You have a great idea for a website. You haven’t thought it through much yet, but you want to go out and see how much it’s going to cost to have it developed for you. After all, the sooner you get a web developer started on it the sooner it will get built.
Unfortunately the opposite is generally true. Unless you are interested in only the most generic, off-the-shelf template website, you want to have some input on what you are getting in return. And what’s the point of having a website anyway if there’s nothing special about it?
Submitting a request for proposal (RFP) at this point would be like calling a home builder and asking how much it will cost to build a house. Without more details about what you want, he cannot possibly give you a reasonable estimate without knowing important details such as size, features, etc.
You are smarter than that. After all, you came up with this great idea for the website, right? You know that a great website requires careful thought, planning, and finding the right web development company to work with you to build it.
But you’re just the creative genius behind the idea. Sure you can come up with great ideas for what you want the site to do, and you have the business acumen to make it successful once built. But how do you make sure it gets built in such a way to match the quality and professionalism that you expect of your site? There’s a simple secret to getting exactly what you want.
The first step is to know what you want out of your website. Think about your site in great detail. What are you ultimately trying to accomplish with your web site? Are you trying to sell something online? Are you trying to generate new leads? Are you trying to build brand identity? Without an objective a web site has little reason to exist. And without a clear idea of what you want out of your website, it has little chance to succeed. It’s not going to succeed on its own. You need to make it happen. And that starts with planning. The secret of getting what you want is a complete requirement definition.
Sit down and try to write down a list of every page that you believe you will need for your web site. For inspiration, go to your favorite search engine and type in some keywords that are similar to the keywords you would expect someone to find your site with. Visit as many of them as you can.
As you visit each note your initial impression. What was your first thought as the site loaded? Was it good, bad, or otherwise? If so, jot down why you think you formulated that impression. Check out the site in detail. Note what you like and don’t like about each site.
You will probably come across ideas and features that you wouldn’t have thought of yourself. Add all of these to your notes. Also keep track of visual elements that you like. Do you like the colors, or the layout, or the general impression of a site? Write that down. Do you dislike something about it? Write that down too, it can be equally important when trying to explain to your chosen web development company what it is you’re shooting for. Be sure to sort your notes by each site. Being able to show the web designer the exact sites you drew your inspiration from is enormously helpful.