Define the Website
Defining the project is the first phase of web design that covers the gathering and analysing of all the necessary information, the scope and the direction of the project.
Your chosen web design company will start this phase by asking a lot of questions and gathering lots of data that will be used to shape and communicate what the expectations of the project are.
When defining the project, it is important that your web design company has an understanding of everything from budget to maintenance – if not, problems will arise further down the line.
What your web designer should be doing!
It is essential that your chosen web designer is gathering information. They should become an “expert user” in your business. They should understand the strategy behind the site and the target market.
1) Collecting & Analysing Surveys
You should have been given some form of questionnaire/list that contains concise and comprehensive questions that give you a chance to list your expectations of your new website. The collected data will be used and aid in understanding the website’s audience and goals.
2) Collect existing material/marketing literature
It is important for your new web designer to grasp how the business has marketed itself up to now to ensure the site fits into existing marketing material – the brand must remain consistent. If the budget is large enough, your web designer could look around your office, have a tour of your factory or visit an existing site to understand further.
3) Technical Survey
Once your web designer understands who the new website audience will be, they need to know what kind of site they are most familiar with. Important questions like the audience’s bandwidth or their technical ability must be thought about at this stage
4) Backend Requirements Gathering
You will know the basics of what you want the website to do, so it is the responsibility of your web design company to gather the technical/backend functionality that is needed. This may simply involve understanding what you want a content management system for, or could be more complex like gathering detailed e-commerce requirements.
5) Competitive Analysis
You know your industry better than your web designer, but they need to take time researching the websites of your competitors. The goal is to become an “expert customer” in your field, so they should visit multiple sites, perform different actions on the websites as well as noting down new functionality that you may not have thought about.
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