Well maybe I should have started out my posts with this, but it’s better late than never right? And this is the reason planning is so important.

Are you ready to design your dream website? Before you enlist our help with this, take a moment to envision what you want your site to do and say. After all, nobody knows your brand better than you do! Putting in the extra effort upfront will ensure that your website reflects your unique personality and values.

Of course, working with a web development team like Prairie Orchid Media can be incredibly valuable. We have years of experience creating beautiful, functional websites that draw in customers and increase conversions. But by brainstorming on your own first, you'll be able to communicate more clearly with us and get exactly what you want out of the process.

Avoid Costly Redos: The Importance of Proper Website Planning

People may skip the planning to save on time or do not realize how important this step is. But once they get started with the website project, there may be some need to redo work or some unexpected obstacles may come up without proper planning

When you take the time to think through your project before starting it you can usually expect some of these obstacles and come up with a plan for avoiding them. This will actually save time, money and frustration for and me (your web developer) in the end.

Effective Strategies to Create a Winning Plan for Your Website's Success

Here are a few things we suggest that you think about in your planning to help make your website a success:

• What are you trying to accomplish with your website? You need to think about the goals of your website. Ex. Is it to educate or to promote?
• Decide on your target audience and try to determine their interests. Your website should provide the information that your audience is looking for.
• Figure out the navigation (or menu) for your website. Try to think about this as a potential client and make it as user friendly as possible. (For more info read our post on navigation - How Easy is Your Site to Navigate?).
• Think about what your Call to Action (or CTA) is. What do you want the users that find your website to do once they find your site?
• Create a list of keywords that can be used on your website to increase your ranking on search engines. For more info see our post on keywords - Are the Right Keywords the Most Popular Keywords?

There are definitely more items to think about when developing your website, but these can be discussed further with your website developer.

What Could Happen When You Don't Plan

We ultimately want to make our clients happy at Prairie Orchid Media and if planning is not completed the following things could happen:

• Do-overs or backtracking because things need to be redone causes delays, pushed out timelines and incur extra costs
• We (the web developers) could make assumptions as to how you want the content to be set up, but this may not be the way you (the client) want it.
• The cost for the project could be more than the original quote because necessary extra items need to be added to the project.
• Client and/or web developer frustration or confusion because things may be going wrong.
• A website that falls short of its goals.
• Poor Return on Investment (ROI).

So, to keep everyone as happy as possible and create the best product for our clients, planning is necessary.

Partnering with a web designer developer like us can take your website to the next level, but don't forget that you are the boss! Take some time to brainstorm and plan out what you want your website to look like, how it should function, and what content should be included. After all, nobody knows your business better than you do! So grab a cup of coffee (or tea!) and get those creative juices flowing. Your website will thank you for it!

Thanks for being part of the Prairie Orchid Media community, and we look forward to helping you reach your website goals this year. We offer a wide range of web development and design services to help businesses increase their web presence.

Let's chat about your planning out your website. Give us a call or send us an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.