.  Knowing your target market will help the designer create the appropriate theme (what your site looks like), proper wording, and functionality of the site.

What buzz words and phrases do people use when referring to your products or services?  Which of these words and phrases will a user likely type into the search box when looking for those services?  Brainstorm and make a list to give to your web designer.  These phrases will make a good starting point to determine which keywords and phrases should be used in the site’s code and in the site's content so that search engines can find you.

All of this information is invaluable to the designer.  Armed with your expert information, your web designer will be able to produce a site that will get the results you want.