Launching a website is both exciting and potentially rewarding. A well planned site can have a positive effect on your business, with online sales bucking the trend in an otherwise downbeat economy. Creating a website can also be a daunting task, with so many options to choose from and jargon to sift through. This article aims to help you plan your new website quickly and easily.

1. Set your goals

The first stage in planning your website is so simple it is often overlooked: set clear goals of what you want your website to achieve.

This could be to generate sales leads, sell products, or anything else you can imagine. Whatever it is, boil it down to a single mission statement. Try to quantify your goals, too. How many enquiries will you receive? What will the turnover be in each of the first three years?

2. Establishing a budget

You can build a simple website or blog for free these days, meanwhile large companies pump millions into their online presence. So how much should you spend?

Let’s say you have a turnover of 100,000 and you want to invest 8% to give an annual marketing budget of 8000. If you’re an online business you may choose to invest all of this on the web, if not then choose a suitable proportion. Read the rest of this entry »