Use this checklist as guide to gather the items needed to have your web site designed. This list is a great starting point of recommended items that will help you put your best foot forward with your web design project.
Your Company Info
- Company profile or history
- Company stationery/business card
- Profiles of your employees and management
- Your company’s mission statement, goals, etc.
- Recent press releases
- Articles written about your company
- Portfolio of work/projects
- Client testimonials
- Contact information
- Hiring information
- Employee/Management Bios
Your Products and Services
- Descriptions of services offered
- Descriptions of products to be sold via web site
- Pricing sheet
- Specials
- Product catalogs
- Special events
- Samples of existing marketing materials
- Spreadsheets with product info
Marketing Information
- Your target audience
- Descriptions of your ideal customer
- Best selling products or services
- What makes your offering different or appealing
- What are the hot buttons for your product or service
- What is the problem you are solving for your customers
- How much time or effort does your product save customers
- How does your product stack up next to the competition
- What are the strengths of your products or services
- What are the possible weaknesses in your product or service offering
- Where is the opportunity for you, in your niche market
Images
- Company Logo (original graphic files are the best to get)
- Photos relating to your industry
- Photos of your business
- Photos of your employees/management
- Images of your products
- Photos relating to your services
Web Site Addresses
- Top competitors’ web addresses
- Any websites that you like (jot down what you liked about each address)
- Any websites that you dislike (and why)
- Current website
Summary
With these items collected, you are in a great position to take this to a knowledgeable web development company who will use all this information to craft a website that will position your company in the best possible light.
You will want to spend the time to actually find a company with a strong Marketing background, who knows how to take all this information and communicate it in a compelling, interesting and direct fashion. Believe it or not, this is above and beyond what can be expected by most web designers, who will simply regurgitate your information.
The objective with website development is to weave a compelling story about your company and its products and service which will be compelling enough to get people to inquire, thereby generating leads and sales for your organization. This is our objective with every website we build.