Step 1: Define Website Goals
Step one is to ask yourself what objectives must be achieved. For example, your goal could be to:
- Increase brand visibility and recognition
- Generate leads and convert them into customers
- Provide a platform for customers to interact with the company
- Educate customers on the company and its products/services
- Increase website traffic and user engagement
- Utilize the website for data collection and analysis
Outline Scope
The scope of the website should include all necessary elements to provide users with an informative and user-friendly experience. This can include, but is not limited to:
- Design: The design should be attractive and easy to navigate, with a clear hierarchy of pages and intuitive navigation.
- Content: The website should include content that is relevant to the purpose of the website and should be written professionally and engagingly.
- Functionality: The website should include all the necessary features and functions to ensure a positive user experience. This can include search capabilities, contact forms, payment processing, and social media integration.
- Optimization: The website should be optimized for all devices and browsers, with appropriate testing to ensure compatibility.
List the Website Structure
What pages will the website have? What navigation structure will it use? Write it all down before you start building!
Depending on the business your company is in, a website may include some or all of these pages:
- Homepage featuring an overview of the website and its content.
- Product or Services page for listing available products and services that you have to offer.
- About page or section introducing the business and its mission.
- Contact page or section for customers to connect with the business.
- Blog page or section for regularly updating content.
This is not a comprehensive list, so don’t worry if you have more or fewer pages depending on your project.
Establish a Timeline
When planning a software project, it’s important to think about how you want to deliver it. Whether you choose an agile or waterfall approach will affect the timeline and how tasks are tackled.
In an agile setting, things are more flexible, and you work in small chunks called “sprints.” The timeline may not be super specific and focuses more on big-picture milestones. It’s good to be open to changes as the project goes on.
Create a Task List
Generally speaking, each page follows the same set of tasks.
- Designing the page
- Writing copy/content for the page
- Developing the page
- Testing the page
- Deploying the page
Add these tasks to your preferred project management tool, making sure to account for each page of your website.
Prioritize Tasks
Identify the tasks that need to be completed first. Start with the most urgent tasks and work your way down the list.
Assign Tasks
Once the tasks have been identified and you have the resources, assign tasks to the team members. When assigning tasks, be sure to consider the skills and abilities of each team member to ensure that everyone can contribute to the success of the project.