How to Plan a Website for Your NZ Business
Planning a website before you start building it can save you time, money and a lot of frustration. A good website starts with a clear understanding of what your business needs, who your website needs to reach and what you want visitors to do when they arrive.
Whether you are starting a new business website or replacing an outdated one, this guide will walk you through the key decisions to make before you build.
Start With What Your Website Needs to Achieve
Before thinking about colours, images or layouts, decide what you want your website to do for your business.
Your website might be designed to:
- Generate enquiries and leads
- Help customers find your business
- Sell products online
- Showcase your services or previous work
- Provide information about your business
- Allow customers to contact or book with you
- Build trust with potential customers
Your goals will influence the pages you need, the content you create and the features your website should include.
Know Who Your Website Is For
Your website should be written for your customers, not just for your business.
Think about who you want to attract and what they are likely to be looking for. A local trades business, professional service provider, retailer and hospitality business will all have different website requirements.
Consider:
- What does your customer need?
- What questions do they have?
- What information will help them make a decision?
- What might stop them from contacting or buying from you?
- What action do you want them to take?
The clearer you are about your audience, the easier it becomes to plan a website that works for them.
Decide What Pages You Need
Most business websites need a small number of core pages rather than dozens of pages.
A typical website might include:
- Home – Introduces your business and directs visitors to the information they need.
- About – Explains who you are and why customers should choose you.
- Services or Products – Provides detailed information about what you offer.
- Contact – Makes it easy for customers to get in touch.
- FAQs – Answers common questions and helps customers make decisions.
You may also need location pages, individual service pages, project or portfolio pages, testimonials, a blog or an online store.
Plan these pages before you start building so your website has a clear structure from the beginning.
Plan Your Website Structure
Think about how someone will move through your website.
Your main navigation should make it easy for visitors to find the most important information without having to search for it.
For example:
Home → Services → Individual Service → Contact
Your website structure also matters for Google. Organising related information into clear sections helps search engines understand what your website is about and can create opportunities to rank for more relevant searches.
Plan Your Content
Good website content answers your customers' questions and helps them decide what to do next.
For each page, decide:
What does the visitor need to know?
What is the most important message?
What action should they take next?
Avoid trying to say everything on every page. Give each page a clear purpose and keep the information focused on that purpose.
If you are targeting customers in New Zealand, make your content relevant to the local market. Use the language your customers actually use and include useful information about your location, services, pricing, processes or other factors that matter to NZ customers.
Think About Google From the Start
Search engine optimisation should not be something you add after your website is finished.
When planning your website, consider what your potential customers are searching for and which pages should answer those searches.
For example, a business might need separate pages for:
- Its main service
- Specific services
- The locations it serves
- Common customer questions
- Useful information related to its industry
Each page should have a clear topic rather than trying to make one page rank for everything.
Choose the Right Website Builder
Once you know what your website needs to achieve, you can choose how you want to build it.
For many small businesses, a website builder provides a practical way to create and manage a professional website without needing to manage the technical side of website development.
When comparing website builders, look at more than the design templates. Consider:
- Whether it provides the features your business needs
- How easy it is to update your website
- Mobile-friendly design
- SEO tools
- Forms and lead generation
- Ecommerce capabilities if you sell online
- Hosting and security
- Ongoing costs
- The level of support available
The right choice depends on your business, your budget and what you need your website to do.
Plan Your Calls to Action
Every important page should give visitors a clear next step.
Depending on your business, that might be:
Request a Quote
Book a Consultation
Call Us
Contact Us
Shop Now
Get Started
Don't make visitors work out what to do next. Your calls to action should be easy to find and relevant to the page they are viewing.
Plan for Mobile
Your customers are likely to visit your website from phones, tablets and computers, so your website needs to work well across different screen sizes.
As you plan your website, think about:
- Easy-to-read text
- Simple navigation
- Buttons that are easy to tap
- Fast-loading pages
- Clear calls to action
- Images that work well on smaller screens
A website that looks good on a desktop but is difficult to use on a phone isn't doing its job.
Set a Realistic Website Budget
The cost of a website can vary considerably depending on what you need.
Your budget may need to cover:
- Website builder or development costs
- Domain name
- Hosting
- Professional photography or images
- Copywriting
- Branding and graphic design
- Ecommerce functionality
- Ongoing SEO and marketing
Knowing what you actually need before you start makes it easier to compare options and avoid paying for features your business doesn't require.
Create a Website Plan Before You Build
A simple website plan can give you a clear starting point.
Before building, make a list of:
1. Your website goal
What do you want the website to achieve?
2. Your target customers
Who are you trying to reach?
3. Your main pages
What information do visitors need?
4. Your website structure
How will those pages fit together?
5. Your content
What will you say on each page?
6. Your calls to action
What should visitors do next?
7. Your SEO priorities
What are your customers searching for?
8. Your budget
What can you realistically invest in creating and maintaining your website?
Once these decisions are made, building your website becomes much more straightforward.
Ready to Create Your Website?
Good website planning doesn't have to be complicated. Start with your customers, define what you want your website to achieve and build your pages around those goals.
With a clear plan in place, you can choose the right website builder, create useful content and build a website that supports your business rather than simply giving you an online presence.
Ready to start? Explore how to create a website or learn more about choosing the right website builder.
