As incredible as it may seem, I still get asked by some business owners, “Should I have a Website.”  My answer is always a resounding “YES”.  And then I tell them why.

Whether you want to launch your first website or are going to rebuild your existing site, it involves a potential cost that can create havoc with your budget if not done right. So how should you proceed?

You must first define the purpose and scope of the project before you look for a web developer.  Here are a few questions you should ask yourself to help you accomplish this.

1. What purpose will the website serve?  Do you want prospect and customers to see your phone number and call you?  Do you want to capture leads? Will you sell any products or services directly from the site? Write down everything you want to accomplish, then arrange your list in order of priority.

2. How many different types of items will you sell in your website?

3. Do you have a merchant account that will let you accept credit cards online?

4. Are any of the items you sell in color?

5. Will the company that builds the website need to design it as well as set up the pages on the web?

6. How often will you want to update the site?

7. Who will do the updates?

8. What kinds of website design look attractive to you?

9. Will you want to capture website visitors’ names to send them emails in the future?

10. How will you market the website to get visitors to the site?

11. Who will do the marketing?

12. What is your budget for marketing the site/

13. How will you measure the success of your website?

14. What capabilities (ordering, database, audio, video, etc) will you need?

15. Who do you want to use the website? Retail customers, distributors, clients?

16. By what date do you want the website finished and turned live on the web?

You must write down the answers to all of these questions and be as specific as possible. 

When you are ready to get price quotes, incorporate the information into your request for quotes. This will ensure you provide the same information to all developers, so they are bidding on the same thing and incorporating the same features in the bids they prepare for you.

I’m sure you can think of more questions, so please let us know of additional questions or ideas you have.

Technorati Tags: build a web site, build a website, rebuild a web site, rebuild a website, web site, Website