5 Things to Consider When Planning a Website

When planning a company website there are a number of things to consider, including its purpose, its navigation, security, and content. Here are a few tricks of the trade to get you started.

1. Site purpose:

Does the website have an obvious purpose? Is it there to educate, inform, sell, or persuade? Moreover, is its message/purpose consistent throughout the entire site? Most importantly, is it effective?

2. Finding the site- url, search engines, linking, public availability, getting past firewalls, virus checkers, ad blockers etc.:

If no one can find your website, it really doesn't matter whether it is beautifully designed or reads like it was written by Shakespeare. Deciding on a company name, logo, and domain name are therefore critical. Companies should look out for things like names that are too long or words that are difficult to spell.

In addition, if a site is optimised it will be much easier to find. The more external websites that link to it, the higher it is likely to rank on major search engines and the further its name will be spread.

Finally, if you want your website to be reputable, you must ensure that it is fully functional and not subject to viruses, pop-up ads, crashes, and other kinds of malfunctions. Of course with the internet there will always be things that go wrong, but well programmed sites, which are constantly being tested, tend to avoid these problems.

3. Content:

Writing content for the web is very different from writing content for print. People who read online have access to a back button, which means that if they can't find what they're looking for right away they will click it and search somewhere else. What that means is that web copywriters have about 5 seconds to capture their audience's attention.

When writing sales copy for the web keep AIDA in mind- Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. If each of your paragraphs triggers one of those things, the response rate should be high.

Other tricks of the trade include, creating visual interruptions, keeping your sentences under approx. 20 words, and leading with benefits.

4. Navigation:

A good website should be easy to navigate. Content managers should anticipate the types of questions their visitors might have and clearly lead them to the answers. There is nowhere this is more important than on an ecommerce site. Developers build what is known as a 'path-to-purchase', whereby visitors can easily choose their items, be recommended others, find additional information, and then get to the checkout.

5. Security:

With so much personal information available online, it is no wonder why people may be hesitant to share their details. Knowing this, websites tend to partner with specialized online security companies who can ensure details such as credit card information, are secure. Furthermore, the company information should be available including a 24-hour support centre where hesitant or unsure consumers can seek help/reassurance.

There are of course many other considerations that go into building a website, but the above should give you a good head start.


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Adaptive Consultancy is a design and marketing agency specialising in website design, eCommerce, and internet marketing, including SEO, PPC and SMO. http://www.adaptiveconsultancy.com/website-design/