The most expensive website mistakes happen before anyone opens a design tool. A site built without a clear goal, a plan for its pages or anyone assigned to write the content runs over budget, launches late and still doesn’t bring in business. A few decisions made up front prevent most of that.
1. Decide what the website has to do
Pick the one action that matters most: a phone call, a quote request, a booking, a purchase or an application. Then list the secondary actions, such as newsletter sign-ups or downloads. Every page should move visitors toward one of them, and you should agree now on how you will measure it.
2. Know who it is for and what they need to find
Write down your main types of customers and the questions each one asks before choosing you: what you offer, where you work, what it costs, how long it takes and why they should trust you. Those questions become your pages and your content.
3. Plan the structure and the navigation
Turn that list into a sitemap before any design starts. A few navigation rules save visitors a lot of frustration:
- Use plain labels. “Services”, “Work”, “About” and “Contact” beat clever names nobody understands.
- Keep the main menu short and give each main service its own page rather than burying everything on one.
- Put the main action where people expect it: a phone number and a primary button in the header, on every page.
- Design the menu for phones first, with tap targets large enough for a thumb.
- Never leave a dead end. Link related pages together and use breadcrumbs so visitors always know where they are.
4. Plan the content before the design
Content is almost always the slowest part of a website project. Decide early who will write each page, who will approve it and where the photos will come from. Designs built around real content work better than designs filled with placeholder text and fixed later.
5. Decide how you will handle campaigns and launches
For an ad campaign, an event or a product launch, a focused landing page on your main site usually beats a separate microsite. It builds the authority of your main domain, it is easier to track and it is one less site to maintain. Save a separate microsite for an audience or brand that is truly distinct from your main business.
6. Protect what your current site has earned
If you are replacing an existing website, list the pages that bring in traffic and leads today, then map every old address to its new one with permanent (301) redirects. Carry over page titles and descriptions, and check Google Search Console in the weeks after launch. Skipping this step is the most common reason a redesign loses its search rankings.
7. Set a realistic budget and timeline
Budget for more than design and development: content, photography, tracking, hosting, maintenance and backups all cost time or money. Build in time for reviews and approvals, which usually take longer than the build itself.
A simple pre-launch checklist
- Every form, button and phone link tested on a real phone
- Pages load quickly on mobile
- Analytics, call tracking and form conversions recording correctly
- Redirects in place from every old page
- Page titles, descriptions and social sharing images set
- Privacy policy and cookie consent in place
- A backup taken and a restore tested
Still deciding whether to build it yourself? Read website templates vs. hiring a pro. If you would like help planning a new site, our web design team starts every project with exactly these questions, and the first consultation is free.