Building a Website Planning Guide

Building a website is much easier when you know what you want it to achieve before you start. Whether you're creating a website for a small business, starting an online store or replacing an outdated website, taking some time to plan first can save you time, money and frustration later. A good website plan gives you a clear idea of what your website needs, who it is for, what pages you need and what you want visitors to do. You don't need to have every detail worked out before you begin. The aim is simply to make the important decisions early so you have a clear direction when it comes to designing and building your website.

Start With the Purpose of Your Website

The first question to ask is: What do you want your website to achieve?

Your website might be designed to:

• Generate enquiries
• Attract new customers
• Sell products online
• Promote your services
• Provide information
• Allow customers to book appointments
• Build credibility for your business
• Provide support to existing customers

You may have several goals, but identify your main one. For example, a plumber might want more phone calls and quote requests, while an online retailer will be focused on product sales. Your goals should influence everything else you decide about your website.

Know Who Your Website Is For

Think about the people you want to attract to your website. What are they looking for? What questions do they have? What information will help them decide whether to contact or buy from you?

Consider:

• Who your ideal customers are
• What they need from your business
• What problems you solve
• What information they are likely to search for
• What might stop them from contacting you
• What would make them choose your business over a competitor

Planning your website around your customers will generally produce a much more useful website than simply filling it with information about your business.

Plan Your Website Pages

Before you start designing, make a list of the pages your website is likely to need. Most business websites will need some combination of:

• Home
• About
• Services
• Products
• Contact
• Location information
• FAQs
• Testimonials or reviews
• Portfolio or projects
• Blog or resources

You don't need every possible page. The right structure depends on your business, customers and goals. For more help, see our guide to what pages a website should have.

Create a Simple Website Structure

Once you know which pages you need, decide how they will fit together. Your main navigation should make it easy for visitors to find the most important information.

For example:

Home → Services → Individual Service → Contact

Or for an online store:

Home → Shop → Product Category → Product → Checkout

Try to keep the structure logical and avoid making visitors click through several unnecessary pages to find what they need. A clear website structure also helps search engines understand how your content is organised.

Plan Your Website Content

Don't leave your content until after the website has been designed. Your content will influence the layout of your pages, the headings you use, the images you need and the calls to action you include.

For each important page, consider:

• What is the page about?
• Who is it for?
• What does the visitor need to know?
• What questions should the page answer?
• What action do you want the visitor to take?
• What search terms might they use to find the page?

Write down the key information before you start building. You can then turn this into finished website copy as you work through the project.

Think About SEO From the Beginning

SEO shouldn't be something you add to your website after it has been built. When planning your website, think about what your potential customers are searching for and which pages should target those searches.

For example, a New Zealand business might need pages targeting:

• Its main products or services
• The locations it serves
• Specific customer needs
• Common questions
• Useful topics related to its industry

This doesn't mean filling your website with keywords. It means creating useful pages around the topics that matter to your customers. Think about SEO when deciding your website structure, page names, headings and content.

Decide What Features You Need

Your website may need more than pages and content. Make a list of the functionality your business requires.

This could include:

• Contact forms
• Quote request forms
• Online bookings
• Online payments
• Ecommerce
• Customer accounts
• Newsletter sign-ups
• Reviews
• Maps
• Social media integration
• Image galleries
• Videos
• Downloadable documents
• Search functionality

Only include features that serve a purpose. More functionality doesn't automatically make a better website.

Plan Your Calls to Action

Every important page should give visitors an obvious next step. Depending on your business, this might be:

• Get a Quote
• Contact Us
• Book an Appointment
• Shop Now
• Request a Consultation
• Call Us

Don't assume visitors will know what to do next. Make the next step clear.

Choose How You Will Build Your Website

Once you understand what your website needs, you can choose how you want to build it.

Your options might include:

• Using a website builder
• Hiring a web designer or developer
• Building the website yourself
• Using a combination of professional help and a website builder

The right option depends on your budget, technical skills, available time and the complexity of your website. If you're considering a website builder, look at whether it provides the features, design flexibility, SEO tools and support your business needs.

Set a Realistic Budget

Your website budget should reflect what you need the website to do.

Consider the potential costs of:

• Website building
• Website builder subscriptions
• Domain registration
• Hosting
• Professional design
• Content writing
• Photography
• Ecommerce functionality
• Online payment services
• SEO
• Ongoing maintenance

A simple business website doesn't necessarily need a large budget, but cutting costs in the wrong areas can leave you with a website that doesn't perform well.

Plan for Mobile Users

Your website needs to work properly on phones and tablets as well as desktop computers. When planning your website, consider:

• How menus will work on smaller screens
• Whether text will be easy to read
• How buttons will be used
• How forms will work on mobile
• Whether images will load quickly
• How easy it will be to contact your business from a phone

Mobile shouldn't be treated as an afterthought. It should be part of your website planning from the beginning.

Create a Website Plan

You don't need a complicated document to plan your website. A simple planning document or spreadsheet can include:

Having this information in one place gives you something to work from as you build your website.

Review Your Plan Before You Build

Before you start, take a step back and ask:

• Does the website have a clear purpose?
• Is it designed around the right customers?
• Have you planned the pages you actually need?
• Is the navigation easy to understand?
• Do you have a plan for your content?
• Have you considered SEO?
• Does the website have the functionality your business needs?
• Are your calls to action clear?
• Does your budget match your requirements?
• Will the website work well on mobile?

If you can answer these questions, you're in a much better position to start building.

A Good Website Starts With a Good Plan

Planning your website doesn't have to be complicated. The important thing is to make the key decisions before you start building.

Know what you want your website to achieve, understand your customers, plan your pages and content, think about SEO and decide what functionality you actually need.

Once you have a clear plan, choosing a design and building your website becomes much easier.

Ready to start? Explore our guide to creating a website or learn more about choosing a website builder.