Establishing your purpose and goals will help you to build a successful Site by providing a balance between your need to promote, educate, or sell -- and your audience's needs and preferences.
Identify Purpose and Goals
Meet with your team members and answer the following questions.
- Define the Site's purpose
- Why are you building a Site - what purpose does it serve? Take a look at your business plan, product literature, promotional materials and proposals.
- Determine why people will come to your Site
- Try analyzing the question: "What problem is my visitor trying to solve?" For example, are they looking for a product? Do they need information on your services or business? Are they employees who need access to company information or databases? Are they researching a subject that you specialize in?
You may find that several types of visitors could use your Site to solve various problems - these people form your potential audience.
- Determine why people will trust and use your site
- What do you have to offer that will convince people to accept your products or services? For example, you can educate users on the different uses for your products, provide extensive customer service, make purchasing easy, provide a forum for discussions, provide excellent security, etc.
After brainstorming your Goals and Purpose, gather input from the people who will use your Site - your Audience.