When designing a website contents, we must consider always the following key elements:
- the purpose of the site,
- the possible audience,
- content and layout of the content within a structure.
The Purpose of the Site
Remember throughout planning a website, that people searching the web are almost always looking to satisfy a need.
They sat down to solve their problem , its a problem they need solving. Help them get a satisfactory answer and they will like you and do well.
Of course, the seriousness of their problem may range from something essential to their normal life, to something purely inconsequential.It might just be to help them kill some time by giving them entertainment.
Whatever it is they set out to achieve, you will do well if your website makes them, at the same time, feel better about themselves.
Write down and keep firmly in your mind the main problem which your site will aim to solve for your visitors. That is why a website is needed. That is why you website will exist, and it will only prosper, if your is good at solving your visitor’s problem.
Condense the problem to be solved into a short statement or “tagline”, and keep it in mind.
We suggest that it also should be used as a sub-heading below your site title to inform your visitors of the site’s purpose.
Make sure, when planning a website, that combination of a header, and a the title text, gives your visitor a pretty good idea of what they can get from the site, as they arrive.
That will help keep them from clicking away almost immediately.
This will help you to focus on a proper outline of what components parts the website will need, and how it can be broken down and modified over time should the need arise. Thus, keeping a long term objective in mind.
The potential audience,
In terms of audience, one should keep in mind the people who will be visiting the website. Basically, what should be considered is the target market. People will be viewing the site for different reasons and you as the designer should know what those reasons are, and make judgements about whether they are attractive enough to have them return to the site often.
Knowing the likes and dislikes of your target audience will be useful in designing the look and feel of the site while planning a website.
Content and layout of the content within a structure
Choose a web site subject for which you have a passion if at all possible. It will help you with the making of the content of the site.
Content is without a doubt the most time-consuming demand on your time and resources as a web site creator, when creating any website. So it really helps if you have a liking for the subject matter.
If the content isn’t very important to you, then the site may lack authority when built.
A lot of planning a website is required on this, because users of the web are almost always looking for information, and they will only take note when you convince them that you are offering information which they can rely on. Provide this and it will be the biggest pull for visitors you can wish for.
Also, over-time your website content will need updating. If someone writes the content initially for you, that is fine, but a working knowledge from you will be equally important later to update areas, for example on technical sites when products become obsolete and new models replace them.
The information on most sites will change every now and then, and unlike a book, which people accept once published won’t be renewed until there is a new edition, they and also the best search engines, like Google, lose interest in a site quickly if it isn’t updated regularly, and doesn’t clearly show that it is a live and current site.
People routinely purchase a lot of items online now and getting web site to look up to date, topical, and authoritative is essential to give them the confidence they will need in the professional quality and integrity of the website. A professional-looking regularly updated website will ensure that you will get more transactions and therefore lead to more sales and higher profitability.
That is the end of my video talk on planning a website today. Thank you for listening and i hope that you found it useful.
