What is Web Strategy and How to Create?

The problem with most web strategies, whether you’re designing a new site from scratch or you’re in charge of a website overhaul, is that they’re often viewed as “once and done” projects.

Web strategy steps

Establish attainable goals

Writing down attainable goals actually serves two purposes in regards to web strategy: it puts your ideas into a concrete form and can actually shape how you go about designing or redesigning various website elements in order to better attain goals.

Create a plan for ongoing maintenance

Many websites grow stale simply because they have no plans for ongoing maintenance. But things do change over time and technology and trends march on, and any website which ignores this does so at its peril. A good place to start when establishing a web strategy is to know some of the questions you would like the strategy to answer. But as a starting point you should know why it is important for you to use resources on web strategy.

Be relentless about improvements

Creating these hypotheses and making these improvements over time also shows you what’s working and what isn’t with your target audience, as well as what’s barely budging the needle. You’ll need this information as your website and all the marketing initiatives and campaigns that surround it, continue to grow.

Budget for uncertainties

By setting aside a small portion of your budget to deal with these uncertainties as they crop up, you’ll not only avoid the inevitable slip into full-on Crisis Mode, but you’ll also be able to weather the storm in case there are emergencies that need to be dealt with even if they’re out of your control.

Test, track and measure

By testing, tracking and measuring the impact of those improvements, you can share data with confidence that determines how customers and prospects are interacting with your website.

Define goals and successes

The first step in website planning is thinking about what you want people to do while visiting your website. Success can be as simple as obtaining one new client per month, or as complex as generating one million dollars in revenue during your website’s.

Choose a domain name

Using domain name search tools from services like GoDaddy and Name Cheap are quick ways to check whether the domain you want is available, or view possible alternatives that might work well for your brand’s site.

Choose a web host

Make sure that the host you choose has a proven track record for success and reliable customer support tools. Remember, the most cost-effective solution is not always the best one, so do your research.

Determine your design

You’ll need to determine what site tone and design you want to implement.

Plan your site’s functionality

Functionality relates to the elements that you want visitors to interact with on your website. Building a great site that doesn’t convince visitors to interact with it by signing up for future updates, purchasing a product or service, or submitting a contact form that you will never reach the goals you initially set.

A goal without a plan is just a wish

If you’ve covered these six steps in your website planning, then you’ve laid out the foundation for your future business decisions. You’re that much closer to ensuring successful user experiences, which increase your chances of reaching overall site goals.

Conclusion

Success can be as simple as obtaining one new client per month, or as complex as generating one million dollars in revenue during your website’s first year.