How many times have you sat down in a hairdresser’s chair and said, “Surprise me”? Not often, I’ll bet. All but the most adventurous (or foolhardy) have at least a minor plan when they have their hair cut.

Now, why would you subject your website to the same risky random results? Any time you’re planning to launch a new website or overhaul your existing one, have a plan. In the biz, we call this a project brief.

There’s no real right or wrong way to write a brief, as long as you capture information and make it easy to deliver information to a web developer. One risk is to make the brief too, well, brief. Err on the side of too much information, and then you can edit down what’s superfluous with a web professional.

There are a few items that you should always include in a project brief, however. Here are a few:

Budget

Some organizations are understandably cagey with this information, but know what you have to spend and what’s reasonable for the site you want. Make sure to share this information with your developer, at least a general ballpark. A budget of $1000 will get you a very different website from one that costs $10,000. Tip: No website is free. Even the free ones.

Deadlines

If you absolutely must launch a website in time for a big event, to fulfill a grant requirement or for some other reason, note it down. Look a year into the future and plan for any deadlines, vacations or other scheduling requirements that might affect development.

Your profile

Put into a paragraph what you are and what your organization does. This will help you focus your needs with the website, and it will help any developer better understand how you work. It’s also useful if you include ways you differ from others in your industry.

It goes without saying to leave out the jargon, right?

Demographics

Next, provide a profile of the people who you serve. These are the people who visit your website – or who you wish would visit your website. Note their age, location, gender, website connection speed – whatever you can do flesh out who will be using your website. People who fit the 60-80 age range use websites differently than those in the 15-25 age range.

Sites you like, and a few you don’t

Start a list of the websites you’ve seen that you really like. Maybe you like the color palette or layout or some kind of functionality. Any time you see a site, add it to your bookmarks so you can pass this information on.

Similarly, make a list of the sites you don’t like. This can give a web developer valuable insight into your preferences as well.

Your primary tasks

List how you’ll be using the site on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This can help you budget your own time when it comes to managing the website, and it also helps prioritize the information on your website.

Your visitors’ primary tasks

What things do you want your visitors to do when they come to your website? Put yourself into your audience’s shoes, and make a prioritized list of the things you want them to do when they’re at your site. This might be registering to volunteer, donating money, picking up event information. It can be helpful to ask your audience what they’d like to do at your website.

I’m in the middle of researching a massive project now where most people I’ve interviewed say something to this effect: “Rather than go through the hassle of updating the website, we’ve just let it go.”

What a waste! To have a website that people are actually visiting (even if there aren’t many), and that can be actually working for you is a waste of time, space and even reputation. Sure, websites take dedication and work to update, but it shouldn’t be so hard to work with that you simply let it go.

Solution: the blog.

Blogs are workhorses. Your website can be fairly static, but if you have a blog, it instantly becomes dynamic. They constantly pump new information into your site, and provide a way for you to disseminate important information to your audience. If they’re using RSS feeds, they don’t even need to remember to go to your site. Turn on comments, and you can have a discussion with the people who visit.

What to write about?

• Project updates
• New grants
• The people around your office
• Useful information for your clients
• Trends in your field

Anything that shows your funders, investors or prospects that you know what you’re doing.

If you make one addition to your website, make it a blog. And the pledge to work on it at least once a week. It’ll do wonders for making your site relevant.

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Things Just Got Cheaper

We really don’t have to make our Websites 1-2-3 any cheaper, but we are anyway! Now you can have a fully functional, super-powered website with your colors and pictures for just $1599. Check it out.

Need more? Supersize it for $1999 and get sign-up forms and e-newsletters.

Want to go all out? Pick from our library of add-ons, including calendars, blogs – the sky’s the limit.

Of course, we do fully custom websites, too – just let us know if you have something specific in mind and we’ll bring it to life.

Signed,
Your Internet Pals at Talance

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Digging for Website Gold

Too many people think the best content they have to offer on their websites are event listings. Sure, those are helpful, but you almost certainly have something better you’re already producing that you can use to make your website a better resource. Here are some ideas to help you dig up hidden content:

Newsletter. It may be printed, or an e-newsletter you’re sending out via a third-party service, but chances are someone has written articles that can be used somewhere on your website.

Sermons. Congregations we work with are always producing some kind of spiritual thoughts worth sharing, including sermons and prayers.

Employee reports. Most companies have regular staff meetings where employees give status reports, and many of these reports center around special events and campaigns.

E-mail. Everybody writes e-mails, and some of the stuff you send out must be applicable to the people who visit your website. Look through your sent messages for treasures.

Training. Many organizations have manuals stacked on office bookshelves that contain useful information. Translate that online, and it can be more accessible to the people who need to see it.

Think creatively about where you look for content, and your website will be a richer place.