Website Design: 12 Questions to Answer Before You Talk to a Website Designer

Carl owns a business software company and he knows he needs a new website. How does he know this? Hes smart enough to have noticed that his current site isnt doing a very good job of turning visitors into sales

opportunities.

Hes anxious to get started on his new site. Hes hired a website designer, shown the designer a few sites that he likes, and now hes waiting for the delivery of a fantastic new high-performing website.

Its not going to happen. Carl has made one of the most common mistakes in website development a mistake that nearly every business-to-business marketer makes at some point along the line. Hes expecting a designer to

do his marketing thinking for him.

A good website requires planning and its the marketers job to do the planning not the designers.

Here are 12 questions every business-to-business marketer should ask and answer before talking to a web designer:



   1. What is the single most important purpose of the new site? By taking the time to articulate this, youll be able to focus everyones efforts on the right target.


   2. What are the secondary goals? When companies invest money in creating a new website, there are almost always multiple stakeholders with different priorities. After all, websites reach investors, suppliers, employees

and future employees in addition to reaching customers and prospects. While these secondary goals should not be allowed to interfere with your primary purpose, it still helps to know what they are.


   3. How will you measure the success of your new site? Be as specific as possible. Ecommerce sites will obviously measure revenue & non-ecommerce sites will measure sales-ready leads, but what else?


   4. What areas of your current site are successful and why? Chances are good that your existing site is not a total failure. Take a look at what IS working. You can strive to make these areas better, but you dont have to

reinvent them.


   5. What areas of your current site are not working and why? Presumably this is the reason youre redoing your website. Its a good fist step to realize your site isnt working, but that alone doesnt provide much direction. Take

the time to identify specifically what isnt working & what it will look like when it is working.


   6. Who exactly is your target audience? What do they care about? Read Your Website Needs a Makeover for more information about creating detailed descriptions of your buyers.


   7. What action do you want them to take? There is a macro aspect to this question: for example, "We want them to buy our product." And there is a micro aspect that addresses each of the individual conversion points your

prospects may pass through on their way to making a purchase. These could be subscribing to a newsletter, downloading a white paper, scheduling a demo, entering a trial period, and others.


   8. What does the prospect need in order to feel sufficiently motivated & confident to take those actions? Map out each of your desired actions. Sometimes youll need to entice the prospect with an offer. At other times theyll

want additional information. Think in terms of both what you can provide and what obstacles you can remove.