Before you Begin and approach a website development agency, you will need to ask yourself 1 question.

Do I have a corporate brand identity?

If you’re even remotely considering a new brand identity (logo) in the next year or so, it is worthwhile resolving this dilemma, before developing a website. It is highly recommended that you have a logo that you are happy with, along with a style guide for use with online and print media agencies. If you don’t have a corporate identity, approach your media agency about packaging this into the overall cost. An effective brand should be recognisable throughout all forms of media.

Step 1 – Selecting a Supplier

Selecting a supplier is similar to selecting a builder for your house; it is not always advisable to go for the cheapest option. Some key points to look for:

• Portfolio
  Check the web agency’s website for their portfolio of recently built websites. A web development company that is proud of their work will willingly display their previous jobs on their website. Also, the agency’s website should be a reflection of the quality of their work.

• Testimonials & Case Studies
  Testimonials and Case Studies can help to determine the level of service that you would expect to receive, along with an idea of the return on investment that clients have received as a result of purchasing a website through this particular agency.

• Search Engine Optimisation
  SEO is vital to any website; it will determine your likelihood of getting found for your products and services. 93% of people searching for your services will not look past the first page of the major Search Engines. Have a think about what keywords you would like to be ranked for & note them down. Look out for a web agency that is focused on SEO & request examples of clients that rank on the first page of Google, as a direct result of their work. This will usually set apart the Graphic Design agencies, from the SEO focused web development agencies. Also, any agency that claims to do this instantly are not being truthful, as it can take months to boost a website’s rank in the major search engines (such as Yahoo & Google)

• Additional Services
  Some web development companies are able to take the hassle out of hosting your website, so it is worth while finding out if the agency offers domain names, website hosting, email hosting and website statistics (for measuring the level of traffic to your website).

Step 2 – Design Briefing

A well written design brief will usually result in a website design that is suited to your brand, your company and your target market. To make sure that your design will be spot on, here are some points to consider before you approach your chosen web agency:

• Aim
  What is the aim of your website? Is it to reinforce the relationship with your existing clients, target new sources, inform potential clients before they call, sell directly to the public via ecommerce, etc. This may seem obvious to you, but should be reinforced to the web agency, as it can determine which direction that the website will follow.

• Unique Selling Point
  Before you approach the web development agency, ask yourself what your unique selling proposition is. What is it that differentiates your products & services from your competitors? This unique selling proposition will determine the angle & attention that your home page will take, towards promoting your products & services.

• Target Market
  This question is definitely the hardest to answer & requires the most thought. If you attempt to appeal to everyone, you’ll appeal to no‐one. Try to narrow this question down to the age range & gender of your existing customers, along with the age & gender of customers that you don’t currently have, but would like to target. It will also help to differentiate your primary target audience, from your secondary target audience. Any form of social profiling helps to gain a mental picture of the typical customer that will be viewing your website. An example of this is mobility scooters, typically the target market is an elderly audience, with this in mind the website can be built with large text, large navigation with a focus on ease of use.

• Other Websites (Competitors)
  Start looking at your agency’s portfolio & competitors websites, note down what you like & dislike about their sites. Try to be specific about what it is that you like or dislike, such as the navigation, ease of use, colours, general design aesthetics etc. It’s worth noting functionality that would be useful on your site as well.

• Call To Action (CTA)
  When your customers arrive to your website, what would you like them to do? Where do you want to drive your customers? Should they pick up the phone and call, should they email you or should they view a particular product or service? Answering these questions will assist in creating ‘call to actions’ on your website, visual markers to prompt your customer into a particular action.

Step 3 – Sitemap & Functionality

Finally, in obtaining an accurate quote & scope for the website, you’ll need to specify a sitemap for your website. A sitemap is a list of pages that your website will have, typically in hierarchical fashion. The sitemap will form the basis of the scope of your website, which will determine the pricing. Asking for a website without a sitemap, is like asking a builder “how much for a house”.

Here are some points to consider:

• Sitemap
  How many pages will your website have? Which of these pages are static (require a developer to edit) and which of these pages are dynamic (require a Content Management System to edit, i.e. you can edit it yourself.)  An example of a simple sitemap:
  1. Home
  2. About Us
  3. Products
  4. Services
  5. Contact Us

• Functionality
  What functionality do you need on your website? Do you require a shopping cart (ability to order multiple products), Content management System (ability to manage the content on the website), Payment Gateway (ability to accept payments on your website).

• 3rd Party Providers
  Do you need to integrate your website with a 3rd Party Application, such as a booking system, open‐source forum, payment gateway, ordering software. Integration with 3rd Party Providers could be difficult & costly, so it is worth bringing this up before you sign‐up with the web agency.

• E‐Commerce
  If you are selling from your website, you will need to think about delivery costs, how you are going to accept payments, invoicing etc.